- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Opinion
Saturday night’s clash at CommBank Stadium between the strong-starting Western Sydney Wanderers and the unpredictable Central Coast Mariners turned up a treat for the neutral in a fantastic smash-and-grab win for the visitors.
Three times the home team gifted possession to their opponents and three times they were punished in a second half that showed us just how astute substitutions can turn dominance into goals. Marko Rudan will be back to the drawing board after this, as his team were given a footballing lesson in front of their own fans.
The Mariners looked in the mood even before the game, ‘vibe manager’ Andy Bernal roaming the field offering his wisdom and insight, keeping the positivity and the smiles coming in a very relaxed warm-up.
The visitors’ fans were in good voice right from the start, bringing an extra dimension to a venue that has seen the RBB have free reign so far this season, and there was a real atmosphere as the game kicked off, Milos Ninkovic making a positive darting run straight from the kick-off.
A pattern of play that has allowed Wanderers to stifle their opponents and keep calm possession at the back was evident early on as the teams sussed each other out. An early yellow card set the scene, Adama Traore smashing into Marco Tulio on the touchline. The Mariners were shy going forward and, apart from a sweeping cross-field pass that saw Tulio flick the ball over his defender to fire wide, were happy to contain the early threat.
That all changed when the first corner was won, and again the tricky Tulio’s run from the near post had the Wanderers’ solid defence panicking. Central-defender Brian Kaltak rose to head the ball against the bar with Laurence Thomas beaten.
A series of corners, using the same run from the near-post to draw out the defenders, gave the Wanderers’ defence a torrid time and the Mariners were in the ascendency.
When Beni N’Kololo smashed Calem Nieuwenhof to the ground with a shoulder to the head, the game threatened to boil over.
The 21-year-old had blood under his eye and needed treatment and players from both sides were involved in a pushing match, the benches trading quite the verbal discourse. N’Kololo’s yellow was expected, but Tomislav Mrcela followed him into the book after getting too involved in the remonstrations.
Milos Ninkovic’s darting run as the clock ticked to half-time ended with him down on the floor, nothing in the tackle, and there was concern as the elder statesman remained down holding his ankle.
(Photo by Steve Christo/Corbis via Getty Images)
That could have taken the wind out of the game’s tempo, but it served to spice up the remainder of the half and Kaltak again got in a header from a well-worked free-kick that had Jason Cummings and Thomas scrapping at the far post to get the final touch, the Wanderers’ keeper doing just enough to see the ball past the post.
Whatever was said at half-time in the Western Sydney dressing room had the home team firing at the start of the second period, but they were so close to giving away a cheap goal almost immediately, Cummings galloping on to a long clearance to race through, but he took too long and Marcelo got the important touch that led to an air swing from the Socceroos hopeful and he had to settle for a corner.
An intercepted pass then saw N’Kololo line up a shot from outside the box that struck his teammate Tulio and looped harmlessly over the bar.
The game was perfectly balanced, the home team doing the bulk of the probing, the visitors working hard and having their own counter-attacks when they could.
The substitutions just after the hour were bold by the Mariners, Garang Kuol and Michael Ruhs brought on to make things happen. Only three minutes later, manager Nick Montgomery’s masterstroke was paying dividends: Ruon Tongyik took too long to clear, Kuol slid in to dispossess him and the ball fell perfectly for the lurking Ruhs to finish for 1-0 in front of the home fans.
Soon after, a horrible ball from Marcelo, trying to initiate an attack down the right, was cut out by the exciting Jacob Farrell. He romped forward and all of a sudden they had outnumbered the Western Sydney defence. The ball was worked out to Kuol, in a great position to shoot on the right, who instead opted to slide the ball across goal, leaving Ruhs with a tap in at the far post.
Garang Kuol. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
There was much conjecture about offside, the extended celebrations in front of the home fans used by the VAR to come up with some imaginary lines to combat the poor angle of the camera, and the goal stood despite the home fans’ ire at the replays on the big screens.
With 10 minutes remaining, an uncharacteristically loose moment from Ninkovic presented the ball to the Mariners, who swept forward. Cummings and Ruhs looked odds-on to fashion a third, but instead it was substitute Sam Silvera who lashed home from just outside the area to further punish the self-destructing Wanderers.
There was time for one more chance, Cummings latching on to a great pass to cut inside, his snapshot curling onto the post past the outstretched arm of Thomas and wide, and it would not have been a surprise to see an even bigger scoreline given the second-half performance from the visitors.
The remnants of the game were managed comfortably by the Mariners and the referee’s whistle sent the players down to the southwestern corner of the stadium to celebrate in front of their vociferous fans. The travelling support were in ecstasy, the jovial mood giving plenty of humour in the chants, insisting that all they wanted was a team of Daniel Halls, regaling the yellow and blue, and also serenading Marko Rudan about his alleged murky past.
Nick Montgomery, who had been booked early in the game, came bounding over after his media duties to join the throng. The rest of the stadium had emptied, but the majority of the Mariners fans weren’t going anywhere. Andy Bernal applauded the fans. The vibe had been well and truly managed tonight.
This defeat was not unexpected amongst the sceptical home fans, who had seen their early season form as a false dawn. The manner of the loss will be of concern, but in reality they just had no answer to the tactical know-how of their opposition and looked bereft of ideas going forward.
Back down to earth for Western Sydney, but a shot in the arm for the Mariners, who look to have turned the corner after a difficult start to the season. One more round before the World Cup break, and a trip to Allianz Stadium for the Sydney Derby is probably not what the Wanderers needed right now.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.