Yesterday was a disaster on so many fronts and some may argue it is emblematic of where we are at as a club.
We struggled to defeat a team that had seen 17 players walk out and had put together a ramshackle of 11 blokes who only probably learned each other's names over the last 24-48 hours. It was one of the worst matches we had played this year. Pretty much everything went against us. We struggled to score, we had shocking refereeing, and an opposition intent on kicking the crap out of us. Even Lopez's injury right at the end was proof that when it rains it pours. Lets hope the injury is not too serious, but I fear it is over for him for the remainder of the NPL season.
The gulf in quality was enormous between both sides. We just need to be more accurate in front of goals, because we did everything apart from actually shooting properly. Our midfield set up was just mind boggling insane. Unless Menelaou is injured, he should have started alongside Pasquali. Our midfield set up is totally wrong.
The positives were Cocks and Yoo trying their best to get this club over the line. There were some good touches by Yoo in the second half. He looks to be linking up well with Uchida. We just need to see more of this.
As for our next match against Dandenong City, it is nothing short of 3 points required. It was good to see Ramazani get on the field and get some minutes. Retre must not have sufficient match fitness, so hopefully we see him for a bit on Friday. Juach will need to put in a 1-2 training sessions to try and get a feel of how we play. We may see him for a bit as well in the second half.
As for the scenes at the end of the match, it was inevitable. I called it weeks ago that something could happen and it did. It just makes us look like a circus. It makes us look so unprofessional. How do you attract sponsors and better players with these kinds of scenes. The best for everyone involved would be for him to try his luck elsewhere where he can play regular starting football.