Graham Arnold does not believe the Central Coast Mariners’ second successive defeat is a sign that his front-running side are losing momentum at the wrong part of the season, saying after the 2-1 defeat to Melbourne Victory that he is happy for them to lose pretty.
A high-quality game may have ended with the Mariners suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time in Arnold’s tenure, however the coach maintained faith in his players and the way they are approaching the game.
“I was very, very happy with the way we played. That’s the best we’ve played football-wise in quite a while. I thought it was a great game of football, very entertaining, lots of chances, some great chances,” he said.
“I was down here probably five weeks ago and we robbed Melbourne Heart and we didn’t play well and I wasn’t happy. But I go home happy tonight even though we lost.”
“It was a very good performance from us and it shows me that we are a very good side.”
Arnold’s only bone to pick was the decision of referee Peter Green to send off Trent Sainsbury just after the hour, which robbed the Mariners of the chance to get back into the match after falling 2-1 behind shortly before that incident.
Arnold felt that Sainsbury had missed Victory defender Fabio in his tackle and that the incident warranted at most a yellow card.
He also felt that Melbourne Victory skipper Adrian Leijer was lucky to stay on the park after he crashed through the back of Adam Kwasnik in the first half.
“Ado’s tackle, I thought it was a yellow, but then when I saw it on TV, that would have probably been a bit soft,” he said.
“When I look at Sainsbury’s live and I look at Sainsbury’s on the TV and he didn’t even touch him and you’ve got the linesman standing right in front of him, then it’s a little bit hard to take.”
One of the positive aspects Arnold took out of the defeat was the performance of teenage striker Tomas Rogic, who was making just his second start and scored a fantastic goal early in the match.
Arnold saw Rogic’s performance as a vindication of the faith the Mariners continue to show in youth.
“We are a club of kids. What we are trying to do is to be a club of choice for kids to have a go and get a go,” he said.
“We’ve had quite a few 18- or 19-year-olds out on the pitch tonight. We’ve got three away in the Olympic team and when you look at the four we had tonight, it’s the focus of the club to bring young kids through and give Australian youngsters a go.”
Rogic missed out on his chance to sign with English Championship outfit Reading because of paperwork and said he is now focused with his work at the Mariners, with whom he has a short-term contract until the end of the season.
