No Laughing Matter After Derby Loss

[mack]

The final Sydney Derby of the A-League regular season kicked off on Sunday at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney FC ran rampant, winning 1-0 only by the efforts of Daniel Margush in the Wanderers goal. The loss almost certainly ends the Wanderers hopes of a top 6 finish and prepares the ground for another post-season coach sacking.

The Wanderers came into the game after a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Perth Glory last weekend, while Sydney FC won their game against Melbourne Victory comfortably scoring 2 goals to 0. The Wanderers needed to win to stay in touch with the Top 6 with Macarthur & Brisbane Roar playing in the next day or two. Sydney FC have no hope of winning the Premiership after the controversial win by Melbourne City secured their first league title, but second place is theirs for the taking. Both sides added a McGowan to the starting lineup, the Wanderers replacing Patrick Ziegler with their Captain, Dylan McGowan, while Sydney FC added Ryan McGowan after resting him in their last game.

10 minutes had gone by with neither side being able to fashion a clear cut chance, Adam Le Fondre collided with Daniel Margush and asked hopefully for a penalty. The 14th minute saw Ziggy Gordon whacked in the head by Bobo's knee as Gordon slid through for a clearance. After a brief stint off the field Gordon returned none the worse. The Red & Black found it difficult to hold possession, Sydney FC pressed high up the park and the Wanderers resorted to long balls that Mitch Duke & Bruce Kamau found hard to control.

James Troisi had been silent until the 18th minute, after neat play between himself & Tate Russell, he was in on goal but at a very wide angle, smashing a shot into the side netting for the Wanderers first shot of the game. New arrival Steven Ugarkovic made his introduction in the 19th minute, Duke playing it off for the ex-Newcastle midfielder but his placed shot was a long way out from goal & straight at Andrew Redmayne in the Sydney FC goal.

Sydney FC thought they took the lead in the 25th minute. From a corner there was a tangle of legs as Mitch Duke was tripped over by Rhyan Grant. The foul gave Bobo an open shot that he put into the net. For once the officiating was on the spot for the Wanderers, and it was instantly chalked off. Gordon picked up the first yellow card of the contest after tripping Milos Ninkovic as the Sydney midfielder was heading toward the corner flags. From the resulting free kick Caceres fired from long range and Margush dived low to his right to turn it away for a corner.

It was the Wanderers turn to have a goal ruled out from a corner. In the 43rd minute WSW pulled off a training ground routine. Dorrans played a 1-2 with Troisi at the near post, Kamau peeled off the back like he was running an NFL route, he was wide open and slammed the ball home. VAR spoiled the party as it is want to do, deciding that Gordon blocked Ninkovic to free up Kamau. Ninkovic was never getting to Kamau and Gordon coming off his run to block Ninkovic gave the VAR all it needed to rule out the goal. The rest of the half passed without major incident and the two teams headed to the dressing rooms at 0-0.

A minute into the second half Mark Natta gave away a foul outside the penalty area. Luke Brattan stepped up and fired over and around the wall, Margush leapt to his left and made a great save then collected the ball calmly from the resulting corner. Margush was called into action again in the 50th minute, jumping to reach up to crossbar height to knock over a header from Bobo. Sydney FC kept up the pressure and once again Margush was well placed, Kosta Barbarouses hitting a left footed volley in the penalty arc that was straight at the keeper.

SFC were dominant for the entire half and made good on their possession & territory advantage by taking the lead in the 62st minute. Grant & Barbarouses played down the right flank, Grant fired in a shot that rebounded to Joel King, instead of shooting he played in Ninkovic, his simple cross found the middle of the 6 yard box. Bobo managed to lose his marker Dylan McGowan, the striker getting goal-side of the Wanderers Captain and nodding it to the far post.

Bernie Ibini was subbed on and made his first impact on the 77th minute with a long shot that skidded along the turf and was saved by Redmayne. Sydney FC went up the other end and Margush was once again required to make a save from Ninkovic after they quickly counter attacked. 2 minutes before full time Margush was nearly caught of his line yet again, after coming out to clear a long ball over the top but doing it poorly, Barbarouses tried to shoot into the open net but sent it just wide.

Keanu Baccus summed up the game for the Wanderers with his last kick of the game, the final chance to launch it long into the box, he instead found an acre of space in the corner with no-one within 15 meters of the ball. Sydney FC took the goal-kick and full time sounded, ending their 900 plus day derby drought.

