It was described by one match commentator as the “worst performance from a home side this season” – the Newcastle Jets meekly capitulating in front of their frustrated home fans, as Brisbane looked the champions of yore once again.
But how to explain such a performance? Fox’s Brenton Speed asked his co-commentator: “Is it about effort?”The rejoinder from Robbie Slater was swift: “I never question a player’s effort”.
It was a stark contrast to coach Phil Stubbins who rounded on his side in the post-game press conference slamming a “terrible performance”, stating “there were players out there just looking at them felt as though it was a training run” and concluding that “if Newcastle Jets players can’t get up for a home game then we’ve got some issues that we need to deal with”.
And issues there were, in spadefuls. To understand these however, we need to first start with a key tactical tweak made by Mike Mulvey.
So much has been made of a certain Albanian’s off-season transfer and how it broke the partnership of Brisbane’s “Killer Bs” – Broich and Berisha. No, you can’t simply replace a No9 like Besart Berisha – so you have to adapt. And so, as he did previously to great effect, shorn of his leading marksman, and with
Broich looking increasing forlorn wide on the left, Mulvey played the German centrally as a ‘false nine’.
This had three immediate benefits – firstly, with Broich dropping deeper it immediately created numerical superiority in midfield, with Newcastle’s three men now dealing with Brisbane’s four.
Secondly, it neutralised Newcastle’s press – with Caravella looking to shut down Brattan and the other midfielders picking up man for man, as soon as Broich entered the space Newcastle’s deepest midfielder, Kantarovski, was forced to drop onto the German, with the result that Caravella then dropped onto either Petratos or Lustica, leaving Brattan free to orchestrate Brisbane’s plays with astonishing ease. Finally, with Broich coming out of the traditional No 9 space it enabled Brisbane’s wide forwards Borello and Henrique (after Solorzano’s injury) to make ‘outside-in’ runs, causing countless headaches for the Newcastle central defenders.
At half time, this mismatch had become evident – despite remaining nil-nil, Brisbane had seen 57% of the possession, 60% of the territory, and carved out nine shooting opportunities to Newcastle’s one.
With Mulvey having shown his hand, Stubbins then had the opportunity to respond – and the change duly came; not in personnel, but in formation.
Switching to 4-4-2, with Griffiths joining Montano up front, the Jets then played with a flat four in midfield – the idea being, presumably, to defend resolutely with ‘two banks of four’, whilst providing greater assistance to Montano up front, with Griffiths reverting to his more natural position.
Rather than stem the tide of Brisbane attacks however, this change in fact invited the deluge – the new formation holding strong for just four minutes before Henrique grabbed the opener, in a move that highlighted Brisbane’s ability to find space between the lines.
Following a turnover by the Jets, Brattan is able to receive the ball under no pressure. Henrique makes a sharp run centrally drawing the makeshift right back Jaliens with him, opening space for Stefanutto to exploit. With Caravella caught on his heels, Brattan finds Stefanutto in acres of room, who then finds Henrique centrally for an easy tap in.
Tellingly, the three substitutions Stubbins then made were to maintain this formation – Virgili replacing Caravella (always an ill-at-ease right winger); Welsh for the tiring Celeski; and Jeronimo as a like-for-like replacement for Griffiths.
In contrast to a 4 v 3 inferiority in the first half, Newcastle’s beleaguered central pairing now found themselves 4 v 2 with Carney and Virgili essentially acting as wingers, and the central defenders Regan and Madaschi more often than not holding space, rather than tracking Broich’s runs back into midfield.
Hindsight is obviously a luxury Stubbins didn’t have, but at half time it was apparent his midfield trio needed more support. One possible alternative strategy comes from the Josep Gombau playbook.
With a switch to a 3-4-3 – the substitution perhaps of gifted playmaker Marcos Flores for the already yellow-carded Taylor Regan – Brisbane’s two key playmakers, Broich and Brattan, would have found themselves under greater pressure, with the midfield equation redrawn as 4 v 4. Kantorovski returns therefore to his preferred deeper lying role to marshal Broich, with Flores at No10 posing potential headaches for Brattan, as well as providing a crucial link to the hard-working but isolated Montano.
Flores’ appearance on the bench suggests the Argentine was fit to play, meaning Stubbins must have had his reasons in overlooking the former Johnny Warren medalist.
To publically second guess a new coach is rarely a welcome contribution, but this is invited when a team’s players are blamed for a performance in which they were hardly well-assisted to compete.
Take nothing away from Mulvey’s Brisbane Roar, whose fans will hope this match, and the shift of Broich to a more central position constitutes the fillip their flagging title defence greatly needs.
For Stubbins and the Jets a tough fixture away to the Wanderers will be the test of both the coach and the playing squad’s mettle in putting behind them a game in which they were comprehensively beaten.
