Round 12: City vs Perth, Fri 26th Dec 5:30pm

[NewConvert]

For me the defence has improved markedly. Twice Velaphi was beaten but in came Paartalau in the first instance to head the ball away and Chapman took the header from Thwaites. Great stuff. The second thing that came to mind is that the PG defence is big - taller, heavier and faster than our front three. Completely bossed the City boys off the ball. Looking forward to PG taking on MV next week.

[drewmelbcity]

@RichGarcia19: For all those not happy with me celebrating my goal.... I never played for @MelbourneCity I played for melbourne heart...

he's a cunt, but he's a cunt with a point.

Yet we are the same supporters who once cheered for him

[NuggetsMcGreggor]

Tbh not enough ppl joining the 'suck my dick, Vukovic' chant

[Tommykins]

Weilaert is so for the tip! He can't keep up with the intensity of the A-league. This is the first time l can clearly say l missed Hofman in the starting line up!

 

Comfortably Robbie's best game for the season, not sure how Hoffman could be considered an improvement.

[drewmelbcity]

Who's heart stop when mooy was left laying on the ground after the challenge?

[heart_fan10]

we really lack forwards. Ramsay, Williams and Dugandzic clearly not up to it. It's evident when most of our goals this season have come from midfielders and even defenders.

Hopefully Kennedy will help fix that area, and even Duff when he's playing regularly again.

Defensively we look a lot better with chapman in the centre, but if we're to have a serious squad we need quality fullbacks on either side. Velaphi was decent today, didn't do much wrong. The goal was from Kisnorno leaving Garicia completely unmarked.

[Shahanga]

With everyone else. We edged the game I thought but not much in it, so I'm ok with a point against the leAgue leaders (big step up in class from last week).

So good having a central defender who can defend now and a goalie who can make a save.

In regards to Garcia the guys a diving whinging dog, but he scores he can celebrate. Respect his Twitter answer to his critics too. Just next time how about we mark the mother?

[HEARTinator]

we really lack forwards. Ramsay, Williams and Dugandzic clearly not up to it. It's evident when most of our goals this season have come from midfielders and even defenders.

Hopefully Kennedy will help fix that area, and even Duff when he's playing regularly again.

Defensively we look a lot better with chapman in the centre, but if we're to have a serious squad we need quality fullbacks on either side. Velaphi was decent today, didn't do much wrong. The goal was from Kisnorno leaving Garicia completely unmarked.

Very much this. Our stength lies in midfield with Paartalu/Mooy/Melling really bossing things. But would say that we also need a qualtiy goalkeeper with Tando being the stand in.

[kingofhearts]

Shoutout to Robbie weilart. Played out of position today, had a bit of trouble going forward because he has the speed of a three legged horse, but I thought he was really good today.

desperately, desperately need a striker, just have no one to kick the ball to whenever we get the ball forward. If the point of the game was to pass the ball aimlessly around the edge of the box, we'd be league leaders.

also think that kisnorbo had a really bad game, nearly cost us 2-3 goals tonight due to sloppy play or not marking his man properly, needs a kick up the ass for the next game.

[jw1739]

Can't agree on Wielaert I'm afraid. First touch almost always backwards or sideways, losing any momentum we could have had going forward. Our RW dysfunctional again, with Dugandzic a passenger and quite frankly Duff not much better. Williams ineffective apart from putting Mooy in. At the moment we're operating pretty much without a forward line.

 

Sound performances from Velaphi, Chapman, Garuccio, Paartalu, Mooy and Melling. Koren OK but he has a long way to go before he's match fit.

 

IMO we did well to get a draw out of today. Happy with that overall.

[Murfy1]

A bit annoying this result after being 1-0 up with 30 minutes to go, but the result is pretty decent given that we were playing the league leaders, who going into the match had only lost 1 game in 11, and just smashed Central Coast 4-1 last round.

 

The performance was also pretty strong. We had 11 shots to 6, and largely played the game in Perth's half having 52% possession and 60% territory.

