It would have felt like a punch in the gut for Melbourne Heart supporters, as a familiar face completed Central Coast’s unlikely comeback from two goals down. Former Melbourne Victory marquee man Marcos Flores did the damage, as he potted two penalties to Andrew Redmayne’s right to grab a share of the spoils on Saturday.
That made it two draws out of two games for Heart, an unbeaten sequence that will have done little to cheer their supporters. A dire goalless stalemate with cross-town rivals Victory was followed up by this weekend’s result, a 2-2 draw that felt like a loss. David Williams’ two second half goals had got the stands rocking, as Heart fans celebrated what looked to be a convincing win over the visitors from Gosford.
Alas it was not to be, as first Patrick Kisnorbo was penalised for some overeager defending from a corner kick, before namesake Gerhardt handled in the box in what was his first touch after coming on as a substitute. Coach John Aloisi was visibly unhappy with the refereeing decisions in his post-match press conference, but admitted he had not seen enough of both key penalty decisions to form a proper opinion. And so it will be, till at least the next game away to Perth.
The Curious Case of Hoffy
Go back a year and no one could have imagined Jason Hoffman as Heart’s first choice right back. And yet here we are in Round 2 of the 2013-14 A-League season, with the lanky Hoffman gallivanting down the right flank. As in pre-season, Aloisi has been quick to praise his makeshift full back and stress that he will only get better with time. It’s not an over-generous review of the player’s performances so far, nor is it a stretch of the imagination that he might actually grow into the role. Hoffman has actually been more than serviceable in the two games so far, and there doesn’t seem to be too much in the way of other options at the club for now.
But what of the cost to the rest of the team? What hasn’t been as obvious is Heart’s swaddling of their weakest player in cotton wool, as teammates are told to help cover whenever possible. Mate Dugandzic’s contribution on the weekend was minimal up front, as he tracked back often to help tackle and prevent Josh Rose from creating havoc down that flank. This impacted on Dugandzic’s ability to go forward and help in attack, as much of his time was spent basically acting as a defensive winger.
It doesn’t stop there however, as Aloisi admitted during the post match presser that Massimo Murdocca was also under instructions to drift wide and help out whenever needed. Murdocca has established himself as a hard worker in the middle of the park, and showed plenty of drive once again on Saturday, but he can only be in one place at a time and moving wide will open gaps up in midfield for the opposition to exploit. Heart have done a commendable job of covering their weakest link in the chain, but it has come at the expense of others and as long as Hoffman needs protection, the team will not be anywhere near full throttle.
The Replacement Killers
No Harry Kewell, no problem. Melbourne Heart were missing their captain after sustaining a curious case of ‘whiplash’ in Round 1, but reacted swiftly by moving David Williams into the No. 10 role and promoting Iain Ramsay to a starting berth. Both players repaid Aloisi’s faith in spades, until the team’s late collapse cost them two points.
Ramsay started wide on the left and although his finishing left much to be desired when going clear at least twice, the same could not be said about the quality of his crosses. With plenty of pace to burn, Ramsay is a part of the new look Heart attack that can turn defence into attack into the blink of an eye. Central Coast defenders Storm Roux and Trent Sainsbury were left in his exhaust plenty of times, and they will have been relieved when Flores bailed them out of a tight spot in the end.
Used primarily as an impact substitute for previous employers Adelaide United, and looking to offer the same off the bench for Heart, Ramsay staked a claim for a regular starting spot as he provided the assist for Williams’ second goal, zooming up the left and easily beating his man before driving a pinpoint delivery across the face of goal and on to his teammate’s outstretched foot. It should really have been 3-0 a little while later as they almost produced a carbon copy of the goal, but the goalkeeper was equal to it this time round and the home support were left disappointed.
Williams was having a rip-snorter of a game too, finding plenty of opportunities to go either side of target man Golgol Mebrahtu and giving the Central Coast defenders plenty of headaches. Aloisi had used him as an unorthodox playmaker before, most recently in the friendly loss to Adelaide in preseason and there are signs that the it is a role that Williams can be effective in. The winger certainly showed a poacher’s instinct for Heart’s opener, racing forward into space after Justin Pasfield had clumsily deflected Mebrahtu’s powerful effort. Not a single defender followed him in, as Williams ended up with the simplest of tap-ins to bring the crowd to its feet.
Who blinks first
All this brings us back to Melbourne Heart’s style of play this season. With height and pace two big strengths up front, the focus is definitely on the counter attack and this is something they seem to have no problems with. Mebrahtu continues to grow into the role of leading the line on his own, and this game against Central Coast was one of his best performances of date despite him not scoring. The young striker held up the ball well and played in teammates whenever he could, generally proving a nuisance to the opposition defenders. There will continue to be raw edges to his play, but there is no doubt that Heart have a diamond in the rough.
Much more worrying though is the lack of a Plan B. Heart look alright when facing more adventurous teams like in the Round 1 Melbourne Derby, their rapier quick counters catching Victory off guard on a couple of occasions. What happens though when they face teams that are set up for a more patient style of play? We definitely saw a bit of that on Saturday in the first half, as Central Coast practically engaged them in a blinking contest. Both teams were reluctant to go all out and take the initiative, resulting in a dire first half where nothing much of note happened.
The game finally opened up after the break, when the Mariners started committing more men forward. Heart’s long balls to Mebrahtu and pace down the left flank with Ramsay began to gain more of a significance, as did Williams’ crafty runs from the hole. Their attack began to look irresistible, and they began to craft chances. It’s a wonder that a team can look so insipid for one half of football, and then spring into action in the next 45 minutes. But that’s the way Melbourne Heart are set up at the moment, and there appears to be no alternative if things aren’t going their way. It’s still early days yet, so maybe John Aloisi will have a trick or two up his sleeve in the next few rounds. We await with bated breath.