Heartbroken Gold Coast coach Miron Bleiberg has vowed his side will do everything in their power to wreck the finals hopes of rival Hyundai A-League clubs after their own season was consigned to the wastebasket.
Heartbroken Gold Coast coach Miron Bleiberg has vowed his side will do everything in their power to wreck the finals hopes of rival Hyundai A-League clubs after their own season was consigned to the wastebasket.
The wooden spoon all but belongs to them after a makeshift side fell 2-1 to Adelaide United at Skilled Park.
There are still seven matches to go for United, but the prospect of ditching the mythical utensil seems unlikely given the ninth-placed Reds opened the gap between the two sides on the ladder to eight points.
But Bleiberg said Gold Coast could still at the very least shape the top six.
“We want to have a say in what happens in the league and not be a passenger,” he said. “We’ll fight until the last drop of blood and we’ll never give up.”
“Can you imagine for example, we beat the Mariners on Wednesday or the Roar comes in the last match and we beat them?”
Bleiberg’s defiance is admirable, considering he admitted he was holding back tears in his post-match press conference.
So down in the dumps was the charismatic Israeli after their eleventh loss of the season that he was even seeking comfort in the lyrics of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
“I don’t know if you’re old enough to remember – it was a very famous song by the Rolling Stones,” Bleiberg said.
“It goes, ‘I sit and watch the children play as tears go by’. You know me – usually I’m cheerful, win lose or draw.
“I feel sorry for the boys, for myself, for the club, for the supporters. But hopefully people will see what we’re playing (with).”
Indeed, United were down to bare bones – but it opened the door for youth league schemer Daniel Bragg, who made his top-flight debut, while promising fullback Daniel Bowles made his first ever start.
Despite a solid effort though, the Coast’s motley crew of youngsters were no match for the class and experience of Adelaide goalscorers Bruce Djite and Dario Vidosic.
Bleiberg admitted the club hierarchy may have erred at the start of the season in their conscious decision to rely on youth players for depth.
“But it’s not (really) even a mistake – look at our injury list,” he said, making a reasonable point – United were without 11 key senior names on Sunday.
The likes of Peter Jungschlager (hip), Ante Rozic (hamstring) and James Brown (ankle) all joined a host of long-term casualties on the sidelines.
The coach said few, if any, will be available for the club’s next assignment against Melbourne Heart.
To make life even tougher, inspirational captain Michael Thwaite accumulated his fifth yellow card, meaning he will be suspended for the away trip.
That means Gold Coast are likely to rely on their teenage brigade for at least one more match, which Bleiberg hopes will give them a head start for next season.
“Golgol Mebrahtu had a chance in the first half, he was one-on-one with the keeper,” he said.
“Can you imagine if I had Paul Ifill or Besart Berisha (in that situation)? We would have won the game 3-1 or 3-2.”
“Do I have Ifill? No, I have Golgol Mebrahtu. That’s the price. But next year, he will probably score more.”