 

Was also pretty concerned going into the game, and thought the disruption to our defence, with Hoffman dropping out of the team less than 24hrs before kickoff, could unsettle things. But Wielaert came in and put in a respectable performance, making use of his passing skill and his skill on the ball.

 

I think the slightly changed defence did as well as it did because Chapman has truly stabilised the defence. I'm starting to become convinced that he's the main factor explaining our defensive turnaround. He has a wonderful defensive presence, and is comfortable dribbling the ball into the middle third. 

 

Mooy continues to dazzle. His shooting has been solid this season IMO, and it's been bad luck as much as anything else that has prevented him from scoring more goals. Today his finishing was good again, and he took his goal very well.

 

The concern with playing young players is that they are generally inconsistent, oscillating between impressive games and flat and weak games. But Melling is showing his qualities every game, in particular him playing and defending with fantastic energy.

 

I thought Kisnorbo had a fairly off game. He completely lost Djulbic on the set piece taken shortly after Perth scored, and I'm not sure but he might have been meant to mark Garcia for Perth's goal as well. Also other details seemed off with his game. Ideally experienced players, and especially the captain, should be consistent, so hopefully Kisnorbo can consistently deliver performances similar to his Melbourne derby performance.

 

I fully agree with the consensus; I think we need more attacking talent in our front 3rd, and in particular we could really use a reliable no 9. None of our front 3 are threatening goal often enough for my liking. Credit to Williams for providing an assist, something he doesn't do often enough IMO (I'm pretty certain he didn't provide 1 assist last season, despite playing several games in the no 10 position). But we simply need more from the front 3, and I get the impression that our stellar midfield saves our forwards' blushes a bit.

 

 

All up, will take the point. Something we can build on. Now we're heading into 2 winnable games with the team in good form, and have the likes of Duff and Koren returning to the team.  

Edited December 26, 2014 by Murfy1

[Young Polak]

was funny but sympathetic at the same time to see a dad and his 4 year old son sneek into right in the heart of the bay at half time sitting down eating a packet of chips like a generic, general admission type of fan, and right into the second half mooy scored and the bay went crazy. the dad quietly walked out seeing his son was distraught from all the noise

[Thrillhouse]

Dominated the game yet could of lost because our defence couldn't react quickly enough, kisnorbo marked horribly

loudest home end has been this season (quietest away bay has been)

willo is still shit, mooy is still our best and worthy of a starting spot in the aussie squad, melling is an animal, ramsey is shocking

[HeartinHobart]

There was barely a time that Perth look dangerous down their left flank today. Wielaert also got forward a few times provided a couple of crosses and a great cutback in the first half to Melling that led to a shot. He seemed to tire in the second half but for a bloke playing out of position. I thought he was quite good.

Paartalu just continues to get better. How you fit Koren into our starting XI atm I'm not sure. The obvious spot is Melling's but this bloke puts in potentially more than any City/Heart player ever has and his quality.

Chapman and Tando great again. Unfortunately though Kisnorbo went from our best last week to this week being our worst.

[belaguttman]

Big day.

Drove down from NE Vic to escape my wife's family Xmas visit, I was so grateful for the excuse of traveling to the game that I would have left the ground with a smile on my face even after a 0-6 loss.

 

Positives:

We weren't intimidated by Perth's physicality

We kept our shape, we didn't drop our heads after conceding

Melling, Mooy and particularly Chapman.

 

Negatives:

We really need to learn good first touch, it slows us down when attacking and we often lose possession

Robbie, its time to retire.

Ramsay - tried hard but really, he'd be a good footballer with some skill, technique and a football brain.

James Brown - why is he in the team?

Vukovic - kept Perth in the game

 

Overall I can live with a draw but we really need to fix the full back problem.

[HeartLand]

Thought the lads played great today. Chapman is getting better, Melling puts in a shift. Mooy is an absolute gun. Nothing Tando could really do with the goal in my opinion, just poor marking. Happy enough with the result, sadly we didn't get the 3 points but old saying "I hate losing more than I like winning" comes to mind and playing against the top team, it was a good enough result.

