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The Socceroos might have been a disaster, but all is not lost in the world of Australian football if the weekend’s round of A-League action is anything to go by.
That a largely conservative 65-year-old with a relatively ho-hum managerial record should have been shown the door some eight months out from a World Cup shouldn’t really come as a surprise.
Holger Osieck simply carried on where predecessor Pim Verbeek left off, and one might reasonably ask why Football Federation Australia signed a coach with a reputation for dour, risk-adverse football in the first place?
Don’t expect any answers though – FFA will instead be deflecting attention towards what was a hugely successful opening round of A-League action.
It’s a convenient escape route given that more than 100,000 fans clicked through the turnstiles and the five fixtures served up an enthralling mix of end-to-end action and nervy, tactical battles.
It started with Sydney FC’s surprising 2-0 win over the Newcastle Jets – a result which didn’t so much make the hosts look good as it did the visitors diabolical.
Zenon Caravella had better hope his wine business is in good health because the Jets midfielder turned in an absolute shocker against the Sky Blues.
Not content with dragging down his own defender to gift the ball and opening goal to a pirouetting Alessandro Del Piero, Caravella dribbled straight into the Italian once again on the hour mark, allowing the former Juventus star to set up Joel Chianese for Sydney’s second.
It was a dreadful Newcastle performance and one which suggests the heat could well and truly be on coach Gary van Egmond over the early rounds of the campaign.
The grand final replay lived up to its billing in front of a sizeable crowd in Gosford, with former Melbourne Victory man Marcos Flores starring for hosts Central Coast.
He set up Mitch Duke for a superb opener and it looked like the Mariners would hold on for all three points against Western Sydney, in no small part thanks to an excellent goalkeeping display from Justin Pasfield.
But Youssouf Hersi’s pinpoint right-wing cross was expertly dispatched by substitute Tomi Juric, who could well prove the missing link for the Wanderers in attack.
For those watching on TV – and ratings were reputedly solid across the weekend – the grand final replay served as a mouth-watering precursor to the Melbourne Derby.
But despite the ground-record 45,000-attendance, the match itself turned out to be a bit of a damp squib, with both sides tiring markedly in a scoreless draw littered with niggling fouls.
Perhaps playing the derby in Round 1 wasn’t the best way to go, with both sides looking somewhat short of match fitness in a clash punctuated by staccato bouts of cagey counter-attacking football.
It was actually Wellington Phoenix who proved a breath of fresh air the following day, taking the game to Brisbane Roar and going in front thanks to a well-taken Stein Huysegems goal.
What a pity for new Phoenix coach Ernie Merrick then, that his team should twice fall asleep and allow Besart Berisha and Ivan Franjic – the latter with the latest of late winners – to snatch the points for the Roar.
All that was left was for old rivals Adelaide United and Perth Glory to go head to head and the pair served up the match of the round in what was a bruising encounter at the rebranded Coopers Stadium.
Jeronimo looked in fine form in this full-blooded affair, nabbing two opportunistic goals either side of a Ryo Nagai header.
The Reds looked to be cruising when Fabio Ferreira back-heeled home a cheeky third, only for red cards to Isaias and Nigel Boogard to keep new Adelaide coach Josep Gombau on the edge of his seat.
The Socceroos may be at their lowest ebb, but there’s evidently life in Australian football yet.
Osieck’s era has come and gone, but a superb weekend of domestic action suggests there’s enough reason to consider the glass half full.