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It doesn’t do much for the credibility of the AFC Champions League in Australia when the first goal we see in the 2014 edition is one of the worst penalty decisions ever made.
To say the Central Coast Mariners were dudded by a dodgy refereeing decision in their 2-0 defeat to FC Seoul on Tuesday night is a massive understatement.
It was Saudi referee Fahad Almirdasi who blew the whistle on a shocking decision when he penalised Mariners defender Josh Rose for a non-existent foul on Seoul striker Sergio Escudero, although he wasn’t helped by a flag-happy linesman.
But to blame Central Coast’s defeat on a single officiating mistake is to miss the point entirely.
The South Korean side didn’t need a poor refereeing decision to help them win their first competitive game of the season, because they could have beaten the Mariners in their sleep.
Second to the ball, second in the tackle and absolutely second best is perhaps the best way to sum up Central Coast’s performance, against a K-League Classic outfit which dominated every single facet of the game.
Yet as poor as the Mariners were at Seoul World Cup Stadium, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for A-League sides in the opening week of ACL group-stage fixtures.
Yes, Western Sydney lost to an Ulsan side several pundits – myself included – thought they had a chance of beating, but there are still some positives to take from the results.
Not only did the Wanderers open the scoring against Ulsan – though if ever there was a case for the argument that you can score too early, surely Brendan Santalab’s goal was it – but the three goals they conceded all came from defensive errors.
Cut those out and there’s a good chance the Wanderers can still mix it with the best in what is their maiden ACL campaign.
Likewise, Melbourne Victory turned in an excellent first-half performance against Guangzhou Evergrande in China, only to succumb to a second-half onslaught from the defending Asian champions.
Why didn’t Victory play the second half the way they did in the first? It’s a shame they couldn’t keep up that intensity.
That said, regardless of however much plucky determination our A-League representatives showed, the gulf in technical standards was still painfully obvious.
Regular Roar reader Nelson summed it up best when he said “until the worst player on an A-League team is as good as the worst player on the teams we face in the ACL, (technical standards) will remain a problem”.
That’s a much more instructive comment than new Ulsan coach Cho Min-Kook’s suggestion that the Wanderers would do better to keep the ball on the ground – a statement made despite the fact there was more than a hint of route-one football to all three of Ulsan’s goals.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that Ulsan won the Champions League as recently as 2012, even if the bulk of that hugely successful side departed long ago.
Nor should it be overlooked that there are still five group games to play, and in Western Sydney’s case they should fancy their chances of taking points off Chinese representatives Guizhou Renhe.
But to do that they need to be more cagey about how they play on the continent, starting with their defending around the penalty area.
Defensive mistakes are routinely punished in the ACL, where Asian teams are adept at retaining possession and often unerring in front of goal.
Adelaide United’s 5-1 win over Wellington at Coopers Stadium last night was thrilling entertainment, but Josep Gombau’s side would be slaughtered if they ever played like that on the continent.
Obviously there’s a balance between searching for goals and shutting up shop entirely, but there’s no shame in A-League teams learning on the job.
The opening round of ACL results weren’t ideal, but there’s still plenty left to play for.