 

Thought the active area was good today, but we just do the same 4 or so chants over and over again. Surely we could mix it up, maybe do some player chants (besides the tando chants.) 

[Ray]

Velaphi was decent today, didn't do much wrong. The goal was from Kisnorno leaving Garicia completely unmarked.

No! The boys were playing zonal defence and it was Melling who did not fill the gap he should have. He does not yet have the experience (nor should he) to realise what to do.

[GreenSeater]

Velaphi was decent today, didn't do much wrong. The goal was from Kisnorno leaving Garicia completely unmarked.

No! The boys were playing zonal defence and it was Melling who did not fill the gap he should have. He does not yet have the experience (nor should he) to realise what to do.

Yep this is correct. Caught the game from home so watching the replay it is Melling simply being caught ball watching by an experienced attacker in Garcia. He'll learn from it hopefully. Thought all in all we played pretty well. Was good to see Williams get an assist, thought Robbie W held his own at RB as well. How Mooy is not a starting Socceroo every match is beyond me. The kid is a freak.

[M13]

A lot more promising this...

[AaronAV11]

Mooy, melling paartalu dominate. Williams, Ramsay, dugandzic poor. Story of the season

[Tony999]

Thought the lads played great today. Chapman is getting better, Melling puts in a shift. Mooy is an absolute gun. Nothing Tando could really do with the goal in my opinion, just poor marking. Happy enough with the result, sadly we didn't get the 3 points but old saying "I hate losing more than I like winning" comes to mind and playing against the top team, it was a good enough result.

Thought the active area was good today, but we just do the same 4 or so chants over and over again. Surely we could mix it up, maybe do some player chants (besides the tando chants.)

Have you noticed the chants with swearing in get the least amount of contribution? Those chants really need to go and to be frank they are quite embarrassing. Just reminds of little teenagers trying to act tough.

[gunheart]

Ramsay poor, Wielaert average and looked too slow. Where was Mauk? Liam Miller should retire. Willow didn't do much at all, he looked like a pig on the spit when close enough to Thwaite n Djulbic.

[NewConvert]

After last nights game I am wondering about Dugandzic. he still has some great runs down the flank and he can cross OK most of the time, and occasionally he even scores (not often enough for my liking). But what I have noticed this season is how easily he is pushed off the ball. The bloke has no strength at all. So if someone matches him for pace he is totally ineffective. Duff is bigger and does better but even he was monstered off the ball by the PG defence. So do light frame players have a future in the A-League?

[HEARTinator]

After last nights game I am wondering about Dugandzic. he still has some great runs down the flank and he can cross OK most of the time, and occasionally he even scores (not often enough for my liking). But what I have noticed this season is how easily he is pushed off the ball. The bloke has no strength at all. So if someone matches him for pace he is totally ineffective. Duff is bigger and does better but even he was monstered off the ball by the PG defence. So do light frame players have a future in the A-League?

Do light framed guys have a future in the A-league? Of course. Some of the best footballers ever to play the game were of small stature and around 70 odd kilos - Messi and Maradona. Look at Danny De Silva for Glory - sold to AS Roma. He's 1.7 m tall and thin as a rake but excellent feet and vision.

If you're of the smaller size you must compensate by being sharper, have great balance and touch on the ball and be smarter with possession. If you don't have the strength then you have to work your way into beating your opponent with tricky feet to extract a free or to evade a challenge by rapidly changing direction and/or speed.

Edited December 26, 2014 by HEARTinator

[Jovan]

Just a request. Lacking any I.T skills I was hoping someone could post the start of yesterday's game. My little bloke walked out with the teams and I didn't get any good pics.

Much appreciated.

[Kiro Kompiro]

^^^heartinator. Those players have low centre of gravity: short tree-trunk legs which makes them hard to jockey off the ball.  Da Suilva is still yet to bulk up.

