A late goal from Dimitri Petratos saw Brisbane Roar secure a 1-0 win over the Central Coaat Mariners on a hot and humid Sunday afternoon in Gosford.
Petratos, demoted to the bench this week in favour of Steven Lustica, gave John Aloisi plenty to think about for next round with his 85th minute goal, curling a left-footed shot into the net after cutting inside his marker.
The Mariners piled forward in search of an equaliser and thought they had succeeded in stoppage time when Josh Rose’s low drive was deflected past Jamie Young by a teammate. However, the elation was quickly disbanded though with an offside flag, sentencing the Mariners to at least another fortnight at the bottom of the table.
Starting lineups and formations
The Mariners ran out in a slightly modified version of their 4-2-3-1 formation, with more defensive coverage in order to nullify the Roar’s dangerous forward line. Jacob Poscoliero returned to the side after being rested against Perth, but at right back instead of his usual role in central defence. This pushed New Zealand international Storm Roux up the flank into the right winger role and Nick Fitzgerald into central midfield at the expense of Anthony Caceres.
Brisbane coach John Aloisi had a full squad to select from and went for midfield stamina over attacking intent, starting Lustica over Petratos as the only change from the match against Wellington. This shifted Thomas Broich back out to the left side of the front three, though the German would often drift inside to try and link up with his teammates or provide room for Shane Steffanutto to run into from left back.
Roar drain life from the Mariners
Wellington Phoenix learned a similar lesson last week against John Aloisi’s side in Cairns – unless you can outplay the Roar in football, they will eventually grind over you to a win. Two goals in the final 20 minutes against the Phoenix secured victory last week after going behind in the first-half, and once again they struck late through Petratos to win against the Mariners.
The Roar’s possession-based style of football is what ensures they can outlast their opposition in the hot summer weather. The Mariners have often used a high-press in defence this season in an effort to force the opposition into errors playing out from the back. Tony Walmsley shook things up this week, playing defender Storm Roux in midfield and dropping playmaker Anthony Caceres to the bench in favour of the more workmanlike Nick Fitzgerald. In an effort to hold out the Roar and cope with the heat, the home side adopted a more reserved defensive style with the back four and midfield often remaining compact to restrict the space afforded to Brisbane’s forward line.
While it may have been the right approach given the defensive frailties exhibited in recent weeks, by sitting back the Mariners ceded dominance of possession to the Roar. Given the ability of the Queensland side’s midfield, once they had the ball they were hardly going to give it up easily. Brisbane finished the match with a whopping 59% possession, and in the process wore their opposition into the ground with each pass they completed. Central midfielders Liam Rose and Nick Montgomery could not see out the full match, while fullback Josh Rose’s exhaustion was clear when he allowed Dimi Petratos easy passage inside to shoot for the match-winning goal.
Clinical edge missing from Central Coast
There was only one way the Mariners looked like scoring against the Roar, on the counter-attack. With the visitors pinning Tony Walmsley’s men in their own penalty area at times as they looked for an avenue to goal, every now and then the ball would be turned over in an advantageous position, whether it was through a good tackle or a misplaced pass. However, with Roux playing as the right winger of the midfield, the only two main attacking outlets available in these moments were Mitch Austin and Roy O’Donovan.
Unfortunately, neither player was able to craft a chance that would beat Jamie Young in between the sticks for Brisbane. Quite often when Austin would find space down the left he would play his crosses too early or too late, never consistently finding O’Donovan in the middle. As for the Irish striker, despite attempting a few shots, never threatened Jamie Young. It was exemplified in the second half after O’Donovan retrieved a long pass over the defensive line in the left hand channel of the field. Rather than drive into the box towards goal, the striker cut back and dribbled across the edge of the box, giving the Roar enough time to recover defensively. Against teams that hold the ball as well as Brisbane you need to take your opportunities when they present themselves, but the Mariners failed to do so.
Attacking reshuffle on the cards for Roar
Although John Aloisi would be happy with three points, the cost of the result will no doubt be weighing on his mind after Lustica and Jamie Maclaren came off with injuries. While it has not been confirmed if the pair will miss any matches, the loss of Maclaren would seriously affect his side’s attacking quality. Jean Carlos Solorzano is certainly not a bad replacement, but Maclaren’s pace allows him to provide danger even when drifting out wide to create space, as well as providing an outlet through the long ball if the Roar are struggling to combine in midfield.
Conclusion
The return of Fabio Ferreira cannot come fast enough for the Mariners, they need the directness he provides on the right flank. Although they did concede late on, it was a much better defensive performance from Tony Walmsley’s side, they now just need to rediscover their attacking touch to compliment this new stability at the back.
John Aloisi would be happy with his side’s efforts of the past fortnight, two very challenging fixtures in terms of weather have yielded six points, all the while showing that his team has the confidence and ability to dictate terms to their opposition.
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