Unbalanced by one massive crowd in Brisbane and a decent turnout in Melbourne, overall attendance continued to remain fairly high through this week's action. If it would only stop raining! Most of us, I'm sure, simply can't wait for the start of summer, with many of us also looking forward to the end of other football codes in all the states.
In a couple of week's time I will prepare a report based on the first major arc of the season, covering the opening seven weeks where each team will have played one another once. I figure that by that time we'll know quite a bit about the structure and performance of the league. It's a little surprising, however, that some general trends have already started to emerge. Crowds are probably a lot better than most of us would have imagined. Player focus and intensity is extremely high, with referees sometimes struggling to keep a tight reign on proceedings. It has also been confirmed that on any particular day, any team can win. The Knights bizarre victory over the Mariners has been the biggest surprise, but we've also seen definite final four contenders like Sydney, Central Coast and Newcastle win one week and lose the next, as the playing field continues to demonstrate how even it is. With games against the Jets and Mariners coming up, all of a sudden it's Queensland who look in a spot of trouble; how strange that is after all the exciting football they've delivered so far! Media coverage is up and down, as expected, with some truly woeful journalism accompanying respectful evaluations of the country's greatest ever professional football league. Meanwhile, table toppers Adelaide are a massive surprise packet. Their tactical defensive style, one that puts points on the board ahead of beauty and elegance, seems to be indicative of a burgeoning international pattern if recent grumblings in the EPL are to be taken seriously.
One thing is for sure, there's plenty to follow for lovers of the round ball game.
Best of Round Five:
Player: Steve Corica (pictured) - two superbly-taken goals from the fired up midfield maestro
U-20 Player: Kristian Sarkies - proving he's more than just a free kick specialist
Coach: Ernie Merrick - pulling out Melbourne's first win while under intense criticism for his tactics and lack of showtime experience
Match: Melbourne Victory vs Newcastle United Jets
Referee: Craig Zetter
Goal: Terry McFlynn - faking out two Roar defenders and stylishly chipping over the advanced Willis with his left boot
4-4-2 Team of the Week:
Bobby Despotovski - Archie Thompson
Andy Vlahos - Nick Carle - Steve Corica - David Carney
Kevin Muscat - Jamie Harnwell - Michael Valkanis - Josh McCloughan
Liam Reddy
Subs: Ronnie Bull, Kristian Sarkies, Daniel Allsopp, Glen Moss
No comments:
Post a Comment