Wasteful Wanderers in Debut Draw with Mariners

Mack, I agree with most of your summary, but I hate your headline!!!! I was stoked that we held last year's "minor premiers" to a draw! I put "minor Premiers" in inverted commas because I hate that term - they won the most games throughout the season, which makes them top dog in my estimation!

I loved that the Mariners fans felt safe to come back to the Woolpack after the game and share a few drinks with us.

And the RBB were fantastic throughout the game. I loved it when it started to rain and half the Marinators ran for cover and the RBB did NOT MOVE and sang even louder!

Go the Wanderers - and the RBB!

Mack, I agree with most of your summary, but I hate your headline!!!! I was stoked that we held last year's "minor premiers" to a draw! I put "minor Premiers" in inverted commas because I hate that term - they won the most games throughout the season, which makes them top dog in my estimation!

 

I loved that the Mariners fans felt safe to come back to the Woolpack after the game and share a few drinks with us.

 

And the RBB were fantastic throughout the game. I loved it when it started to rain and half the Marinators ran for cover and the RBB did NOT MOVE and sang even louder!

 

Go the Wanderers - and the RBB!

i loved the fact that we got louder when it rained(though i did hide in my hoodie a bit to stop me from getting too wet ), also thank you again very much for the coke

In teeming rain and gusting winds, the Wanderers controlled the majority of possession and the biggest chances of the game but couldn't convert one to take the victory.

According to fox sports, the Mariners had 63% of possession. I'd attribute that to the very slow build-up play the were using, lots of passes around the defenders to try and counter the high-press from the Wanderers.

It also seemed to me, the best chances for the Wanderers came from errors in the back third from the Mariners that either directly or indirectly led to those 1-on-1's with Ryan.

Really seemed like a strong defensive display from both teams, with both being a little lacklustre in the front end of the field, too often a critical pass would be overhit or intercepted. A fair bit of that could be attributed to the amount of water on the surface perhaps, as they had the sprinklers going before kickoff and obviously the consistent sprinkle that developed into more during the game.

I think the Mariners were a bit out of sorts, they need to have more creativity and linking play in attack, and we will see Montgomery take the place of Pellegrino in the coming weeks which will further strengthen their defences.

The Wanderers were still impressive tonight, but there are so many positive signs for development through the season.

If Hersi improves his touch on the ball, he will be a real threat. On multiple occasions he had Rose hesitant to play his natural wing-back role, and he was quick to swivel to make sure he wasn't being caught out. Appiah-Kubi is a natural substitution option in this position, have Hersi wear the defender out, then later in the game throw on Kubi and let him fly past them.

Mooy was excellent to behold, and I can only see him improving and reading his teammates better to improve distribution. Ono, when match-fit, will have the potential to determine games with significant assists.

The whole squad is still learning each other, and from what I've seen tonight, there's a lot of promise in this team.

I'll update it, I meant attacking possession.

Felt a bit sorry for Dino, just had nothing come off for him tonight, but my god does he work hard. Did not stop chasing down and pressuring the Mariners' defenders.

Felt a bit sorry for Dino, just had nothing come off for him tonight, but my god does he work hard. Did not stop chasing down and pressuring the Mariners' defenders.

Indeed, for a big guy he did a lot of work chasing defenders keeping the pressure high.

He is a big unit. I'd be worried if I saw him bearing down on me. I'd be kicking that thing a mile away.

I almost wanted Dino to not chase back so deep. He would end up defending deeper than Bridge/Ono at times and if we forced a turn over he wasnt there to accept a quick pass on the break and hold it up etc.

Having said that, his work ethic was awesome

What surprised me the most was how he just didn't stop. For a big unit, to keep that up for the whole 90 is outstanding.

Everyone has mentioned it, but kresinger's work rate was immense! couldn't believe he was able to keep it up all game

Well done to all. Out of curiosity, how audible were the RBB on tv. Did they come across loud and clear?

I almost wanted Dino to not chase back so deep.

This, I was thinking same during the game. He needs to stay up and receive the ball closer to the box to be a threat.

Bridge seemed to pull a hemi very early in the 2nd half and was a passenger for the rest of the game. He should have put his hand up and be subbed instead of Haliti.

