Opinion: Play like Mariners and you'll fight like sailors

BRAIN FADE: Mariners striker Roy O'Donovan (second from right) faces the on-field cross examination at Central Coast Stadium after his Liverpool kiss. PHOTO/GETTY

IN ANY sport there's foul play and then there's downright battery and assault.

The Central Coast Mariners v Wellington Phoenix A-League football match in Gosforth on Thursday night became a new low for New Year's Eve thuggery.

It was bad enough that Mariners striker Roy O'Donovan gave Nix defender Manny Muscat a "Liverpool kiss" near the edge of the 18m box after a lull in play in the 58th minute but what was worse was that referee Kris Griffith-Jones and his sidekicks somehow mysteriously missed the vicious assault.

Had he displayed such a barbaric act anywhere outside the confinements of a sporting paddock, O'Donovan's girlfriend or wife would have been picking him up from a holding cell with a lawyer to sort out papers for a court appearance at a later date.

The former Irish age-group international was an utter disgrace, sporting a black eye and arguing with everyone about how his cowardly attack was somehow justified.

The 30-year-old copped a yellow card from the ref - one of nine he served in the game - and Nix skipper Andrew Durante received one for vociferously demanding O'Donovan be sent off the park with a red.

Seconds before the attack, O'Donovan had pursued Muscat, who was shadowing the ball towards the goal line, and grabbed his shirt from behind.

In attempting to shrug off the hand on his back, Muscat had reacted by twisting with an extended elbow, connecting with O'Donovan's face.

As Muscat walked back after the ball had trickled over the goal line, he gave O'Donovan a mouthful on what appeared to be the football sin of grabbing players.

The rest is now documented in the A-League Hall of Shame.

It's no secret that the Mariners were desperate for a victory and they got it, 3-1, 11 matches and almost three months later.

But this was an overwhelming and embarrassing defeat for A-League. The likes of O'Donovan need to be lined up in front of the goal-scoring celebratory cannon at Central Coast Stadium and blown away.

Commentators remarked that it was otherwise a "robust contest". What game were they watching?

The hooligan in a playing shirt was allowed to carry on until the 90th minute and left the park to a rousing applause from the 10,000-odd crowd.

The ref needs to go back for a refresher course but then the passive involvement of his assistants perhaps suggests the officialdom needs to meet urgently to discuss how games have consistently deteriorated in A-League to kindergarten playground antics of grabbing, shirt-pulling and blokes, such as Roly Bonevacia, rolling around on the ground in total agony every time there's a contact but turning frisky in the blink of an eye to push a quick freekick.

Regrettably it is a throwback to the Ricki Herbert era where the Muscats and Ben Sigmunds justified thuggery as "physicality".

Surely, it must be time to bury the stupid footballer.

The 26th-minute, penalty-kick goal was a refereeing howler as Griffith-Jones adjudged Muscat to have hacked down Joshua Rose.

Muscat didn't because he got the ball and Rose, in desperation, rammed his foot behind the defender's leg and took a dive.

In fact, at halftime, a Fox TV sideline commentator got into the act to rationalise an undeserving goal.

Joker: " ... what do you make of the penalty decision?"

Rose, avoiding eye contact with TV camera: "Oh, it was definitely a penalty decision in my opinion and a great strike from Fab [striker Fabio Ferreira] to give us the early lead."

Talk about wearing blinkers and shoddy broadcasting to appease one-eyed home fans. Such parochial coverage in football demands the use of TMO referrals. Arguments of holding up play don't cut it because the ensuing kerfuffle ate up more time than any referral.

Rose conceded they were 2-0 up at the break but "it wasn't the best football we've played".

No argument's with the other goals against the Nix but there's a good reason why Central Coast are at the bottom of the table and belong there.

Overall, akin to rugby league, Australia again comes under scrutiny for dodgy officiating.

All that aside, the Nix are their own worst enemies and didn't deserve any points against the Mariners.

No more blaming the final third for not scoring goals because the defence and midfield are more abysmal.

It's rich when Durante laments a dearth of goals but his Beefeaters look all out to sea, including himself.

The Bermuda Triangle question: "How does a ball relayed across the front of the goalmouth go past several Nix defenders to find the only opposition player in the box?"

Ernie Merrick

In fact, it's time coach Ernie Merrick went shopping for contemporary players who aren't just adept at putting up shutters but also can calmly turn defence into attack through basic passing.

Vince Lia might as well have been a corner-flag post because he was conspicuous in his absence on the field.

How does Kwabena Appiah, with a history of injuries but promising, start a game but begins cramping in 56 minutes?

The engine room continues to stutter like a coal-fired train from yesteryear.

It's simple - receive ball, push quick balls into gaps to put attackers immediately on to the front foot and watch the opposition defenders back pedal.

Only take more touches on a ball when you have the propensity to surge into the stock exchange area to create havoc to yield a penalty kick or scoring opportunity.

To date, Alex Rodriguez has continuously made unforced errors, even when not under pressure.

His player-grabbing antics to camouflage his inability to mark has been evident throughout the season and two brilliant passes on attack do not compensate for those inadequacies.

Bonevacia needs to stop dancing with the stars every time he touches the ball and focus on pushing deft passes out wide to stretch the defence, not thread balls into the rib where Central Coast kept disrupting play with physicality.

The Dutchman invites crude tackles because he is a serial dribbler and, for goodness sake, cut out the theatrics every time someone comes close to you.

Brilliance? Bollocks. Push passes and all of Nix's midfield blues will evaporate.

Ditto Michael McGlinchey because the Nix midfield has never looked so dysfunctional.

The sum of individuals needs a modicum of cohesiveness and pretty smartly.

As for Roy Krishna, he should never have started.

The Fiji international looked like a Weta workshop figure out of the stunning Gallipoli exhibition at the Te Papa Museum in Wellington.

Broken finger strapped and 24 minutes into the game his right ankle wrapped in bandage, it was painfully obvious Krishna didn't belong there risking more injuries.

It's a blessing in disguise that Bonevacia and Rodriguez will be out in the next round at the Cake Tin against the Brisbane Roar.

That's because it'll be an ideal time to field fresh players who can inject simplicity in critical zones although the defence is another story.

Substitute Matthew Ridenton, errors aside, showed how to put crosses through, resulting in Blake Powell's tap-in goal in the 66th minute.

Jeffrey Sarpong looked promising as a provider up front and, hopefully, will recover from his calf injury but should ignore the pressure of scoring goals.

Make the right moves and the goals will invariably take care of themselves.