What looked to be a fairly smooth-sailing afternoon quickly turned into anything but, as Melbourne City conceded two goals in the last 10 minutes of their Sunday fixture against Wellington Phoenix which resulted in a sharing of the points.
Here are the three things we learned after an utterly bitter turn of events:
Perhaps a wake-up call
Whilst City has enjoyed a fruitful start to the campaign taking 10 points from a possible 12, this game shows that wins won’t just fall in our lap. If you have a look at our start to the season, there are definitely some opportunities for reflection.
Brisbane was a firm tick as the boys delivered a complete performance, but maybe if we look at the Victory and Western games, this result may not be so surprising.
Whilst those performances as a whole were good, a slow start against both of them saw us concede very scoreable chances, but we ultimately remained unpunished.
I think a common theme in those games and yesterday's against Wellington is that City was comfortable in the contest for the vast majority of the match, but we again fell under a spell for around 10 minutes where we are asking to be punished. Unlike Western and Victory, Wellington was able to do that.
Whilst our start to the season is still exceptional, throwing a lead like we did yesterday is really tough to take, and feels like a loss more than anything. No doubt about it, the group will see this as two points dropped.
Here's hoping this serves as a bit of a wake-up call that sees the boys stay on task for the full 90 next week.
Cards galore
It seems the referees this season are on a mission to ensure that every single player steps not even a little teeny bit out of line. Fouls and cards are being called left, right and centre, and City are the main culprits.
It wasn't overly surprising to see a side led by Patrick Kisnorbo giving away a few fouls, but nonetheless, we’re starting to rack up a tally.
City are sitting number one in the fouls against charts so far this season according to Fotmob. PK’s men are averaging 18.5 fouls a game, and have also given away nine yellow cards and two red cards from just four games.
The worthiness of those cautions remains up for debate, but the message is clear from the officials this season: they’re harsh, really harsh.
Whilst I love a side who gets stuck in, hopefully we can find that sweet spot between fierceness and recklessness soon, as we’d hate to continually see some of our starters taking rotations in and out of the squad due to suspension.
Thomas Lam will now miss next week's match against the Perth Glory, which is a real shame after such a positive start to the season. Nuno Reis will now be doing his best to get fit over the coming few days to see if he can squeeze back into the 11 come Saturday afternoon.
It feels good to be City
Alright, let's end on a positive. Doesn’t it just feel good to be back this season?
I’m not sure if it's due to the last couple of stop-start seasons seeming to become a distant memory, but the vibe in the stands at the moment is fantastic.
There seems to be a real energy and connection between the playing group and the fans that is near-contagious.
Yesterday saw quite a healthy amount of fans around the ground and even a Victory fan celebrate a City goal - as I said, it's contagious.
But all in all, despite the disappointment of a dropped two points, this side is clearly heading in the right direction, and has made an almighty start on their quest for an unprecedented third consecutive Premiers Plate.
Whilst the result ultimately paints a picture of wasted opportunities, a poor 10 minutes certainly does not define the season so far as a whole. Sometimes hiccups are necessary, so let's hope the squad can learn the lesson on offer from the result.
City now looks forward to next Saturday when we face cellar dwellers Perth Glory. A result against the Western Australian outfit would extend our unbeaten streak to 5 games.
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