Defense was solid, midfield and attack still need to gel but once they do and we start Ono instead of Bridge this team will give anyone a game.

I thought it was an impressive first start with some very good signs for the season ahead. Mooy looked dangerous with the ball, the defence held up well to the Mariners attack, especially in the last 5-10 minutes and we created many more opportunities. All that was missing was the clinical finish that hopefully will come. As mentioned above, the work rate from big Dino was great and to keep that up for the full game was fantastic. Ono showed some very good signs and once he finds his feet I can see some top notch supply to the attack.

Have to add some more love for Big Dino! My god the man has more endurance than the Duracell Bunny on Lithium D-Cells!

My overriding feeling, both last night and this morning, is what a great Wanderers Family experience last night was. We could hear the RBB at the Wooly from a block down the street, great atmosphere inside & outside for pre-game drinks, and fantastic to walk inside into a sea of red & black. It continued until we cleared Parramatta onto the M4 to go home, with waves, horn beeps, the whole shebang.

Other things that made me smile:

• ESFC & CCM fans coming into the Wooly, being given a huge raspberry, then handed a drink & made to feel welcome,
  
• A great turnout for our first game, despite the dodgy weather,
  
• Loads of happy faces of all ages in all parts of the stadium,
  
• Everyone getting involved during the game.
  

The best part of the "fan day experience" though has to go to the RBB. The noise, energy & dedication echoed all around the place - from early afternoon until very late into the night. Rain, storms, winds - these were mere nothings in the face of the Bloc. Nobody ran for cover, nobody stopped cheering and chanting, it was a beautiful thing to behold.

I loved how the supporters welcomed Ono as soon as he was subbed on and the subsequent applause for his first touches of the ball. Mooy, Ono and Kubi were a dangerous combination last night! Everyone was off their seats in the last minutes when the boys were inside the box. So many chances!!

I went down to the game last night. Great atmosphere from the RBB. Keep up the good work. More banners and flags will look alot better though.

Kubi was rubbish last night but Hersi,Polenz look good as did Mooy ono topper stanly and haliti

you'll all hate me for saying it, but for as hard as dino worked off the ball he offered very little when we were on the attack. misjudged every ball that came to him by a good 5 yards meaning he hardly won anything in the air. big improvement needed from him if we are to offer more as a whole in the final third...

on the plus side, mooy looked quality. d'appuzzo didn't look out of his depth at all, and hersi looked a talent.

ono clearly a class above - you could tell as soon as he came on based on how much time he created for himself on the ball and how the rest of the team responded to him.

oh and i had fun abusing former "pig" [sheffield united player] nick montgomery. classless scumbag that he is...

Thought Bridge was very ordinary his last pass let us down a number of times early on (conditions noted) and I think he should have been subbed off instead of Haliti who was dangerous the entire first half. Dino was outstanding and Mooy and Ono will become very dangerous. Think Mooy may have just needed a little more urgency on occasions and push on the attack a little more, he was best on field for me though and had the measure of Rogic for mine. Great start by the boys. Excited

you'll all hate me for saying it, but for as hard as dino worked off the ball he offered very little when we were on the attack. misjudged every ball that came to him by a good 5 yards meaning he hardly won anything in the air. big improvement needed from him if we are to offer more as a whole in the final third...

 

on the plus side, mooy looked quality. d'appuzzo didn't look out of his depth at all, and hersi looked a talent.

 

ono clearly a class above - you could tell as soon as he came on based on how much time he created for himself on the ball and how the rest of the team responded to him.

 

oh and i had fun abusing former "pig" [sheffield united player] nick montgomery. classless scumbag that he is...

I think Dino will get his scoring touch back, from what ive seen of him during preseason; he can do better and i have no doubt he will

I have no voice.

Nothing, zilch. Can barely whisper.

What a great night.

If only bridge worked as hard as dino, we might have another good striker. Also i think bridge played in a wrong position. He's not an AM hes got no creativity, had to be mooy, poljak or ono there, just behind dino to put some decent through balls.