After the final whistle sounded the WSW players were all smiles in their post-game chats with the opposition. Without a care in the world Kamau, Duke & Troisi were shown sharing a laugh with their supposed "rivals", taking the piss out of every statement the playing & coaching group have made about "big reactions" and "playing for the badge". Not content with their lack of effort on the pitch, they compounded the loss, and the likely end of their finals hopes, by yakking it up with a team that will play finals football this season and are a good chance of lifting another trophy. It is pathetic. I don't expect players to wail and gnash their teeth but I, and I suspect, most of our supporters, expect a derby loss to have our players showing an emotion other than laughing about their failure.

It is unacceptable for a club in our position to allow players to treat the match like a pre-season kickabout or a Sunday park football game. Do the players have no pride? Do they simply not care? Perhaps they felt a 1-0 loss, being saved by Margush from another 5 goal loss, meant they could afford to feel like they've put in an acceptable level of effort. It is never acceptable for a Wanderers A-League team to be so happy after a loss like that, let alone a derby. That Carl Robinson has run the team so poorly that his players find their behaviour acceptable is another mark on his godawful tenure as the coach, adding to his failure as a tactician. His time is running out and all that can save him now is a miracle run to the finals, or the owners deciding that they can't find anyone worth replacing him with.

The supporters of this club deserve better.

The Wanderers next game is against Wellington Phoenix at the Western Sydney Stadium on Wednesday the 26th of May with kick-off at 7:05PM.

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[sonar]

****. ! I have a sneaky suspicion that the club won't sack CR. They gave Babbel a second season even after finishing 8th.

[SBW]

I'm on my way home from Derby now, the performance from WSW was very flat, no intensity whatsoever.

Carl persisting with 3 at the back after being exposed by Perth last week does nothing to fix the issue for this game.

I just hope now that he is gone at the end of the season and bring in a proper local coach.

[Smoggy]

11 minutes ago, sonar said:

****. ! I have a sneaky suspicion that the club won't sack CR. They gave Babbel a second season even after finishing 8th.

No saying next years roster will be as good as what CR has had at his disposal this season. If club are considering cutting CR may as well do it now.

[Wobblies]

“I am joining a club which doesn’t want to just make the top six, we want top four and top two. We want to win championships,” Robinson stated at his unveiling..................He followed this up every week with a string of platitudes glued together with cliches.

[sonar]

2 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

No saying next years roster will be as good as what CR has had at his disposal this season. If club are considering cutting CR may as well do it now.

Unfortunately I failed mind reading at school and have no clue to how management thinks.....

Just going on past performance.......

[Smoggy]

1 minute ago, sonar said:

Unfortunately I failed mind reading at school and have no clue to how management thinks.....

Just going on past performance.......

Well...your no ******* use 

[mack]

1 minute ago, Smoggy said:

No saying next years roster will be as good as what CR has had at his disposal this season. If club are considering cutting CR may as well do it now.

Our squad next season won't have Duke, Kamau, McDonald and probably Gordon. Baccus might agitate to finally get his transfer a year before his contract expires as well.

But we'll be keeping Ibini (3 goals in 23 games), Vedran (collecting insurance because he's broken and will likely never play AL again), McGowan (fraud), Troisi (4 goals in 22 games), Dorrans & Ugarkovic (generic defensive midfielders with little impact), Margush (who has gone okay but punches too much and his distribution is mediocre) and then all the youth players.

And after so long out of the finals, with an obvious failure in charge, and owners who are literally spending money on another A-League club and aren't interested in signing a real marquee player, why would anyone good join us?

[sonar]

1 minute ago, mack said:

Our squad next season won't have Duke, Kamau, McDonald and probably Gordon. Baccus might agitate to finally get his transfer a year before his contract expires as well.

But we'll be keeping Ibini (3 goals in 23 games), Vedran (collecting insurance because he's broken and will likely never play AL again), McGowan (fraud), Troisi (4 goals in 22 games), Dorrans & Ugarkovic (generic defensive midfielders with little impact), Margush (who has gone okay but punches too much and his distribution is mediocre) and then all the youth players.

And after so long out of the finals, with an obvious failure in charge, and owners who are literally spending money on another A-League club and aren't interested in signing a real marquee player, why would anyone good join us?

I'd be shattered if Ziggy left. Guys a beast.

[Smoggy]

2 minutes ago, mack said:

Our squad next season won't have Duke, Kamau, McDonald and probably Gordon. Baccus might agitate to finally get his transfer a year before his contract expires as well.

But we'll be keeping Ibini (3 goals in 23 games), Vedran (collecting insurance because he's broken and will likely never play AL again), McGowan (fraud), Troisi (4 goals in 22 games), Dorrans & Ugarkovic (generic defensive midfielders with little impact), Margush (who has gone okay but punches too much and his distribution is mediocre) and then all the youth players.

