Jump to content
Melbourne Football

Matchday 2: v Adelaide United - Sun 20th October 4:00pm at Aami Park


IssySG
 Share

Recommended Posts

BAH. Right when I felt we were starting to control Adelaide after they came out of the traps racing in the second half. Really need another Macca goal to kill this one off (and give him the hattrick he thoroughly deserves) but Adelaide look fired up all over again now. 

Quick thing by the way: Bouzanis is surely the best Melbourne City keeper I've seen, but I still thought he might move out over the off-season. What are people's thoughts on him? Is everyone confident in him or is he a bit of a risk? Obviously it's been some time since I last saw him play so not sure if moods have changed (or if I just don't remember his performances accurately). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Falastur said:

Quick thing by the way: Bouzanis is surely the best Melbourne City keeper I've seen, 

I can only think of Roganovic that worried me more when the ball was near our box. His over-confidence with the ball at his feet worries me constantly, especially with most teams pressing high up the park and he doesn't have extremely clean hands. His reflex saves are good and his positioning is good, but the rest is pretty average. 

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Falastur said:

BAH. Right when I felt we were starting to control Adelaide after they came out of the traps racing in the second half. Really need another Macca goal to kill this one off (and give him the hattrick he thoroughly deserves) but Adelaide look fired up all over again now. 

Quick thing by the way: Bouzanis is surely the best Melbourne City keeper I've seen, but I still thought he might move out over the off-season. What are people's thoughts on him? Is everyone confident in him or is he a bit of a risk? Obviously it's been some time since I last saw him play so not sure if moods have changed (or if I just don't remember his performances accurately). 

I’m sorry but Bouzanis isn’t my top 2 of keepers we’ve had. Every game there’s a little slip up (he’s had today’s one in the first half). The biggest issue I’ve had with him is the ball watching without making an effort, mainly in the seasons prior to this one.

Happy with the points but Adelaide deserved more in the second half.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just to clarify: I'm only referring to the ones I saw since I started watching in 2014. I believe the other ones I've seen were Galekovic and Redmayne? Time blurs memories so I could be wrong - you guys are the experts - but I'm fairly confident Bouzanis has been the best of those three. 

That said, I still think there are improvements to be made, hence my question. I was genuinely surprised that Mombaerts hadn't replaced him already. 

Edit: 2-1 win, I'll definitely take it. City seemed strong first half but the commentators kept going on about second half comebacks this season and they almost had a point.

Good luck to the team (and you all) for the final on weds. Sadly that'll be taking place while I'm just starting work so no chance of tuning in for that one. 

Edited by Falastur
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good first half, we were clinical in the box, 2 chances, 2 goals. A first up home win is a good start

Positives:

2 good goals from Maclaren

Movement on and off the ball, and use of space much more intelligent than last season

Windbicher good at CB, we are strong in that position.

I though Remy was OK today, I'd keep starting him. He just needs a goal

 

Negatives:

Lost control of the game in the second half, particularly in midfield.

Our 2 Uruguayan imports had no impact

Noone can score against NSL teams, he looks far less likely against HAL teams, who else is going to score?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Strange game. All over them in the first half but poor in the 2nd. In the end we had Dean to thank for getting all 3 points.

Jamie took his first two chances really well and on another day could have had a couple more.

You could tell that our central defending group hadn’t played together before. Looked like they’d met in the sheds before kick off.

Easily our poorest defensive game this season (cup and league). Frankly I’ll be shocked if Good and Brillante don’t come straight back in for the cup final.

Remy gets himself in good spots and creates chances but his finishing let’s himself down. I’m sure they will be working on that behind the scenes.

Luna and Cabrera didn’t do a lot. Cabrera even managed to butcher a 1 on 1 in a manner reminiscent of my good self, so effective that he didn’t even get close to having a shot. It looks like these two are going to take a while to settle in here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a bit surprised Najjarine copping some shit. Thought he offered heaps of width and attacking options first half - something we lacked after he was taken off at half time. 

Very happy with our first half, and their goal (a) felt a bit like a consolation goal, and (b) gave the game a 2-1 score line that really flattered Adelaide's performance. 

Fingers crossed it is a sign of what's to come Wednesday 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That first 30 minutes was exceptional. Had anyone suggested we would have had Metcalfe and Wales with Griffiths holding in midfield and played so well I say they were dreaming but it worked. 

At times Wales took Ramy space but still we looked dangerous. And for those bagging Ramy and saying he is not A League level I suggest they watch the replay and look closer. 

Maclaren for some reason I never thought much of him, but today my opinion of him changed, he is quick, sharp and intelligent, and he works, a perfect number 9.

Adelaide were shit and some of their passes missed by 10 meters, Hopefully they are like that on Wednesday. 

Today we saw the squad of 15 capable players and the possibility of playing different ways.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, AlwaysHeart said:

Not happy with the crowd figure . A good performance though , i was there very much enjoyed the day. 

Yeah it’s going to be hard to get people to come. I think active were great players were great got the win. Maybe free tickets like we did last year but hopefully we win that match!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shahanga called it a strange game and i have to concur, but unlike Jovan I did not feel the opening 25 minutes was great football. I thought Adelaide looked more composed and the opening goal came against the run of play. 

However the moment it occurred we controlled the game right up til when they score, and from then on we were hanging on but with some excellent breakaway chances that we happened to completely muff, so what to make of it all?

Well done active area v3 (or whatever we're up to) you all created a great atmosphere. The crowd was respectable i thought and everyone came away happy with the result which is the main thing.

To answer Falastur: Bouzanis does worry me a bit, a big clanger last week and another one today, plus a series of saved shots that were not taken in one grab when they should have been. You have to take the good with the bad with DK as he had some great reflex saves and his ability to find a man from goal clearances is second to none.

Cabrerras had another one on one muffed chance, same as last week, gets run down from behind. His short area game is very quick and he fights for the ball really well, he just happens to be the wrong guy to latch onto any through ball which is outside the 18 yard box.

The substitutions were all spot on: Lachie Wales and Ramy Najjarine were both a bit turnover prone and we needed an injection of something else. Looks like we saved Josh for the FFA cup final which was also a smart move.

Craig Noone, too one-sided today and not as useful tracking back, much more dynamic in space and on the burst, and i think that's his game. His jarred knee came about from using the outside of his left foot when he could so easily have used his right.

Connor Metcalfe best of our young players today, still developing, could be anything. Rostyn Griffiths the ball fell his way and he was rock solid when it did.

The all new back three formation met in the sheds before kickoff (just as Shahanga said lol) and I think that's a reason why we struggled early.  Hated the goal we conceded. I don't think we got even a snippet on the ball, no clearance whatsoever. Paddy Kisnorbo should be fuming over that one. Let's clean it up!

The big takeaway from me from today is the smart play of the number 9 and some breakaway chances that were muffed. Adelaide to their credit made a game of it late but we got the win, that's all that matters, Wednesday night will tell us  ore about what kind of squad we have this year.

A mixed bag of a day that was saved by two expertly taken chances by Jamie Maclaren.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...