This was a match of firsts for many of the players. It was the first Ericsson Cup match
for both Alex Castro and goalkeeper Ben Harris. It was the first match back after injury
for midfielder Norman Kelly, but more noticeably, it was the first match back to Canberra
for ex-local star Frank Farina.
Unfortunately, it was also the fourth league loss in a row for the Cosmos. It was a rather
scrappy match although given that it was raining throughout the whole of the first half,
some of this was excusable. Canberra were missing a number of rather key players, including
Dunn, Dee and Wade, and this was probably what cost any chance of a win.
On paper, it seemed everything forward looked good, but everything back looked bad and this
is how it turned out as with the exception of John Koch and, who I thought deserved player
or the match, Richard Watson, there really wasn't any defence to be seen. Toplica Popovich
was sent to mark out Farina, and did that about 70% of the time. Farina only had one shot
on goal, and that hit the upright.
The first goal came after only 10 minutes when the ball fell to an unmarked Brad Ditton who
shot easily past Harris from only 12m out. Many thought that there may have been a possibility
of another onslaught by the Strikers, but fortunately the home side held out and fought
hard to try and get the equalizer. Ten minutes before half time, Strikers goalkeeper Clint
Bolton tried to clear the ball, but was unlucky to see it rebound off Peter Mazis straight
across the front of goal. Michael Musitano was easily the first to the ball for a simple
tap in.
With the rain having stopped both teams settled down to play football, but unfortuantely, there
was little action in front of goal. Both teams had two clear chances, but Brisbane took
one of theirs. In the 72nd minute the ball was passed to rather unmarked Gary Phillips
who shot past Harris from 20m out. Canberra's two chances fell to Stan Dukic who shot
over the bar and Marko Perinovic who's downward header was just saved by the feet of Clint
Bolton.
Canberra Coach Mike Lyons was still somewhat optimistic about the chances of the team to reach
the semi-finals saying that there are still 45 points to play for. If the team wants to get
there, then a win next week in Newcastle is the starting point.
One note for readers is that I had a talk with Lachlan Armstrong who is currently out with
a niggling hamstring injury. He informed me that he should be returning to play in a few
weeks. Also, just before the game we saw Danny Milosevic training very heavily. It is
unknown about when he will return, but given the current goal-keeping problem, this may
be sooner than a lot of people think. For those who don't know, Steve Mautone was on loan to
Canberra from South Melbourne and was transferred to West Ham in England. Latest rumors have
it that the Cosmos are chasing ex-local Tony Gianasca from West Adelaide.