And after so long out of the finals, with an obvious failure in charge, and owners who are literally spending money on another A-League club and aren't interested in signing a real marquee player, why would anyone good join us?

Exactly, you feel they punted the house on getting to the finals this season with what looked like a squad capable of making the top 3 or 4. 
 

They didn’t bank on Carlo being an idiot.

Edited May 23, 2021 by Smoggy

[mack]

5 minutes ago, sonar said:

I'd be shattered if Ziggy left. Guys a beast.

He cost us tonight and we've got three contracted central defenders already. He is also clearly a last ditch tackler type of defender rather than the imposing big man & organiser we need.

Lastly, he's a foreign player. Is he really as good enough to use a 4th squad spot AND our foreign spot on him? Knowing our club though if we let him go whoever we sign will be a failure as a replacement.

[WHACKO]

1 minute ago, sonar said:

I'd be shattered if Ziggy left. Guys a beast.

Why would he be leaving. 

We asked him at the open day that it's lucky we have you...and he replied with I'm the one who's lucky be here.

[sonar]

2 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

They didn’t bank on Carlo being an idiot.

It's like Babbel. I have nothing against him ( Babbel ) personally and thought his bluntness to various players at times was warranted but if you looked at his previous record he'd been sacked for poor performances from multiple clubs.

CR seems like a decent guy as well but his tactical nous is zip.

[Upthehill]

29 minutes ago, sonar said:

****. ! I have a sneaky suspicion that the club won't sack CR. They gave Babbel a second season even after finishing 8th.

Babs was also handed a lot of Gumby’s trash. Guess we will know in a few weeks

[WHACKO]

1 minute ago, mack said:

He cost us tonight and we've got three contracted central defenders already. He is also clearly a last ditch tackler type of defender rather than the imposing big man & organiser we need.

Lastly, he's a foreign player. Is he really as good enough to use a 4th squad spot AND our foreign spot on him?

He's better than Mutch and Muller...who I presume will both be going. 

[sonar]

2 minutes ago, mack said:

He cost us tonight and we've got three contracted central defenders already. He is also clearly a last ditch tackler type of defender rather than the imposing big man & organiser we need.

Lastly, he's a foreign player. Is he really as good enough to use a 4th squad spot AND our foreign spot on him? Knowing our club though if we let him go whoever we sign will be a failure as a replacement.

I think Ziggy is worth a visa slot. Will Dorrans,Mutch or Muller be with us next season.? 

[Smoggy]

Board won’t sack CR until mathematically impossible to make finals I suspect. That isn’t too far away now.

[sonar]

1 minute ago, Smoggy said:

Board won’t sack CR until mathematically impossible to make finals I suspect. That isn’t too far away now.

Two games next week will decide it one way or the other. Beat Nix and the Roar we have a shot....lose or even draw and it's bye bye baby goodbye.

[FootballRelic]

7 minutes ago, mack said:

Lastly, he's a foreign player. Is he really as good enough to use a 4th squad spot AND our foreign spot on him? Knowing our club though if we let him go whoever we sign will be a failure as a replacement.

The bolded part pretty much sums up WSW over the last 5-6 years. Sadly the recruitment from within the club whether from the coaching staff or club management or both has been amateur hour & abysmal.

[Hughesy]

I thought that was one of the most boring and uninspiring derbies. When you play each other for the second time in 3 weeks it really doesn’t build any anticipation. 

Once again we had zero tactical adaptation to try and get us back into or win the game when it was required. We just kept doing the same thing and hoping for the best. The extent of CR’s managerial capability appears to be making like for like subs at a scheduled time.

[Hughesy]

57 minutes ago, sonar said:

****. ! I have a sneaky suspicion that the club won't sack CR. They gave Babbel a second season even after finishing 8th.

I’d be so pissed off if they did that cause he’ll inevitably be sacked mid season which IMO is absolutely brain dead doing it in any sport/league let alone a salary capped one. 

I really hope I’m proved wrong but as it stands I can’t see us getting a fresh start until season 2022/23. 

[EmMac]

I had to work, albeit from home. I watched while I was working and I gotta say I'm getting a bit numb to it all. Another season pretty much flushed away

Its starting to feel like the definition of insanity a la Einstein.... we change nothing but expect a different result

[redpanther61]

Our season is done, even if we get the last finals spot we will be the first to be eliminated. We have no heart and no fitness. Where were the crunching tackles and fire in the blood confrontations that real derbies are known for? We pussyfooted around and gave them too much space on the ball. The majority of our players walked around the park and backed off instead of tackling the player with the ball. Our squad shows no fitness (maybe we should poach the Panthers fitness coach and maybe they will last for 45 minutes rather than 15!).