 

Plus in this league I see about a dozen yellows every game that are let go, sometimes not even free-kicked, so players` like Mate with spindly legs in the A-League will always be out-muscled

[jw1739]

Mooy, melling paartalu dominate. Williams, Ramsay, dugandzic poor. Story of the season

In fact we're being carried by just a few players - Velaphi, Chapman, Paartalu, Mooy, Melling, and possibly Garuccio.

[HeartLand]

 

Thought the lads played great today. Chapman is getting better, Melling puts in a shift. Mooy is an absolute gun. Nothing Tando could really do with the goal in my opinion, just poor marking. Happy enough with the result, sadly we didn't get the 3 points but old saying "I hate losing more than I like winning" comes to mind and playing against the top team, it was a good enough result.

Thought the active area was good today, but we just do the same 4 or so chants over and over again. Surely we could mix it up, maybe do some player chants (besides the tando chants.)

Have you noticed the chants with swearing in get the least amount of contribution? Those chants really need to go and to be frank they are quite embarrassing. Just reminds of little teenagers trying to act tough.

 

Yeah, there are families around with young kids. It doesn't help that the Capo or whatever the guy with the megaphone is called is going off his head swearing at the active area. He doesn't seem to be motivating anyone. He sounds like the drunk uncle that just screams at the kids from the sidelines at an under 9s game. At the derby we chanted more anti victory chants like archie hits his wife and muscat touches kids than we did positive melbourne city ones, it was like we'd rather slander the other team an support our own.

[mus-28]

Just a request. Lacking any I.T skills I was hoping someone could post the start of yesterday's game. My little bloke walked out with the teams and I didn't get any good pics.

Much appreciated.

 

Goal Weekly always take photos from the game, you could contact them and see if you are able to purchase some.

These are off thier Facebook page (

 

Or try FourFourTwo

[hyperfuzz]

 

 

Thought the lads played great today. Chapman is getting better, Melling puts in a shift. Mooy is an absolute gun. Nothing Tando could really do with the goal in my opinion, just poor marking. Happy enough with the result, sadly we didn't get the 3 points but old saying "I hate losing more than I like winning" comes to mind and playing against the top team, it was a good enough result.

Thought the active area was good today, but we just do the same 4 or so chants over and over again. Surely we could mix it up, maybe do some player chants (besides the tando chants.)

Have you noticed the chants with swearing in get the least amount of contribution? Those chants really need to go and to be frank they are quite embarrassing. Just reminds of little teenagers trying to act tough.

 

Yeah, there are families around with young kids. It doesn't help that the Capo or whatever the guy with the megaphone is called is going off his head swearing at the active area. He doesn't seem to be motivating anyone. He sounds like the drunk uncle that just screams at the kids from the sidelines at an under 9s game. At the derby we chanted more anti victory chants like archie hits his wife and muscat touches kids than we did positive melbourne city ones, it was like we'd rather slander the other team an support our own.

 

 

also, you don't need to constantly yell into a megaphone. it's a megaphone.

 

i think active have been pretty good lately though. 

[Jestr]

Active has been reaching new heights and this is reflective of our performance on the field.

Well done to all involved.

Not sure if I'm correct but our megaphone sounds really scratchy and muffled. It doesn't project sound in the way a fully functional one should.

I'm in bay 18 and it's often hard to work out what's is being said from it.

[agoalie]

Active has been reaching new heights and this is reflective of our performance on the field.

Well done to all involved.

Not sure if I'm correct but our megaphone sounds really scratchy and muffled. It doesn't project sound in the way a fully functional one should.

I'm in bay 18 and it's often hard to work out what's is being said from it.

The mega is fucked, we need to buy a new one but the terrace is a bit poor.

[Chez]

1-1 was a pretty fair result. 

 

How Mooy isn't in that pathetic excuse for a national squad is beyond me. 

 

Koren showed us more this week, can't wait until he's fully fit after the break.

 

Forward third still a worry but Kennedy will hopefully provide a solid target.

 

All i ask is that I see the boys putting in a real effort every week. We're starting to get that consistency on effort.

