An ACL campaign which started with so much promise for Brisbane Roar ended with a second defeat to an unheralded Japanese side.
But having labelled the trip to Tokyo a “learning experience”, new Roar coach Rado Vidosic will have picked up plenty of tips from his team’s 4-2 defeat to FC Tokyo at a rain-swept National Stadium on Wednesday.
For one thing, ACL participants tend to be much tougher to beat on their own turf than they are on their travels.
Ironically, before the latest round of matches the Roar were the only Group F team to have lost at home after losing to both FC Tokyo and Ulsan Hyundai in Brisbane.
And once again it was a pair of home-grown Japanese talents who lead the way for the Gasmen at Kokuritsu.
Hideto Takahashi and Kenta Mukuhara both progressed from the youth team at FC Tokyo, both are nominally defenders and both proved they could finish inside 20 minutes.
These are traits we need to develop in Australia.
But on the whole Matchday 5 was a positive experience for A-League sides.
Central Coast Mariners proved that with their minds on the job they can get positive results in Asia.
There’s always much hand-wringing about the style of football employed by A-League sides but the Mariners proved that a direct approach can unsettle travelling Asian opponents.
And Daniel McBreen’s early rampage made any potential gamesmanship from Tianjin a moot point.
I see the word “dive” come up a lot every time an Australian team plays against an Asian side, so I might as well use it myself and offer some free advice in the process.
Don’t dive in. It’s a simple as that.
I couldn’t count the number of times I’ve seen an ACL opponent collect a pass, wait a split second then tumble to the ground as one of our A-League representatives clatters into them from behind.
And then our A-League representative – let’s for argument’s sake call him John Hutchinson – looks down at the player, then at the referee and mouths off about diving.
Why is this necessary? We could eliminate much of the gamesmanship if our A-League players simply refrained from charging into opponents like a runaway freight train every time they touched the ball.
It’s particularly annoying when it happens nowhere near a dangerous part of the pitch.
That’s not to condone diving or gamesmanship, it’s simply recognition that a lot of Asian sides play smarter than A-League teams.
At any rate, that’s to divert off on a tangent because I was pleased to see the Mariners bounce back from their recent thrashing at the hands of a rampant Seongnam.
And I was also pleased to see Adelaide United hold Bunyodkor to a scoreless draw and qualify once again for the knock-out stage.
The Uzbeks have flattered to deceive in the ACL and never really looked to have Adelaide’s measure.
And while they’re not scoring many goals, is it purely a coincidence that Adelaide’s best results have come with assistant trainer Luciano Trani and not head coach John Kosmina at the helm? Food for thought.
At any rate, Matchday 5 may have yielded a mixed bag of results for Australian teams in the ACL but it should also have proved a positive experience overall.
Playing in Asia is a “learning experience” for all of us and on the basis of this week’s results, it seems we’re heading in the right direction.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
They played well, Totti. Mike is one of the few journo's who can explain why.
Clayts
Guest
Agree with this. Tokyo are a pretty decent side from what I have seen. Would have beaten any of the A-League teams. For the Roar to put 2 past them I thought was a decent effort.
j binnie
Guest
phutbol - John answered your question last night on TWG. In case you missed it, he said he had had a look at what had happened in the past and decided to change his tactics to meet an unknown quality of opposition. Sound familiar???. As I said, give the man credit where it is due. Roar?????. They chose a different path altogether. Using the game plan / tactics they had used in an all conquering 2 seasons in the HAL they decided to test that system against Asian opposition for the first time.Was it successful or did it fail???? A good question,but what IMO it did show up was a lack of certain elements in their tactical plan that could prevent them using this plan against top Asian opposition.Everyone who knows anything about football knows of the Roar's susceptibility to breaks through the middle by fast moving forwards, Archie Thompson showed that up way back in mid season,and yet Ange apparently chose to ignore that flaw for the overall progress of his system. I think Rado tried to close that gap against Tokyo in the second game but his choice of two defensive midfielders,neither of whom are blessed with high rates of ball winning capability or for that matter high rates of recovery pace meant that the changes,while well meant,did nothing to solve the problem. As he has said, they tried something, and although he was not altogether pleased with the outcome, he did learn something. The next game should see improvement if the lessons have been learned. jb
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Hey, you were the guys that said you were going to make a statement in the ACL---Oh yeah first out..!