I was really impressed by what I saw last night, great football by both teams. Mooy was fantastic controlled the game from the midfield and cleaned up Rogic really well and didn't allow him to play MOTM in my opinion. Was also impressed by Topor Stanley who was a rock in defence and also Kresinger who held up play well. We need to work on being more clinical in front of goal and troubling the keeper more though. Overall a strong first performance by the WWS.

Also great atmosphere at the match credit to the RBB, I was a bit surprised that the attendance was only 10 thousand, felt like twice that!

Thoroughly enjoyed myself last night and loved the seats up under cover given the weather

I thought we looked nervous in front of goal. At times we were looking to pass rather than shoot and the finishing (given the type of chances we had) was woeful. I also thought our wing play on the right (Kubi, then the sub) was a little subdued in that they seemed to want to play safe rather than take on the backs, get the ball to the line and whip a cross in. That said, it was good to see that we are trying to play football and Ono's first touch said it all. He is class.

I am really looking forward to the derby.

I did notice that the guys in the stands were getting into some of the clapping led by the RBB.

What a fantastic night and a great way for Wanderes to announce our arrival to other teams and more importantly fans who have not yet committed.

I am a fan but also a coach so i tend to become introvered during a game and look at the coaching opportunities, lokk at whats working and whats not.

Overwhelminghly the positives outweighed the small negatives. I will start with the positives.

Back 5 were fantastic despite not getting really tested. But when tested they came up trumps. Covic, TPS and Polenz were top class. Beauchamp needs to get a bit tighter and actually challenge and hit their #9 a few times especially in the air. D'puzzo did his job

Midfield is where we are strongest and when these boys get to know each otyher i cant see a better midfiled than ours. I love Poljak. He is a hardened pro and showed his class , composure but more importantly his positional sense in protecting our 3 and 4. Mooy was best on park by a mile. Quality and if he plays like this he will force his way into the NT set up. Downside was Bridge who worked hard but is simply a player who has lost all confidence. The upside for him was that popa kept him on, so maybe showing faith will help. But I cant help but think what Ono would have done with those balls Bridge had and gave away in the first 25 mins????

When Poljak, Mooy and Ono are the mids then look out.

Up front is where the team will need to improve. Big Kresinger looks capable and certainly has a great work ethic. Drops deep as mentioned on here and needs to keep it simple. He has a good touch but his foot speed and reaction s slow as seen in the 6 yard box in last few mins he should have got something on that ball. We saw his class when he played that ball to Haliti. He will benefit from Ono playing at #10 so will improve. But our wingers are weak. Hesri looks capable and did ok. Haliti isnt the answer and maybe Minnecon will play there??

Overall a great effort. The crowd was impressive as it pissed down out west all day so that may he taken 1000 out of the number. The beut part is that i cant see nodoby not returning after the experience they had. So i predict that our crowds will stay around 10k all year.

To te RBB brilliant! Would love to see a few more falgs / Tiffos and another bay would rock.

What a start.!!!

What a start indeed! Singing from first to last minute, and then the lads coming down to our fence after the match was very special.

I won't disect the game minutely, my take on things is that for a club cobbled together in 5 months that was an amazing night #1. Here's to many more RBB!!!

[and wasn't the Woolpack a fab way to kick things off? the flags & tifo's will come]

Guys, it's up to ALL OF YOU to bring a flag or banner etc to add colour to the home end.

Our tifo crew did a lot of work to make the banners and flags that we had, as well as the tifo.

We've got to keep improving. ESFC have 4000 coming to Parra for the derby. We have to out sing the bastards.

just wanted to welcome all the new members to the forum and gotta say that bridge really needs to improve has passing, i know he isnt exactly a goalscorer but he can create chances if he can pass, i hope he comes good

many many good signs both on field and off field

I was there last night. AS a foundation member, very proud of the boys. How good was the RBB? I was at bay 45 and I could hear them loud and clear and they were relentless in their chanting!!

Ono and Mooy will get better together. What cna I say about Ono? All class. His touches were great. Mooy was excelent. Bridge is never hardworking and I really hope he steps up otherwise I am concerned where the goals are coming from?

Hi guys, don't know if this is against the rules but if you want a copy of the historic night, found this: http://www.matchhighlight.com/forums/view.php?topic=DL201210069462