Season 23/24 - Round 9 - Melbourne City v Visitors Saturday 23rd of December 7:45pm

[malloy]

7 minutes ago, playmaker said:

Good result given the circumstances.

Vidmar changed it up which is refreshing and good to see the mids cutting off the passing lanes which was something lacking prior to this game. It was the best defensive structure all season.

We are still playing too wide and we struggle to put the ball at Jamie's feet.

With a squad that is obviously lacking in key areas, we did enough to negate their counters, smother the game and provide some real opportunities to score.

Good game.

 

 

 

 

Cant put it to his feet if he doesn't come to collect the ball or present to receive it. He is a second striker n plays like one, which frustratingly is not how we set up to play.

[Mr MO]

14 minutes ago, fensaddler said:

Watching it in real time I thought Maclaren had been fouled first. Looked more like six of one and half a dozen... But is what it is. Think we did OK. Arslan and Sakhi both firing in midfield was useful.

Yeah I’m out of the country and had the luxury of the replays. 

[Mr MO]

3 minutes ago, malloy said:

Cant put it to his feet if he doesn't come to collect the ball or present to receive it. He is a second striker n plays like one, which frustratingly is not how we set up to play.

Yes it’s been an issue (not only because he’s unfit) which many fail to acknowledge for a variety of reasons. In other seasons we usually counter this with quality at other positions but not this season so it hurts more as he just vanishes. Add to that the close control isn’t there either when the ball does come.

[fensaddler]

Adam Peacock's view:

https://twitter.com/adampeacock3/status/1738516467606487121?t=0JvS3bqthP-g70RgjyfldA&s=19

Edited December 24, 2023 by fensaddler

[playmaker]

15 minutes ago, malloy said:

Cant put it to his feet if he doesn't come to collect the ball or present to receive it. He is a second striker n plays like one, which frustratingly is not how we set up to play.

I think the issue is the quality of the wingers. With Leckie, Tulio, and Nabbout he seemed to have more space and thrive.

[Nate]

sweet jesus that was the most legitimate goal that just shouldn't have been disallowed

I've watched the replay a dozen times now and the contact from Maclaren is negligible by regular standard, let alone in a derby with the precedent of Faghani's leniency all god damn game

[neio]

You damn near needed to get decapitated in the 1st half to get a foul, both sides had fouls that were waved away. And then he gives that, inconsistent shit refereeing from a bloke who wants to make the game about himself

[MHFC-FAN]

1 hour ago, belaguttman said:

Natel is extremely frustrating to watch; he always does something skilful, followed by something a pub team player would do; how did this guy play in the top league in Brazil?

Guess that's why he's now playing in the A-League...

[moops]

1 hour ago, playmaker said:

Good result given the circumstances.

Vidmar changed it up which is refreshing and good to see the mids cutting off the passing lanes which was something lacking prior to this game. It was the best defensive structure all season.

We are still playing too wide and we struggle to put the ball at Jamie's feet.

With a squad that is obviously lacking in key areas, we did enough to negate their counters, smother the game and provide some real opportunities to score.

Good game.

 

 

 

 

Summs it up nicely.

[Torn Asunder]

Was at the game and had a clear view of the disallowed goal. 100% not a foul, there was a heap of strength over the ball type contests in that box scramble and Jmac was simply stronger than Broxham, who is a whiny little bitch that flung his arms out and weakly fell over, crying real tears as well.

Goal should have stood and Broxham should have been carded for extreme weakness

[moops]

1 minute ago, Torn Asunder said:

Was at the game and had a clear view of the disallowed goal. 100% not a foul, there was a heap of strength over the ball type contests in that box scramble and Jmac was simply stronger than Broxham, who is a whiny little bitch that flung his arms out and weakly fell over, crying real tears as well.

Goal should have stood and Broxham should have been carded for extreme weakness

Yeah I think it should have stood, Broxham was going down early.

[CityWildcat]

Just got home from the game.

Yes, very harsh to have that goal disallowed. 

Given relative form so far this season, I feared a drubbing, but thought we battled really hard throughout and had the better of them overall.

Very solid defence tonight - our CBs were great.  But sadly their defence was also pretty staunch.

We were just poor at the point of final ball.

It was a match notable for a total absence of quality finishing by either team.

