Queensland Roar 0 Melbourne Victory 1

Halfway through the second half of this must-win match, I realised that our season had ended. As I watched six Queensland players sitting deeper than all but one of Melbourne's, I knew it. Perhaps I should have known it when I saw the starting lineup -- no striker on the subs' bench and yet again three on the pitch. I definitely could have concluded it at halftime, when Bleiberg took off Dilevski, who had been going okay, and left on Baird, who had played so badly that he was once more jeered off the pitch when Bleiberg finally did hook him.

The first half was not so bad. Queensland played bright football, looking to cut through Melbourne with neat passing, but as so many times this season, poor finishing -- truly execrable finishing in the case of Baird, overelaborate as ever -- let them down. Reinaldo looked the part up front, but a continuing problem for Queensland is that the midfield does not follow the ball in, and his knockdowns were squandered. Brosque is simply too lightweight to play as an out-and-out centre forward, and Sydney will surely use him more intelligently.

For reasons known only to Bleiberg, the Roar's best player -- one of the view with any vision or ability to read the game -- played as part of the back three. Seo was wasted, although his defending was top-notch. He helped make the vaunted Thompson completely anonymous in the first half, and was not at fault when the same guy scored in the second half.

Once Melbourne had scored, they very effectively shut up shop. It's a plain fact that when a side puts ten men behind the ball, you're never going to beat them by playing through the middle. But Queensland tried anyway. It might have been effective to pump the ball up for Reinaldo to win but only if the midfield were closer to him, or willing to run into the huge space they left between them and him, which -- partly through exhaustion in the case of McKay, who looked way short of fit enough for professional football (although Bleiberg instead took off Murdocca, who, though entirely ineffective, at least looked like he had some puff left) -- they were not.

The painful thing for the onlooker is that Queensland do have some good players, cruelly misused by a coach who not only seems unsure what his best team is but also what system they should play. And is he not showing them videos and pointing out where they're going wrong? I can't believe he is, when I see two defenders on an attacker, and neither putting a foot in. That's just elementary football. And when McLaren, as he often did, showed Allsopp the inside and watched him shoot, I couldn't help thinking that Bleiberg simply sits with his eyes shut every match, because this is a perennial problem of McLaren's game.

Next week, Queensland play Sydney, who are more than useful, and will relish the opportunity to carve the Roar apart if we are foolish enough to play with three at the back again. Melbourne did not have the players to do it -- Kitzbichler had a poor game and was substituted early -- but Sydney have Carney, and he'll have a field day. I don't think there's much hope of Bleiberg's waking up to it and playing 442 but it would suit his resources: Simpson on the right, Buess on the left, McCloughan and one hopes Gibson in the middle -- that is a good defence, close to the best in the league. Freeing Dilevski from defensive duties can only be a good thing -- so often is he caught hopelessly out of position, and of course, McKay needs dropping -- he's just not good enough at this level. Baird must surely have played his last game for the Roar. He was played in a deeper role this week, which suggests that Bleiberg has gone stark raving bonkers. Baird's greatest weakness is his inability to bring other players into the game (well, to hang on to the ball would be more accurate) and playing him as an attacking midfielder is just this side of insane, particularly with Brosque on the teamsheet. Jordan Simpson excelled in the same role against Perth, and Bleiberg hooked him at the break. One despairs.

Queensland's best player was Seo, wasted in defence but excellent as he has been all season. Oh to see him further up the pitch, putting his vision and passing ability to good use! Brosque tried hard to little actual effect, and Reinaldo was more effective while squandering a couple of reasonable chances. Murdocca mostly did simple things well in the first half but when the hammer was down, he was found wanting. McCloughan had another good game, although he showed a little too much inclination to the hoof. Melbourne did not really have any standouts for me, although their defence was solid and the keeper made some useful saves.

The referee, as is traditional, had a poor game, often mugged by Melbourne playacting, and let down by assistants who seemed unwilling to flag for even the most blatant assaults from a side that hasn't won too many fans with its "rugged" approach this season.

posted by Dr Zen @ 12:11 pm