ON THE ROAD
from Strikers captain, Andy Harper
It would be gratifying to be able to boast that our victory in Wollongong on Friday night came as a result of making our opponents resemble the title of this Road Report.
Gratifying, but unfair and untrue. Unfair because the Wolves are real contenders for the top 6 this year and untrue because the 3 points came only after a dogged and concerted effort by all the Strikers' players.
Desperate to launch their season on a positive note, the Wolves were chasing their tails early, (if you'll please excuse the transparency of the metaphor) in the face of intense pressure from the visitors. The Strikers came out of the blocks firing. The Wolves were f inding dealing with the onslaught and harassment difficult. They were given no time to settle on the ball in particular, or into the game generally. The Strikers were hunting in packs, dispossessing their opponents and setting off wave after wave of counter attacks. It was therefore no surprise when, in about the 12 th minute, Troy Cranney finished off the move that proved to be the decisive moment of the match.
The ball was skewed forward from defence where, for the zillionth time in his career, Frank Farina bustled his way into taking possession of the ball. His lay-off to Craig Williams, playing in a new role lying deep in mid-field, was elegantly swept left to the beckoning Nick Meredith. Meredith killed the ball with his first touch, looked up and saw Andy Brayshaw peel-off diagonally to the far post. It was one of Nick's characteristically accurate long bombs which Brayshaw met just 6 yards from goal. Athletically, Brayshaw out-leapt his marker and squared the ball to Troy Cranney who, after controlling the ball with his chest, blasted home the only goal of the game.
In response the Wolves could only muster the occasional foray into the Strikers' danger zone. Indeed, only moments before Cranney's goal, they came closest when Michael Reda broke down the left and cut into the Strikers penalty area. Unfortunately for the elegant Reda, his pass to the on-coming Chipperfield whose subsequent shot could not successfully negotiate both keeper Bolton and the cross-bar. His left footed effort bounced from the frame and out of harm's way.
It would possibly be fair to say that the Strikers subconsciously adopted a more defensive attitude during the second half. It would have appeared that the Brisbane team was prepared to absorb whatever the Wolves could throw at them whilst attempting to inflict damage on the counter attack. Perhaps we conceded too much territory to the Wolves and allowed them to advance virtually unhindered to about 30 metres from goal. Perhaps we played into their hands, throwing them a life-line of access to our defensive zone. Perhaps this was ineptitude on our part or perhaps the Wolves determination to equalise was the overwhelming factor.
Whatever the reasons why, the Strikers were called on to perform very specific tasks and they executed these determinedly. Defensively, the Strikers scrambled very well. It was "all hands to the pumps" stuff. The troops were marshalled expertly by Glenn Gwynne and enforced stoically by Mark Battistin and Steve Laybutt . . . plainly, there was no way through via the direct central route. The beaverish work in midfield by Williams, Meredith and Jeromy Harris forced the Wolves down either corridor where Cranney and Brayshaw diffused many incursions. And when the Wolves were able to project the ball into our penalty area, their effort was met by the colossus, Clint Bolton. Clint never looked bothered and was completely dominant in HIS penalty box.
The pattern of the second half was complete with series of swift counter offensives. Usually, these commenced with one of Clint's mighty aerial interceptions and subsequent rapid distribution to a fast-breaking midfielder. To the fore came Harris whose contribution in this facet of the game was impressive. He proved an effective link to the Strikers front men.
From two such counters, terrific scoring opportunities resulted (one to your's truly and one to Farina) but were denied by superb goal keeping by Wolves custodian, Brett Hughes. Had one of these gone in, a more relaxed Brisbane outfit would have been in evidence.
As it stood then, the chances weren't converted and the Wolves remained alive until the referee ended proceedings. Fortunately, we were able to repel the home side and steal the points.
Pleasingly there were other good things to come out of the game. For example, set pieces (free kicks and corners) were a vast improvement on the previous week. Against Wollongong we threatened on 3 or 4 occasions.
It is early days yet but it feels as though our team is not far away from playing some good, hopefully top 6, stuff. The Strikers look forward to your home support this week when the Perth Glory juggernaut rolls into town.