Tony Popovic disrespected the Asian Champions League by naming a 2nd tier squad for his opening match against Urawa, and the Japanese outfit punished him by handing out a 4-0 drubbing with a second half blitz.
Despite having just won the Sydney Derby, Popovic rotated his squad, bringing back failed foreign player Artiz Borda, the inconsistent Jumpei Kusukami, while also introducing players who haven't played in months, like Steven Lustica. Popovic also gave a debut to young striker Abraham Majok. The disjointed team managed to ease into the match, getting to the half-time break without conceding, along with Majok scoring only to be ruled out by the offside flag.
The second half was a disaster, just 10 minutes into the half Lee Tadanari sliced through the inept central defensive pairing, Shinzoh Kohrogi latching onto the through ball and stabbing a toe-poke past Vedran Janjetovic. They doubled their lead almost immediately, Tadanari turning from provider to scorer as he took advantage of an awful giveaway from Janjetovic, as he threw the ball straight to Urawa, they launched an attack that eventually ended with Tadanari firing under the keeper for 2-0.
The introductions of Mario Shabow, Ryan Griffiths & Shannon Cole did nothing to stem the Red tide, as they went for the jugular, picking up a 3rd goal in the 68th minute. Unlike the Wanderers who wasted every single set piece opportunity on the night, Hamill leapt to try and clear an Urawa corner but he only managed a dangerous flick-on. Urawa defender Makino Tomoaki was left unmarked, he waltzed into the 6 yard box, flung out a boot and connected to send the ball crashing past Jumpei on the line.
Brazilian forward Rafael da Silva was introduced late in the game, and despite not having the pedigree of his famouse namesake who played for Manchester United, Lyon & the Brazilian national team, Rafael was still good enough to blast a fourth goal past the Wanderers defence by embarrassing Hamill & Janjetovic.
Despite the high of the Sydney Derby win, this was a pathetic loss, one that started from the moment Popovic decided to play a bit piece team made up of failures, players out of position, debutantes, and men who hadn't seen a competitive match in months.
How Popovic decided that it was fine for his two fullbacks, several midfielders and goalkeeper to back up after the derby, but not the key central defensive pairing of Cornthwaite & Aspro is beyond me. For a coach who has won the competition, he let himself get humiliated, destroying all the momentum from the weekends Derby victory, just in time for a long plane trip to Perth for the weekend, followed by a long-haul effort to face up with Shanghai SIPG next week.
The few bright spots were Majok and his debut, Shabow finally getting some gametime, and the long awaited return of Shannon Cole. Everything else was a dismal failure.
Edited by mack
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