Sigh.
OK so it was Sydney's second game at home in the league, the weather was terrible and it was a Friday night clashing with a high profile AFL game between the Swans and St Kilda on the telly.
To their credit over 15,000 people turned out and while the numbers were visibly down from the 25,000 of Round 1 it was noticeable that the Cove, Sydney's Ultras if you will, had swelled their numbers from that earlier match also. They provided a superb atmosphere to a match that started as abysmally as the weather.
Infact the highlight seemed to be Dwight Yorke demonstrating his unique tucking-in-your-shirt technique which invlved dropping his shorts to his ankles.
I guess I could try to blame the conditions but I think we'd all know that would be taking liberties with the truth. Possibly it made playing the ball on the ground a less than ideal proposition, but there's not much to be said for the first 10 minutes of play.. from either side.
Funny then just as Sydney started putting some moves together they scored what looked like the first of several goals once they got their act together. Again I'm being a bit fanciful. That wasn't overly likely. On the bright side the Mariners really didn't show much to suggest they could make Sydney pay.
Enter the referee. Now I know it's a hard and thankless job but this moron knew that before he decided this is what he'd like to do with his life.
I'm willing to entertain the idea that while I don't think the challenge warranted a free kick there might be those, obviously including what's his name, whose opinion differs. What I am not willing to let go is that the initial contact was outside the penalty box and therefore the penalty should never have been given. Of course considering what happened after 90 minutes you might argue this is irrelevant. I contend this ill-gotten penalty was a significant turning point.
As if that wasn't bad enough the Mariners actually hit the lead thanks to a remarkably unmarked Andrew Gumprecht following a throw in and some random bounces. His goal is probably the only one I think they deserved. Yes I know I sound bitter... I'm not.
I noticed a few things, I shall bore you with them now.
Clint Bolton refuses to release the ball down the right hand side of the field. OK, that's an exaggeration, but he favours the left very heavily.
Sydney look like the kind of side who, when they're training, do all sorts of fancy stuff and it comes off perfectly. Then when they play they go into safety first mode and instead of playing the quick pass they wait for team mates, instead of looking for a short ball and maintain possession the chuck a long ball and hope to win the lottery. I can't quite tell if it's just a lack of patience and courage or just a lack of skill. I would hate to think it is the latter and there were long periods of quite decent play which would say no. Still, it was almost as if they quickly wanted to win instead of earning it.
The remarkable thing, despite the shitty weather and the initially polite crowd the game stirred something in those who were watching and the chants hitherto confined to Bay 23 or thereabouts echoed all around the ground. Sydney surged forward seemingly energised by it all and looked for all the world that they would steamroll the Mariners. Perhaps if all the home teams win the league would do well for the crowd figures.. but if the home team should lose then this is the way to do it. Perceived injustices and a heroic, but ultimately fruitless, effort. It works for the Socceroos.
So here comes my other observation.
Dwight Yorke is a good player, he showed that tonight by scoring to draw the score at 2-2 and working surprisingly hard. His value, to my thinking, is as a frontman, a goal poacher. For that reason I think it is wrong that there are 10 other guys on the team whose sole instruction seems to be "pass it to Dwight". What Sydney need, again this is purely me, is the controlling midfielder who can direct the play and Dwight can get on with making runs and ensuring he arrives at the same time as the ball in the 6 yard box. As it is he's trying to fill both roles and despite his goal a game average I don't think it's quite working.
Then finally in the last minutes of the game a free kick was given to the Mariners just outside the Sydney box. Legitimately I thought. The free kick was blocked by, I think, Ceccoli and looped up high into the air and wrong footed the keeper who lost his footing on the wet surface. The ball landed, sure enough, just over the goal line and bulged the roof of the net after the bounce. I was reminded of Parkers deflection from the Brehme free kick to beat Shilton at the 1990 World Cup. It was funny then... wasn't this time. The 2 or 3 dozen Mariners fans who were congregated behind their own goal in the second half cheered in a way that suggested they knew they had just stolen a game they had no right to win and thus the victory tasted doubly sweet.
A late push by Sydney almost saw the team from Gosford score yet another, though Sydney too had enough seconds left to spurn a chance. A disappointing result but it's early in the season and if Sydney can address ther shortcomings they might just come good on their Bling Bling promise.