Speaking after our narrow 3-2 defeat in China, Mark Jackson spoke with pride about growth, resilience and how his team are preparing for our next game, this weekend in Adelaide.
The Mariners fell just short against star-studded Chinese Super League Champions Shanghai Port, despite a spirited display that saw us dominate periods of the game.
Trailing 2-0 at half time, a positive response saw Mikael Doka’s thunderbolt halve the deficit on the hour mark. With the Mariners pushing for an equaliser, Shanghai Port struck on the break and Matias Vargas curled home brilliantly to restore Shanghai Port’s two-goal advantage on 85 minutes, but again the Mariners battled back.
Nico Duarte fired home brilliantly for his first senior goal in added time and the Mariners pushed for a dramatic late point but couldn’t make late corners pay.
Match Report: Doka and Duarte on target but Mariners fall just short in Shanghai
“The boys deserve a hell of a lot of credit”
“Even though the result wasn’t what we wanted, there are so many positives from the game. We were very good against the Chinese Super League Champions. They’re a very big club, with a fantastic, experienced manager in Kevin Muscat and they’re up there in the league again this season.” Jacko sad.
“We’re early in our season and integrating new players but we’re seeing positive signs game after game, the boys deserve a hell of a lot of credit for the fight and resilience they showed to come back into the game after conceding early.
“We’re seeing the team gel even more, growing all the time. We know it will take time to embed new and young players into the team but we’re showing improvements and competing against some of the top teams in Asia.”
“The whole team were connected”
“We grew since the last game against Melbourne Victory, we created more chances which is something we addressed. We’re aware we need to do more with the ball, so I’m pleased with the opportunities we created.” Jacko explained.
“There were strong individual performances throughout the team. Doka scoring the goal that he did, Lucas Mauragis joining in and creating attacks from a deeper position, showing the qualities that made us identify him and bring him in.
“Lucas has the physical capabilities to work up and down the pitch for 90 minutes, a real strength of his, he is trusting the system and now understanding how he can be really effective offensively as well as defensively. It’s now about him creating relationships with players in front of him.
“Bradley Tapp again next to Brian Kaltak, Storm Roux at right back were strong defensively. I could talk about every individual, the whole team we’re really effective so we feel really positive about that.”
“I fully believe the results will come”
“We said at half time we need to be positive and we knew the next goal was vital. The two goals we conceded were really avoidable and we know we can stop them if we keep switched on in certain moments.” Jacko said.
“The lads could quite easily have dropped their heads, but they didn’t. That shows the togetherness, character and bravery of a very young team. To push a team like Shanghai Port as far as we did was pleasing, but we want to win.”
It hasn’t come yet in the first three games but we believe we can win in this competition. I’m immensely proud of the performance last night and I fully believe results will come.
“What we expect to give the fans a team that will run, fight and die for the badge, and they did. In the first half we had periods but in the second half especially they showed courage, desire and gave everything. That was the most pleasing thing for me, as well as being positive and creative with the ball.” Jacko said.
“The team looked connected between the defensive, midfield and attack. They are starting to build patterns of play, that was really pleasing for us [the coaching staff] to see.
“Tactically, we spoke about how we can attack in our shape. Building relationships out wide with Lucas, Vitor, Storm and Doka. Within the game, we brought on Bailey and changed the sides of the wingers, we thought Doka coming inside on his right and Bailey on his left could be a weapon and that showed with Doka’s goal, an exceptional strike.
“We were pleased with how we attacked the game. We grew from the Melbourne Victory game and we expect to grow even more in the coming games.”
“We trust in these young players”
As well as 19-year-old Brandtman, Jacko also turned to fellow academy graduates Duarte, Haine Eames and Sasha Kuzevski off the bench. Duarte scoring his first senior goal and Eames breaking further records, becoming the youngest player to feature in the AFC Champions League Elite, at 16-years-old.
“We have trust in these young players and I trust in the process, we’re developing players who can handle the biggest stage in Asian football. It’s not about the starting eleven or squad of 18, we know we need everybody in the squad to be ready.” Jacko said.
Recovery, Adelaide preparation and praise for his staff
“The recovery process and preparation for Adelaide starts straight after the game. The staff cover every aspect of recovery. The players will get up for breakfast, stretch, go for a walk, a swim, get massages and more. It’s great to see the multi-disciplinary team working so effectively.” Jacko said.
“I commiserated the players for the result and praise their performance, but I also have to give the staff praise for their commitment and togetherness. Every day, the team are growing but the staff are growing too. I couldn’t be more proud of everyone,” he added.