On the plus side, excellent sized crowd, big atmosphere in our Active (version 4.0 or whatever it is now seem to have their shit together at last....) and a good display pre kickoff, well done lads ....  their revived North Terrace was weirdly quiet.  But at least there was no BS anywhere.  Good to see a lot of families and young kids back at the derby too.  Pretty good showcase all round.

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by CityWildcat

[Mr MO]

3 hours ago, Torn Asunder said:

Was at the game and had a clear view of the disallowed goal. 100% not a foul, there was a heap of strength over the ball type contests in that box scramble and Jmac was simply stronger than Broxham, who is a whiny little bitch that flung his arms out and weakly fell over, crying real tears as well.

Goal should have stood and Broxham should have been carded for extreme weakness

Right hand on shoulder and left hand shirt pull was never going to stand. I think the VAR would have pulled it back too. 

I want to win too.

Edited December 23, 2023 by Mr MO

[moops]

 

[neio]

Really felt like a game of two sides who were worried what the other could do on the counter and if given space, so there was a lack of pressure on the ball and both teams were defensively disciplined. 

The back 4 were as solid as we have seen them and Young came up with the 2 big saves when it was needed. 

The attack still needs work. Jakolis is frustrating and Natel flat out sucks. We need to find a different answer to our front 3 until Leckie is back again I think 

[citypool]

Really tight game enjoyed that 

[kiko]

This was a terrific contest, fantastic atmosphere, with two teams driven to deliver and not concede, it made for wonderful theatre and the game as it was played was far better than it was projected on television, which for some reason had the audio muted down so poorly as if to convey otherwise. Top top effort by the team, we are tough mentally and we don't mind playing in close and don't look likely to turn it over, it's that City pedigree continuing which gives the team and supporters considerable confidence. I think this is an interesting team we have this year, flawed but with some amazing qualities, a little short in squad depth but our top end is okay, we have to stick with them I don't think there will be too many games where they will let us down, just enjoy it and get to a game when you can.

[Torn Asunder]

11 hours ago, Mr MO said:

Right hand on shoulder and left hand shirt pull was never going to stand. I think the VAR would have pulled it back too. 

I want to win too.

Freeze frame means shit all. Ya get a million of these little  contests in the box every corner ... Broxham (who is an incredibly weak person) had already lost the ball at this point due to his lack of strength and testicular fortitude, and if anything JMac is actually trying to help him from falling given his brittle nature. Ball is well and truly gone from  him at this stage as he was out of the contest ... 

 

I was at the game ... and everyone was bemused that it was a free kick ... EVERYONE ... even the ref

 

[belaguttman]

16 minutes ago, Torn Asunder said:

Freeze frame means shit all.

...until VAR gets involved.

[fensaddler]

Stefan Mauk thinks it was a crap decision too...

 

[belaguttman]

The ref had a good game up until that point. Someone like Chris Beath would have pedantically referreed the game to a halt, with a couple of red cards to each side; instead, the game flowed.

Edited December 26, 2023 by belaguttman

[D.B. Cooper]

Look forgetting about the ref for a sec I reckon it was a decent performance. Not much in the game, but I thought we edged it and if the goal had stood tards would have had no real complaints.

As I see it we are improving. .Its worth noting we haven’t lost in the league for quite a while now. 

[MHFC-FAN]

5 hours ago, D.B. Cooper said:

Look forgetting about the ref for a sec I reckon it was a decent performance. Not much in the game, but I thought we edged it and if the goal had stood tards would have had no real complaints.

As I see it we are improving. .Its worth noting we haven’t lost in the league for quite a while now. 

Yes currently on a short but sweet 4 game unbeaten run... we've picked up 8 points in these games compared to just 4 points from our opening four rounds of the season. 

[fensaddler]

On 24/12/2023 at 5:59 PM, D.B. Cooper said:

As I see it we are improving. .Its worth noting we haven’t lost in the league for quite a while now. 

Agreed. We're showing signs of playing better football. We're actually not that far off starting to look good. We're not the team we were last season, we've got some weak links, players who don't perform or who perform in patches, some older players slowing down or becoming injury prone, but I'm trusting the manager and the process. There's a new generation coming through and we are rebuilding. Patience is a virtue.

On 24/12/2023 at 5:09 PM, belaguttman said:

The ref had a good game up until that point. Someone like Chris Beath would have pedantically referred the game to a halt, with a couple of red cards to each side; instead, the game flowed.

He did, and in general he's a ref I rate and like. He's far better then Beath, that's for sure...