There were two key things about this game; 1. the way Brisbane played and 2. what is, or isn't happening at the Heart.
Brisbane added long balls to their game. In the first 30 minutes, lots of them, lots and lots. It wasn't quite what I had in mind but it did the job. Especially when they mixed it in with a fast short passing game.
So what is happening at the Heart? They seemed OK for the first 10 minutes then seemed to fall apart or give up. Colosimo came off injured (51 mins) in the second half. But in the first it was Matt Thompson that looked injured - at least could not or would not run. The Roar made mince meat of Heart's defence - a fairer indication of the difference between the teams would have been 8-0. Next week Heart play Victory and the AFL reply will be the last of their worries.
Clearly the Heart have problems on the pitch. Hopefully they are not reflecting something else off the pitch.
The other note is on Skoko. This guy was lucky to only get one yellow card. He could have picked up 2 in the first half. And Alex Terra is a diver but after missing one in the first half Chris Boyle saw what he was up to in the second.
And c'est bon, Sibon - hardly in the game. Was Rutger Worm even playing?
The Roar's only bleak spot was Reinaldo's performance. I am a big fan and I want him to do well. But his form this year has been below expectations. And tonight it was just plain poor. Poor touches, poor shots. And yet now and again he found space, or put colleagues into space. But he should be an out and out goal scorer and he just has not been. His striking form was underlined by a straight forward one-on-one with the keeper that he kicked straight too him. Contrast Reinaldo to Mitch Nichols who was everywhere playing a real number 10 role and scoring a brilliantly composed goal.
Ange responded to calls to mix up the single focus short passing, well done for that.
2 comments:
It was an enjoyable game.
It must be especially humiliating for the Heart since the Roar's single striker simply wasn't working.
It's the first time I've seen them this season, so don't have a longer run view of form, but Reinaldo looked comical. And he can't complain about the service. He got many excellent balls throughout the whole game.
Ange is doing something interesting though.
Welcome back Hamish
I will revise my comments slightly, I watched the game again at home and Reinaldo is creates a lot with many nice touches - but next to none in front of goal. He was involved in creating 2 goals plus creating and scoring the penalty. But he needs to learn to fake (step right and shoot left) - one-on-one with the keeper should favour the striker.
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