Ernie! Well, That Sucked.
It certainly wasn’t meant to end like that. The pace was slack, the passing sloppy, the intensity lacking. We plugged away nervously for an hour, then had a 5-10 minute spell of defence and of course they scored. Then they added another from one of the worst successful counter attacks ever, thanks to some tired defence and a little bit of luck. Melbourne City advance to a semi-final derby against the Victory and the Nix settle into the long offseason. Goddammit.
Suddenly our stumble across the finish line over the last month seems way more relevant. Not just the fact that they blew a chance at a bye through this stage but also the form that they showed in that time. They’ll come good once the playoffs arrive, we assumed, but they didn’t.
Now what? An incredibly promising season has come to an end at least a week before we were willing to accept it. We were on top of the table not that long ago. The fall down to earth has been harsh but this was still a season with plenty of positives. The fact that the Phoenix made the playoffs and we’re all disappointed still is a decent sign moving forward. The team plays a great style of play – even if it wasn’t really there last night – and with the bulk of this team returning next season this may be the extra push they need.
“From where we came last year – second bottom – to challenging for a top two spot with two weeks to go was exciting, but we fell away towards the end, which was disappointing.” – Andrew Durante
That game, though, that just wasn’t good enough. Somehow at home we were beaten in passes, passing accuracy, possession, tackles made, crosses and shots on target. Melly City are a team we’ve had trouble breaking down this season. Aside from the early 5-1 annihilation in which Burnsy bagged a hatty, that is. Our last two games against them, one home one away, have ended scoreless. They’re not easy to break down. Just look at the absolutely beastly performance of Patrick Kisnorbo for proof of that. He was charging down shots and crosses from all angles, nothing came cleanly for the Phoenix and we didn’t seem to have it in us to do it ugly.
Maybe if Wee Mac’s free kick had dipped under the crossbar instead of into it. Maybe if one of those wild attempts had taken a sharp deflection. Just a little more luck from somewhere.
But in these situations, you tend to get the luck you deserve. It’s seven games since we last scored a first half goal, and after running at brick walls all first half to no avail, you sorta got the feeling what was coming. If we didn’t force the issue, eventually City were gonna take one of their chances – it’s not like they were parking the bus. In fact they set up pretty much perfectly, defending deep and with numbers yet with the pace and determination to counter attack whenever possible. They ripped a few holes in our midfield/defence in the first 45, and around a dozen minutes after the break they really got on top. Twice in a row we dodged bullets as Josh Kennedy was unable to turn a curling cross goalwards, and when Aaron Mooy’s shot was dragged into his path just after, there’d be no third reprieve. With that many chances in a small space of time, you’re gonna be punished.
Their second goal was from a sloppy counter, passes and crosses too deep, touches too heavy, yet against a lead-legged defence that didn’t bother closing anyone down it didn’t matter. It’ll go down as an own goal against Moss but there wasn’t much else he could do as it rocketed off the post into his back. Burnsy came close with a header from a deflected Krishna cross, he was probably offside anyway (though it wasn’t called).
Would it have been better if Alex or Krishna started? Maybe even Kenny Cunningham? Obviously we’ll never know. That’s the thing with the playoffs. You get one chance to act and months and months to react if you get it wrong.
Who Are Ya? If this is your last game, and it well might be, then farewell Michael Boxall. A decent central defender, he struggled to make the team for the last few seasons but then this campaign found new life as a fullback. He even chipped in with a couple of goals. Not his best game against Melly City, but there isn’t a player in yellow and black you could possibly say it was for. That could also have been the last we see of King Kenny Cunningham, who at least left us with those late heroics against Newcastle the other week.
Up Nek it’s time for the Ernie Journey to take a holiday. A couple weeks early, too late to change anything now.