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The sight of Tim Cahill, one hand held up to his furrowed brow, the other clutching at a quickly swelling ankle, was the most memorable of the early stanzas in Melbourne City’s clash against Sydney FC.
The reverberating worry that emanated out from this tragic tableaux sent shivers down the national spine, with the trip to Honduras quickly approaching and, as of yet, no-one stepping forward to inherit the weight Cahill tends to shoulder for the Socceroos in the biggest games.
As much as that image of Cahill limping to the changing rooms lingered in the mind, it was not potent enough to mask the scene, fading into view, of the contest between two very different A-League contenders.
Vast stretches of the first half went like this: Sydney passing the ball side to side, sometimes darting into more advanced areas, twirling their way around tacklers, but eventually being forced back into neutral territory.
A pleasing dance, to be sure, led by Milos Ninkovic and performed to a soundtrack of City manager Warren Joyce’s barking voice, urging individual Melbourne players to press, to drop off, to work harder, to, ultimately, defend.
City’s rise to the top of the A-League table over these first four games has not been one with ribbons and tassels attached, one based on any particular flair or joie de vivre. It has been a staunch march, with every movement performed with stiff-armed vigour and gritty efficiency.
Before this match, the three teams below City had scored as many or more goals than they had. But none have conceded as few as Warren Joyce’s team, and it’s already clear – and has been broken down in great detail by The Roar‘s resident tactics maestro Tim Palmer – that City’s defence isn’t just setting the benchmark in the league this season, it’s also the emblem of the Joyce era’s identity.
Joyce is not bashful about his approach, one which many would argue – in spite of its effectiveness – is an exemplar of anti-football, especially when executed by a team with City’s talent and resources.
This was an attack-minded City starting XI on paper, with Luke Brattan returning to the line-up paired with Stephen Mauk in midfield and with Michael Jakobsen returned to the back-line, albeit as a left-back. Ross McCormack and Cahill began as a front two, the first time Joyce has used this arrangement this season.
But in practice this was not an attack-minded team.
Mauk and Brattan were extremely deep in the first half, as were the back line. The wingers, Bruce Kamau and Nick Fitzgerald, were seen acting as auxiliary full-backs, doubling up on the Sydney attackers. The offensive scheme revolved mainly around frenetic, direct counter-attacking, with Fitzgerald in particular excelling as he scampered away with the ball from deeper positions.
After Cahill’s injury, Joyce replaced the Socceroos talisman with Marcin Budzinski, a midfielder, which prompted a relatively lengthy period of City possession and pressure, though it waned after five minutes or so. City were not pressing Sydney with urgency when they lost the ball, preferring to settle back into a stable defensive stance.
Almost all of Eugene Galekovic’s kicks were bombed long, and City ended the match having made 180 fewer passes than Sydney did but more long balls. City’s forwards were repeatedly flagged for offside, launching in behind after said lofted passes a little too eagerly.
City had one clear chance in the first half, and Sydney didn’t have any for all of their passing. This passing whirred into action again in the second half, a woven net of one-twos, one-two-threes, fours, fives and sixes. City were seen packing ten men into their defensive third as soon as Sydney approached. Some moment of sudden potency would be needed to bore through this electric-blue forcefield, but what striker-savant, what kind of supreme goalscorer, would provide it?
Well, as it turned out, it was Luke Wilkshire, a player who hasn’t scored a league goal in nine years. Of course the initial spark that lit the fuse was provided by Ninkovic, as he turned with poise and released Zullo down the left. Zullo’s cross was whipped toward the back post, where Wilkshire had held his run cleverly, allowing his marker to drift away from him.
The former Socceroo detonated a shot first-time, into the ground, and it bounced past Galekovic, over the head of a leaping City defender and into the top corner of the net. In celebration, tongue practically bursting through his cheek, Wilkshire raised his right boot and pointed to it.
(AAP Image/David Moir)
Joyce brought on Marcelo Carrusca and Neil Kilkenny to try and spur the City attack into life. It worked immediately, with Carrusca dazzling with a sumptuous turn on the touchline, winning a free kick.
This City team, waiting on the return of Bruno Fornaroli and Fernando Brandan, is nonetheless still packed with attacking talent. Injuries have forced City into playing a little more defensively, but not this defensively. Graham Arnold brought on Matt Simon; yes, the time had come to dig in with a narrow lead in hand. Sydney have seen staunch defences before, many times last season, and have learnt to win in spite of them.
City had a few half-chances as the game sloped towards added time. Fitzgerald was sprightly until the end and Budzinski active and interested. But they couldn’t score and have now been leapfrogged by Sydney, who have lost just once in their last 35 matches and sit on top of the table again.
Fitzgerald and substitutes Budzinski and Carrusca were the only points of light for City in attack, and the manner in which they were utilised – Fitzgerald ended the match at right-back – clearly shows Joyce is not arranging his team to maximise their chances of scoring, just their chances of not conceding.
City are playing this way in every match regardless of the potency of the opponent. This match exposed how what can look steely and indomitable in victory looks so meek and unambitious in defeat, and on Friday night it looked particularly ill-fitting on a team as grandly assembled and inherently talented as City.
Joyce’s defence has garnered deserved praise, but the price of such stolidity shouldn’t be 90 per cent of the attacking ability of his team. This was a moment for City to consolidate first place, to show they aren’t pretenders, to match it with their main title rivals. In trying to stifle Sydney’s attack, they managed only to throttle their own.