Qld Roar blew it

Qld Roar lost 2-0 to Adelaide in their last match of the regular A-League season. All they needed was any kind of win, & they would have won the minor premiership. But nope, they blew it with the loss. The dreams of the minor premiership are gone, & I don't know when they will get another chance like this.

What's more depressing than the loss itself was the way they lost. I saw much of the first half at home. And it was sheer torture to watch Qld Roar's performance. They were very subdued, totally lacking in urgency, motivation & cohesion. They never got going at all. And this was a match they needed to step up & go for the win! Instead, they never ever looked like scoring a goal. The first goal they conceded was terrible & could have been avoided, even if the Qld keeper could claim he was fouled in the lead-up to the goal. From that point on, Qld looked even less likely to score. Then came disaster in the 41th minute. Tiatto got a straight red card for clashing with an Adelaide player (who may have made a meal of Tiatto's foul). Qld Roar's chance of coming back disappeared with that sending off. As soon as I saw the red card, I walked away from the TV - I knew there was no way back. If I hadn't walked away from the TV then, I certainly would have done so 4 minutes later, when Adelaide got their second goal to take a 2-0 half-time lead. I didn't see the second goal, but learned about it on the internet.

So Qld Roar finishes fourth on the table. I'm not happy about the sub-standard display against Adelaide. I suppose I could rant & rave about it & be so negative. That said, Qld have never finished as high as fourth before, & overall they have had a good season. For that, they should be commended. It's just that having seen many of their games, I thought Qld could have done better in some of the matches.

Nevertheless, finishing fourth means Qld are in the play-offs, for the first time. Time to put the Adelaide debacle behind, & concentrate on the task ahead. Qld now play Sydney FC on a home & away basis - starting with Sydney away in the first leg this Friday, & then Sydney at home in the second leg. Loser over both legs are eliminated. Based on the performance against Adelaide, I don't think Qld will get past Sydney. Qld will certainly be underdogs, & perhaps the pressure is less on them & more on Sydney. That may be a good thing. I won't be that disappointed if they are eliminated by Sydney, as I think that will happen. Whatever the result, I hope Qld will step up, play a lot better than they did against Adelaide, & give Sydney FC a run for their money. Come on, Qld!