totti
Guest
another typical japanese propaganda piece by tuckerman.
phutbol
Guest
JB, If AU's tactics are working so well against ACL opposition, why didnt JK employ them against the 'inferior' A-Legue oppostion as well? Also, it cant be proven obviously but I do think Roar would have caned Bunyodkor and Pohang. they didnt appear to be anywhere near the quality of FC Tokyo and to a lesser extent Ulsan.
totti
Guest
i thought brisbane played well. just made a couple of porr defensive errors.
Ian
Guest
i didn't read into the bear's comment that he was laying into ange.........i find it amusing that there are all these quotes of every brisbane fan said they were going to conquer asia. i think a lot of non-roar supporters said it along with some roar fans and considering the roar had that winning streak they were looking forward to what could happen in the ACL. i'd say their game plan leaves a hole in the defence which asian clubs can exploit more than a-league clubs simply because asian teams are better. and i'll add tokyo is probably one of the best teams in the ACL. i'm interested to see where they finish.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
If you look at the stats for the ACL, you have to admit that Adelaide have the capacity to learn. There are only so many times you can get lucky. Adelaide United - 31 Games 15 Wins 6 Losses 10 Draws Melbourne Victory - 18 Games 4 Wins 5 Losses 9 Draws Sydney FC - 12 Games 3 Wins 5 Losses 4 Draws Newcastle Jets - 7 Games 3 Wins 1 Losses 3 Draws Central Coast Mariners - 11 Games 1 Wins 5 Losses 5 Draws Brisbane Roar - 5 Games 0 Wins 3 Losses 2 Draws
JohnL
Guest
Qantas, when was the last time the Roar played a team of the same quality as FC Tokyo, away from home?
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
JohnL when was the last time the Roar let in 4 goals??? There is your answer..
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Adelaide change their game for Asia, and it works. There is also a lot of backroom work done to mitigate the effect of travel and that results in very important points on the road.
Nelson
Guest
It's amusing to see Brisbane fans laying into Ange now when 12 months ago you were -all- saying he was going to take Asia by storm.
Bondy
Guest
Enjoyable read Mike .
Bondy
Guest
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Bondy
Guest
Bondy
Guest
The Bear
Guest
I think this is where Rado comes into it. Flexibility and the ability to adapt. All I can say that look out for next season. The Roar are about to add a dimension to their game that will keep the nay-sayers stewing in their envy, and the fair minded neutrals striving for equality. Thebenchmark is the next ACL to see if we can really cut it on that stage. Ange was never going to, that was pretty evident (unless he tinkered with the salary cap and imported Xavi).
JohnL
Guest
They way i see it, you are not a football supporter at all. Otherwise you would be supporting the code. When was the last thing you wrote that was constructive? By the way, I watched the game on Wednesday night and I have no idea where you come to the conclusion that the team is falling apart (10 days after they won the GF). They experimented with a different formation, and also played the game at a faster pace than they have been all season here in the A-League. Explain to me how that is a team falling apart? Obviously Rado knows how he wants his team to play next season. And I am sure, that if the Roar work on improving their intensity and speed so that what we saw on Wednesday night becomes part and parcel of all A-League teams, then we as a country have taken a massive step forward. Yes we conceded 4 goals, but our defence has not been as tight since De Vere left. Am sure Rado has made notes on how to improve this. Only way you find out your limitations is to be taken beyond them. As a supporter, I have thoroughly enjoyed the two games against Tokyo. In my opinion they have been one of the best teams to have played at Suncorp in many a year.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Well JohnL we GCU supporters have been subjected to even worse bitter snipes from you roar supporters for one RealFootball.. I have just stated what I saw on the pitch in your ACL encounter nothing more... Anyways I'm a SFC supporter now if you didn't know...