[GunnerWanderer]

1 hour ago, mack said:

 

After the final whistle sounded the WSW players were all smiles in their post-game chats with the opposition. Without a care in the world Kamau, Duke & Troisi were shown sharing a laugh with their supposed "rivals", taking the piss out of every statement the playing & coaching group have made about "big reactions" and "playing for the badge". Not content with their lack of effort on the pitch, they compounded the loss, and the likely end of their finals hopes, by yakking it up with a team that will play finals football this season and are a good chance of lifting another trophy. It is pathetic. I don't expect players to wail and gnash their teeth but I, and I suspect, most of our supporters, expect a derby loss to have our players showing an emotion other than laughing about their failure.

It is unacceptable for a club in our position to allow players to treat the match like a pre-season kickabout or a Sunday park football game. Do the players have no pride? Do they simply not care? Perhaps they felt a 1-0 loss, being saved by Margush from another 5 goal loss, meant they could afford to feel like they've put in an acceptable level of effort. It is never acceptable for a Wanderers A-League team to be so happy after a loss like that, let alone a derby. That Carl Robinson has run the team so poorly that his players find their behaviour acceptable is another mark on his godawful tenure as the coach, adding to his failure as a tactician. His time is running out and all that can save him now is a miracle run to the finals, or the owners deciding that they can't find anyone worth replacing him with.

The supporters of this club deserve better.

The Wanderers next game is against Wellington Phoenix at the Western Sydney Stadium on Wednesday the 26th of May with kick-off at 7:05PM.

 

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well said, very well said! Where the **** is the pride when your season is on the line. 

Today (outside of when we scored and it was disallowed) it never looked like we are ever going to do anything. 

I know Dorrans is supposed to protect the back 3 but FFS would it kill you to play one pass forward, everything is sideways and back - he's got to have capacity to do more. It's basically 9 outfielders waiting for Kamau to do something and the opposition has caught well onto it. If Kamau isn't creating no-one else can. Just another frustrating to game!

Well done Margush you were immense, bit up and down sometimes during the season but today outstanding. 

Adelaide about to win, I'd say we are pretty much toast. Now we see if Lederer and JT pull the trigger on another one of their **** strategic decisions!!! FFS I wish his uncle never gave him his money lol

[Wobblies]

Anyone know what today's attendance was?

[Hughesy]

I really couldn’t care less if the players are having a laugh and chewing the fat after the game. If you or I have a bad/tough day at work, are we expected to sulk our way out the door and all the way home? 

It’s on a Monday morning when the debrief and solutions need to happen, which they’re clearly not anyway. Hence why I have even less of a problem with the players doing what they want at the final whistle.

[pseudonym]

10 minutes ago, Ossified said:

Anyone know what today's attendance was?

I was also trying to find that myself but no luck

For comparison, there were two sporting events in Sydney today

Eels hosting Manly at Bankwest - 24,411 (Manly win)

GWS hosting West Coast at Spotless - 9,046 (GWS win)

[wendybr]

24 minutes ago, hughsey said:

I really couldn’t care less if the players are having a laugh and chewing the fat after the game. If you or I have a bad/tough day at work, are we expected to sulk our way out the door and all the way home? 

It’s on a Monday morning when the debrief and solutions need to happen, which they’re clearly not anyway. Hence why I have even less of a problem with the players doing what they want at the final whistle.

I understand how fans could be upset, but it's never worried me either.

They'd be mates, former team mates, future squad mates etc etc. Players don't hate each other the way fans may (absurdly imho) hate each other.

In the case of today's game, our players might concede that we haven't really deserved to have had so many wins over the past few games/wouldn't realistically have expected a win away from home, or weren't particularly devastated.

Plus, as observed here elsewhere , there was no real intensity or anticipation for this...after we'd only played them a few weeks ago.

Not sure that many forumites attended, or supporters.

IDK...I'd have been surprised to see them looking devastated and sulking.

[Wobblies]

14 minutes ago, hughsey said:

I really couldn’t care less if the players are having a laugh and chewing the fat after the game. If you or I have a bad/tough day at work, are we expected to sulk our way out the door and all the way home? 

It’s on a Monday morning when the debrief and solutions need to happen, which they’re clearly not anyway. Hence why I have even less of a problem with the players doing what they want at the final whistle.

Neither could I, however, I do expect them to be absolutely knackered after giving their all on the field (not much sign of that) and not having too much energy left for frivolities with the opposition.

[Keithie]

Robbo will be here next year and will have success !!