A couple of days behind the news perhaps, but having waited a few days, it’s fascinating to behold the fallout from the match. It was always going to be hotly contested whether Corica deserved to go off. Culina has only barely restrained his annoyance, but let out just enough to make sure everyone knew he wasn’t happy; “Please don’t ask me questions about the referee; I can’t afford to pay the fine“. Meanwhile Sydney media has been keen to exploit the controversy. Sydney Morning Herald ran a rather blinkered opinion piece (not filed under opinion, but let’s face it - it was opinion) making claims that Steve Corica was “one of the fairest players in the country”. Puhleeeease…. come back to earth! Corica may well be a fair player, but as Mike Salter from The Football Tragic rightly points out, Corica had already been sent off twice in A-league history - how many other players can you think of that have had 3 red cards in the history of this competition?
Culina said he felt most sorry for the fans. Well Branko, don’t blame that on the referee. Corica made a rash challenge that was undeniably high and quite arguably studs-up and dangerous. Hold him accountable if anyone. But really, was the entertainment value compromised? Sure, it’s never nice losing a match - that always hurts. But, as many Melbourne fans will be able to relate, being down a man is not a sure recipe for a bad night’s entertainment. In particular, one fateful match against the Mariners last year saw Melbourne go down to 10 men while facing a 2-3 deficit. That night turned out to be one of the most entertaining of the year and fans got great value for money. Rather than wallow in self-pity, Melbourne fought hard and eventually recovered beautifully in the dying moments of the match. If anything, matches like that breed fan-loyalty and a sense that the team will work hard regardless of the challenges it faces.
This is not to say that I don’t feel that Saturday’s match would have been more enjoyable without red cards. It would have. I would have much rather see Melbourne beat Sydney with an even number of players. But the match was certainly not boring and at least 1000 of those 18,000 fans had a fantastic night 
I’m sure that, even if Sydney fans don’t bother turning up, Melbourne fans will happily flock to watch Sydney play Melbourne next time.
As for Melbourne’s performance, it is hard to really draw conclusions from Saturday. It is a disappointment to see Piorkowski suffer on the injury list. At least we have such undeniable talent as Ryall waiting in the wings and let’s not forget Milicevic, who is due to make his return any week now. Our defence has been our strongest point this season and even without Piorkowski, we are very well resourced in that department.
In midfield, Muscat had, in my opinion, his best match of the season. With Muscat finding form, we look a much stronger prospect. What was still missing to some extent was the control over the midfield that we had last season. Players like Brebner are just not hitting their strides yet and we need them to.
The striking trio on the other hand look to be growing in strength. Love is staking a solid claim as a crowd favourite and starter. Allsopp is regaining form and Archie? Well, he’s Archie and he’s always dangerous!
The one player that to me is the greatest enigma though, is Caceres. Once again, he came on to rescue the show last night with his timely cross. And yet, something about him clearly does not impress Merrick. Perhaps Merrick has decided that he serves the team best as an impact substitute, using his extra pace to tear apart already tired opponents. Or perhaps Merrick sees other weaknesses that blinkered supporters like us are missing. Will Caceres ever truly get Merrick’s favour? Who knows.
In any case, Caceres has played no small part in helping Melbourne stay in a commanding position in this competition. How strange it is that after what seemed like some awful football over the past 7 weeks, we still have managed to claim 2nd spot and are within a match of taking first spot if things go our way.
Let’s hope that Melbourne can build on this somewhat fortunate momentum and use it to find the form we need to take it all the way.
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4 responses so far ↓
1 Eric // Oct 8, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Caceres… It’s bizarre isn’t it. Melbourne’s goals in its last three rounds have all come while he’s on the field. Interesting, no?
Culina, for me, is the new John Kosmina: that opposition coach that just really gets under your skin and annoys the crap out of you. Are coaches paid to be irritating?
2 Josh // Oct 9, 2007 at 9:24 am
I’m surprised you haven’t presented your opinion on our attacking-midfield “problem”. Merrick has tried Carceres, Broxham and of course Hernandez in the hole and none of them have yet proven themselves.
I really do think Hernandez has been surprised by the pace and tenacity of our league. I am supremely confident that he will get on top of his game before the end of the season - I’m thinking that he will be instrumental in our play-off and Asian Champions League hopes.
The one choice of Ernie’s that has my jaw dropping is Kaz Patafta. This kid is supposed to be the next Tim Cahill and we’re hardly giving him a chance. I realise he is undersized and young, but some experience in the tough, gritty A-League will boost his confidence and round out his skill set. We have to realise that the A-League, for the time being, should be our #1 pathway to improving the Socceroos (and Olyroos). Patafta’s lack of game time has lost him a spot in the Olyroos - a tragedy for someone who comes as hyped as he.
Broxham for me is a great utility player. In a couple of years, he’ll be solid all around the ground - even in attack he’s asked the opposition questions! I think he plays better out wide though and I’d like to see Ernie use him either as an overlapping fullback or a wing-back in a 3-5-2 formation.
Just my two cents
3 Peter // Oct 9, 2007 at 11:18 am
Hmm, yeah, I kind of left out further comments regarding the midfield in this post. It’s kind of been the them of the previous reports, so I didn’t focus on it so much here
I have to say, I’m not convinced Patafta is the solution. We got to see quite a lot of him during the pre-season and he failed to really impress. He does need game time, I agree, but that is a flaw in the A-league system really, where we are stuck without a reserves league. It’s a catch-22 of sorts. He needs game time to develop form, but we need players on the pitch who already have form.
With other players out of it, he does stand a chance of maybe getting some more game time. He needs to grab that opportunity with both hands - like Leandro Love did.
I actually feel that Caceres has impressed most , not in the “hole”, but on the wings where we have really benefited from the width. Perhaps his presence there has also taken some pressure off the centre of the park, where things seem far too condensed to me.
Going forward, I totally still believe that Hernandez will come good. I also think Broxham will continue to develop throughout the year (providing injuries don’t become a problem). Milicevic could provide further bolstering of the midfield.
We’ve managed to get through a pretty difficult 7 weeks and somehow still be towards the top of the table. If Melbourne can actually find some form, which I’m sure will eventually happen, we are still in with a great chance!!
4 Tom // Oct 9, 2007 at 11:19 am
Totally agree that Culina should be more concerned about the irresponsible violence of one of his most experienced players than supposedly poor refereeing. During the week, Juninho had called for more protection from tough tackles, and Fyfe had said he expected a physical game, so Sydney had no right to be surprised when a lot of cards got thrown around.
Muscat was definitely man of the match. Won possession and used the ball well, and closed down the space for Juninho.
Its probably time to give Caceres a start, just to see what happens. He’s working beautifully as an impact player, though.
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