 

Just a note on Capo, I have great respect for what he does and think he is perfect for what yo at as capo as far as passion goes. I know today his heart was in the right place but today at times he went over the top to the point where it detracted from our atmosphere. I sit in the bay next to the main active one and I stand up for 90 mins and do my best to encourage the people in my bay to get involved in the chants. The people in the bay are pretty casual and so when they see the main guy swearing off his head instead of actually chanting they see it as being pretty cringe worthy and eventually just can't be bothered with it. It also doesn't help that we can't really hear the mega phone clearly word for word in our bay. I think it would help if he kept his directions short and to the point.

 

On a positive, I thought it was really good when capo walked up the aisle into GA. I think he could do that more and if done in a positive way, it would really be an encouraging way to get GA involved. I don't think they need to stand up for 90 minutes, but just clapping in time and singing along would add to our voice. The noise for the last 15 minutes was awesome and it's because when we include GA, it makes us that much better.         

Edited December 27, 2014 by Chez

[Tony999]

Capo always does a great job and l agree walking up to GA actually got them involved. I was up in GA and old poeple were chipping into the chants but the swearing was such a turn off. And those anti chants are useless. We support MCFC so we need to chant for MCFC.

[hyperfuzz]

 

Active has been reaching new heights and this is reflective of our performance on the field.

Well done to all involved.

Not sure if I'm correct but our megaphone sounds really scratchy and muffled. It doesn't project sound in the way a fully functional one should.

I'm in bay 18 and it's often hard to work out what's is being said from it.

The mega is fucked, we need to buy a new one but the terrace is a bit poor.

 

 

surely could have made a $4800 derby tifo and put a few bucks towards that instead

[KSK_47]

 

All i ask is that I see the boys putting in a real effort every week. We're starting to get that consistency on effort.

 

   

 

This for me has been the biggest change over the last two games and has shown on the scoreboard. You can see the players are really looking hungry, pressuring and looking to go forwards. Since day one we have been pleading with the players to show some fire and thats why. 

 

TBH I think the game against the Jets is going to be a bigger test than a lot of people think. As long as we can keep our intensity and not slip back into old habits we should do well

[mjake1234]

Active has been reaching new heights and this is reflective of our performance on the field.

Well done to all involved.

Not sure if I'm correct but our megaphone sounds really scratchy and muffled. It doesn't project sound in the way a fully functional one should.

I'm in bay 18 and it's often hard to work out what's is being said from it.

The mega is fucked, we need to buy a new one but the terrace is a bit poor. If nobody has got one to give how about a collection? I am happy to help out.

[Dylan]

 

 

All i ask is that I see the boys putting in a real effort every week. We're starting to get that consistency on effort.

 

   

 

This for me has been the biggest change over the last two games and has shown on the scoreboard. You can see the players are really looking hungry, pressuring and looking to go forwards. Since day one we have been pleading with the players to show some fire and thats why. 

 

TBH I think the game against the Jets is going to be a bigger test than a lot of people think. As long as we can keep our intensity and not slip back into old habits we should do well

 

 

 

Agree with this. We always seem to play well against teams at the top but as soon as its a team around us on the table the effort goes. Add CCM on jan 4 to that list

[hedaik]

Active has been reaching new heights and this is reflective of our performance on the field.

Well done to all involved.

Not sure if I'm correct but our megaphone sounds really scratchy and muffled. It doesn't project sound in the way a fully functional one should.

I'm in bay 18 and it's often hard to work out what's is being said from it.

The mega is fucked, we need to buy a new one but the terrace is a bit poor.

surely could have made a $4800 derby tifo and put a few bucks towards that instead

I'm sure the Melburnians core would love to hear your suggestions on how they could have saved money on the tifo.

[KSK_47]

Just a request. Lacking any I.T skills I was hoping someone could post the start of yesterday's game. My little bloke walked out with the teams and I didn't get any good pics.

Much appreciated.

 

Hey mate. Send Romel from Live Pixel an email

 

live.pixel@hotmail.com