Round 17 - Sydney FC vs Melbourne City - 3/2/19

We deserved the win in the end.

Pretty happy with the performance and all of a sudden it looks like we have a bit of depth as hopefully players start coming back from injury.

Yes Austin was BAD. Pretty much never seemed to read game right and missed a howler, but need to give him more time, way too early to judge. I think there were a few occasions where he could have been put through but were probably too conservative as they’re used to Brosque up there. I also don’t think we will be seeing that much of him given Brosque will return + Gucci. Pretty much a direct replacement for Charles (coming off the bench now and then if we desperately need something) and with his pace he is better suited coming on in the last 10 or so if we’re down against a tired defence.

Disagree. He had more opportunities than either of them but Retre contributed in defence and build up much more. DDS provided a lot of dynamism and passing when he came on and looked like creating things.

Anyway I don’t want to bang on about him too much. We won and performed solidly. I was genuinely impressed with Calver in an unfamiliar position. His defensive work was great and I’m not going to judge him going forward given he isn’t left footed.

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MOTM voting is up

(I think I managed to include every player this time :grimacing: )

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Calver not going forward meant that Austin didn’t have to do the same defensive work as Retre who must feel like Rhyan Grant’s personal turnstile at times. Comparing the 2 (Retre & Austin) and the contribution they made to the attack & defence is unfair I guess.
DDS is the big disappointment for mine though. What he did wasn’t effective and this is a recurring issue with him. That would be fine if he was on the same wage as Retre & Austin but he’s not. What he’s earning should see him pushing for a starting berth and influencing the game when he comes on as a sub. Instead, with a full squad, I don’t see him even making the bench right now.

Ah, Redders. Turning today’s 100 kg uni students into tomorrow’s 120 kg graduates

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Grant had a blinder. Probably one of his better games for us.

Promising stuff. I hope he can keep his body right.

Gutted for Ivanovic that was such a promising start for him. The kids a real talent

This^. It was very frustrating to see how we let them back in the game after we scored

As frustrating as Austin was, he was only on the pitch because at that time we had Brosque, Siem, Reza, Buhagiar and Ivanovic unavailable up front. Back up forward in “not being awesome” shock.
Having said that, the groan of disappointment of that ball to post was as loud as anything I’ve heard in that ground.

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Everyone groaned at the miss, but I think many are being harsh on Austin - he made runs, just not the right ones, and a lot comes from understanding your playmakers & vice-versa. It’s easy from the stands, but he guessed some runs right and his dynamism helped put pressure on their backline. Yes, also plenty of bad touches, etc… but he was in the play and influencing things way more positively than our last #21. Agree with general sentiment that we would have expected more from DDS - he seems low on confidence and just wants to play the ball square/back
Calver was an absolute revelation at left back - great game. Rhyan was MoTM for mine - positive going forward, but also didn’t shirk his workload at back.

Also thought Brannerz was top notch today. Seemed like he was everywhere.

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Just watching highlights, redders save on 78 minutes was obscene

Mitch Austin, worst signing ever.

Bluemayne’s penalty save from the stands.

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Honestly, I thought Mitch A was rusty and so should he be, But he showed some good signs of which when he gets used to his teammates he will come good and offer way more then Charles. When he showed glimpses of pace you can tell he has lots more to offer.

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Did anyone get any high quality pictures of the tifo for Grant? I’d like to use one for the match report when I post it on the front page.

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#ThankFuckForRedmayne

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So glad that Brillante was back in great form. He and O’Neiil bossed it like it was Arnie Season 3. Not easy as Retre at RM, for all his good work on the ball, is not such a ball winner when we are chasing it. Hard to choose MOM as so many had a great game. I was very disappointed in Austin as the game wore on but it is very hard to play with such unpredictably good players as Alf and Ninko if you have not had any time with them.

And Grant is amazingly so much better than he was even in his best year under Arnnie.

Hope Grant doesn’t start getting frustrated at SFC