Despite a late penalty leaving the Mariners without a point from the round one clash at Bankwest Stadium, Alen Stajcic believes there are plenty of positives to be taken from the performance away from home.
After 90 minutes in which his side were largely the better team, Staj was strong in the belief that good signs were aplenty.
“I thought we deserved something out of the game,” he said.
“Even in the first half we were more dominant with the ball and creating chances than the second half, there’s lots of positives for us to take away.”
“We controlled large portions of the game, we had controlled passages, [good] buildups, we were threatening in attack, we looked dangerous there and we looked solid at the back.”
“Bar the penalty and and the corner they didn’t create too many chances in open play.”
Stajcic wouldn’t rest on his laurels though, insisting that the hard work and positives need to end up in results sooner rather than later.
“There’s lots of positives but that’s two games in a row where we’ve played better football or maybe even been the better team but come out on the wrong end of the result.
“We know the game is about goals, that is obviously the most important factor and that’s the performance on which we’re judged.
“Apart from the result we played well, but we need to score more of our chances that we created and at the same time we conceded off a set piece which is disappointing.”
With an F3 Derby now on the cards next week, all attentions turn to taking on the Jets at Central Coast Stadium.
Stajcic will look to the fitness of Eunsun Kim during the week after he missed this outing, while Sammy Silvera could be back in line for a starting spot after a shorter appearance on Saturday night.
“Sammy pulled up a bit tight after the last game [against Adelaide],” Stajcic said.
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“Obviously a young kid coming into top flight football, playing four days straight at higher intensity and higher loads we need to make sure we manage him on and off the park.
“He’s got a lot to learn, and he’s got to grow physically and mentally but that’s part of his development as a footballer but he’s done well for us so far and I think he’ll continue to be an important player for us.”
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