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Diary of a football mum episode 1: The Pearson family has always had its doubts about the VAR so the Central Coast Mariners’ game away to Adelaide on Friday, 19 February fuelled our contempt.
By Jackie Pearson
The Central Coast Mariners are at the top of the A-League table. Allow me to say that again, the Mariners are winning, the whole competition. For those of us who’ve followed the team since to dark days of the first A League season and stuck with them through multiple years of wooden spoons, it is a great feeling.
I wish I could say the same about their recent match away from home at Coopers Stadium in Adelaide. The Mariners’ post-match report politely called it a “frustrating night”. I will go further. It was a rotten result. The least we should have returned home with was a point.
The three penalties decided by the VAR should not have been awarded in Adelaide’s favour. The least controversial was the third, declared for Adelaide’s as a hand ball. The other two were disgraceful VAR decisions that should see the system reviewed, even scrapped.
Adelaide showed some early verve. Clisby had to be on his toes to block a strike by Ben Halloran in the opening ten minutes but their overall performance was lack lustre, saved only by three completely controversial spot kicks.
The Mariners were on the board first around minute 15. A sloppy back pass by Elsey gave De Silva the opportunity to tap the ball into the net past Delianov. This first goal came from Clisby in defence and a stylish pass from Bozanic, although slightly off, did the job for the Mariners.
It was looking like the away team would go to half time a goal ahead when Adelaide was given their first penalty. “Stefan Mauk appeared to fall into Ruon Tongyik in the 18-yard box,” according to the Mariners’ post-match report.
The delay while the VAR studied the stumble was too long. It resembled a rugby league commercial break. Surely if a decision takes that long the review needs to be thrown out – innocent until proven guilty. The referee did not even examine the footage.
Juric’s conversion meant the sides were even at the half-time break.
Nisbet and Kuol came off the bench at about minute 55. Kuol scored the Mariners’ second goal shortly after the 60 minute mark: “Kuol calmly collected a pass into the area before beating his defender and rifling a strike off the inside of the post and in to put his side back ahead, and go outright top of the golden boot race.”
Then we had to watch the VAR award a second unfair penalty to Adelaide – yet another tangle-fumble in the box that didn’t even look like a tackle. Very little contact. Completely unfair. Juric was on target again to take the match to 2-2.
Kuol was definitely deserving of a free kick on the edge of the Mariners’ goal area when a VAR review took the game back to the other end of the field for a hand ball penalty shot in favour of Adelaide that gave Juric his set-piece hat trick.
The best team did not win in Adelaide. Stajic can be proud of his squad. Let’s hope they head to Perth tomorrow, on Tuesday, March 2, ready to turn their obvious frustration into three points. Let’s hope the referee and VAR are up to the task.
