An odd game to start the season for us.
Auckland are playing very professional football with grapples, little clips and not so little leg tangles and hits from behind to disrupt our play. I would have liked referee Elder to penalise the constant fouls that broke up our flow rather than just awarding free kicks, but that is not why we lost. We were just not good enough or ready for the start of the league.
It looked to me like Zadkovich is still figuring out who our best team is, and as a result we played with pre-season dysfunction and quality.
The key indicator of that to me is that we have played our best football in recent times with O'Shea at AM, and we are playing Caletti in that role. Caletti provides a link between lines bringing the ball out but I just don't see him as being able to create from nothing like we need an AM to do.
Waddingham is reminding me of Duke with a first touch that often kills the chances he is trying to create - favouring his opponent and costing him the space and opportunities that he would otherwise be making for himself. He can do a good first touch, and he is always looking for goal with either head or feet, but that unreliable first touch stops him from being a really good striker. As central striker he does suffer from tunnel vision, seen in the early opportunity to pass to a forward facing and eager Jelacic but choosing instead to do a back to goal, turn and scuffed shot that amounted to nothing. More awareness would not be a bad thing.
Acosta shows some very nice skills and vision on the ball, but has not yet melded with his team mates (and vice versa) properly. Annoying accents and kiwi favouritism aside, the commentators praised Acosta highly and I have to agree that he is one to watch as the team comes together.
Jelacic has fantastic vision and awareness in tight situations. You can see him picking up the runs of other players and putting a pass through all game. Unfortunately his delivery can we wayward at times but I don't mind that so much. His ability to find the half second of time and space under pressure is a quality we need up front.
Halloran to me seemed to be the player who made the most passes to a player who was not where the pass went or who did the opposite of what the person passing to him was expecting. Having played so long for Adelaide he must have very clear expectations of where the ball and players will be - that does not match up to our players. Given so much of his play is at speed with fast touches, the combinations will have to develop before we can see the positive impact he can make on a game.
Caletti is a work horse and has vision and awareness, but he does not dominate the midfield. He is a very capable link bringing the ball out, but without the creativity we need to create opportunities himself. It is a bit of a wasted player in that critical position just to be a disruptor and linkage when we need someone who can draw attention, create time and sometimes be the danger himself.
O'Shea is still effective under pressure and at passing. I loved the one time he went forward in the first half and weaved through players to make something happen. He should be the benchmark for what we are looking to find in AM and while we might have a player in our squad who can add that to our attack we did not have it in this game.
Burke-Gilroy is still good at his job and a great player for us. I just like what he brings all game heading in both directions. He ran with his opponent and no-one filled in behind him to track the Auckland player who crossed for our own goal unmarked. I do not know if that was a mistake by our defensive group or if it was just good play from Auckland. I think someone should have gone to him as he ran in but we were too focussed on the player with the ball. For the second goal, Burke-Gilroy looked like he could have made contact with the ball but was caught by surprise when it went past and an Auckland player placed it in (very skilfully). That all said, Burke-Gilroy adds something to our side that we could do with all over the park in enthusiasm and impact.
Warland and Van Der Saag I tend to put in the same category. They are both pretty good when standing in position, and can contribute to the ball coming forward (obviously more with Van Der Saag whose role is to do that specifically) - but if the ball gets in behind them they are both extremely vulnerable and expose us too frequently. They are both likely to concede a foul from behind trying to make up impossible ground. I look forward to Neville returning from injury and I really hope he still has what it takes to do the job. Our defence just does not seem solid to me when Warland or Van Der Saag are involved.
Walid Shour looked to be very good value. I found I didn't focus on him for much of the game so I will be watching him with interest over time but my feeling is that he is a positive for the team.
Freke I leave to keepers to rate. On the one hand, he conceded a nasty own goal from Van Der Saag and a very fine finish at back post. I thought he did a very good job keeping his body in the way of the nasty half volley that looked like it surprised him. Did he do enough to attempt to stop the second goal or was he slow off the mark as the ball went across him? Other than those few moments I can't remember him being all that involved other than in open field play - which he did fine in.
For the subs, Struick did not seem that effective in his small part - being knocked off the ball easily one way or another - and I kept getting Halloran and Klein mixed up on my screen - so not much use commenting on Klein's involvement. Ozzi was on too short a time and with too little involvement to make anything of. Hingert I find to be solid and capable everytime he plays. I prefer him to Van Der Saag any day although I do think Van Der Saag has the ability to come forward on the inside more effectively at times than Jack up the outside. Bility, again a short appearance, looks good but not enough play to judge him on.
It is a shame we have the bye next week when we are so obviously short on cohesion and game practice. It would have been nice to at least go into the bye with a win but we just did not deserve it. I think we are a fair way off being a fully functioning side - perhaps expected with the number of new faces in our squad and a significant rebuild underway. I can see a lot of promise in our players and it is on Zadkovich to bring it all together. Looking forward to the development and improvement of our side over the next few weeks.
When I wear their colours, I am the club.