After last week s Edensor Park massacre, it was a pleasure to return to Belmore for the distinctly less challenging Canberra Cosmos game. Instead of the Sydney B Boys and dozens of security guards (perhaps they re why the crowd seemed larger than the announced figure), we had the usual 6,000 odd I m a better coach than Branko/Frank/John/David/etc Olympic supporters. Instead of Mitch s desperates, we had the Cosmos, still pointless after three games. Instead of baking mid-afternoon sun we had an arctic evening, undeniably appropriate for football.
Of course these complacent anticipations would have been shattered if the Cosmos had supplied the type of opposition offered by Brisbane a fortnight earlier or even - perish the thought - managed a repeat of last season s 1-1 and 8-1 results. Not to worry. After precisely 27 seconds Norman Tome found himself unmarked with the ball at his feet and the goal at his mercy. Relief all round, especially from the previously goal-less Norman.
Further shocks followed. At approximately 50 seconds Tome and Pablo Cardozo were bearing down on goal straight from the kick-off. 2-0 seemed inevitable until they managed to play themselves offside. What are Canberra doing? asked a beardless youth to my left. Fair question. They certainly weren t doing much in the way of marking and tackling.
This became more obvious when Cardozo was the recipient of another Emerton cross from the right. His apparently innocuous header crept inside the far post to the evident surprise of the Cosmos goalie, former Knights custodian Vilson Knezevic. The latter was subbed at the break, presumably due to this misdemeanour and to his later attempt to challenge Tome on the edge of the area. Again our gasps of amazement joined Vilson s as the ball looped into the net.
What a pleasant reversal from the preceding Sunday! 3-0 after half an hour. Brett Emerton was involved in all three of these goals, his move from midfield to right fullback being the only significant team change from last week (apart from Adem Poric starting the game). In other words, Emerton was back to doing what he is good at - hurtling up the flank leaving defenders cursing in his wake. True, many of his charges concluded with an ill-considered pass or a loss of possession. But last week he was doing this as soon as he received the ball. Now he was creating plenty of crosses and corners.
While still pasty-faced, Emerton is this season leaner and presumably hungrier, as befits his captaincy of the Australian Olympic team. His pallor and general boyishness set him apart from the worldly look of his teammates and, indeed, most of his fans. Perhaps in an attempt to conform to club style, Emerton appears to share hair stylists with Kimon Taliodoros, and hence becomes increasingly dishevelled as games progress. Has he also copied the body wax Kimon loved to display a few seasons back? Despite the opportunity presented by his scoring Olympic s fourth goal late in the game, Emerton wisely resisted the temptation to remove his shirt, or do anything else Kimon-style.
As for Kimon himself, the born-again defender seemed thoroughly at home in his new job. Not that Canberra provided much of a test of Branko Culina s controversial defensive trio. I swear that it was 3-0 Olympic before the Cosmos managed a shot on goal. Their small band of travelling supporters, usually so conspicuously chirpy, sat silently throughout. Who can blame them for this, or anything else except bothering to support the Cosmos? Rale Rasic, white mane approaching regal proportions, sat similarly impassive by the pitch. But at least Rale was paid for being there.
As it was the Cosmos provided a convenient stress-free interlude for Olympic, still somewhat shell-shocked after last week s fall from grace. And 5-0 is an emphatic win for a club that has struggled to put away poor teams in past seasons. Second on the table! I ll enjoy it while I can.