Ok, so I headed down to Pooperscoopa Park in the wild west yesterday as a spectator/fan and I know my opinion will be unpopular, as on FB I've already been told to "wake up to myself" and to "pull my head in" but I don't care so I'll say it anyway. Not that this makes me any more important than the next person, but I can see a few more things on the inside than the usual supporter.

I called it a few weeks ago that the greatest threat to grand final qualification for these guys was not WSW, SFC or CCM - but their own A-League manager. Put simply, the decision to not let Lundy and Cooper play cost them the win. I'd have no problems with their omission to keep them in cotton wool for today, if they were actually part of the first team plans. You don't need to be a genius to see that Lundy and Cooper are being frozen out at the moment and likely will be omitted altogether today or be unused substitutes - as history would suggest. They may well get minutes today and I may be wrong, but the same thing happened last NYL matchday and the boys were lucky to keep their title hopes alive with a young team in a 1-0 win as MFKS mentions above. That weekend, Lundy and Cooper didn't even make the bench...and when they are, Miller makes inspired substitutions like Watson on with 10 to go at 0-0 when the game was there for the taking vs Adelaide at home.

When Lundy and Coops have played this season in the A-League, they've been roasted for their performances by the fans - whether that be right or wrong. The key to getting better is getting decent gametime, whether that's in the NYL or A-League. They won't get better by being kept in cotton wool and picking splinters out of their arses. Both these guys have been an integral part of the team this NYL season and have done quite well trying to work their way back into A-League contention. You can only train so much - law of diminishing returns and all that.

Without them, with all due respect to the young kids who played yesterday, I do see their potential and they may well be NYL quality in a year or two, but IMO to play them for 90 minutes in a game this season is a bridge too far. Need a bit more seasoning and toughening up (perhaps in 1st grade NPL this winter). Although they had a real go, we had little go forward and it was an easy way to play out for WSW at times. Andy Brennan's pace and physicality in the #9 was a constant threat and kept the WSW defence honest the whole first half.

Brennan went off at HT and after that it all fell like a house of cards. We just couldn't get field position, had little threat going forward for most of the second half and couldn't keep the ball in the front third. This put extra stress and strain on the midfield and defence and with the quality WSW brought off the bench, managed to crack us twice, take the points and probably kill our season. There were a few chances created which someone of the ilk of Lundy/Cooper would have done better, been there for a tap in, or been braver when a headed chance was on a plate.

But hey, it's not Clayton Zane's fault - he can only play the cards dealt to him by Miller. The team gave it a bloody good go in the circumstances though. Up 1-0 at HT against a team full of Young Socceroos and/or a handful of A-League matches - Alessi, D'Cunha, Fofanah, Youlley, K.Baccus, Macdonald, Shabow, Devlin, Shannon Cole.....the list goes on. How that team isn't winning this comp, I don't know. They're VERY strong on paper and although deserved their win, it could easily have swung the other way.

There was a couple of instances yesterday where WSW were lucky the ref didn't see things, or chose not to punish a player. Carroll was involved in a physical challenge with Youlley, then as the ball got away from the pair, he kicked Carroll off the ball in the ankle. Would have been in trouble if the ref saw it. Late in the game, there was a scramble on the touchline, and Macdonald jumped in with two feet at Benny Hay as he was trying to get the ball under control. Very lucky for young Benjamin, Macdonald missed him. Not even a foul for dangerous play. Got some Newy spectators going in the stands.

Best performers for me yesterday were Themba who was rock solid at the back, Carroll who was pretty sharp and Pawiak in the middle of the park who led his team very well, guided the youngsters throughout and worked his arse off for 95 minutes. At 2-1 down in the 92nd minute when they were pushing everyone on to try and find an equaliser (which they so nearly got), although he had absolutely nothing left in the tank, he found something extra to turn and sprint after Fofanah as he broke on the counter on what would have been a 40-50 yard lung-busting dash towards goal. Seriously, these kids play with so much passion and pride for the shirt, the club and the city of Newy that it makes me proud to watch them week in, week out. They play with 100% more heart than those jokers on the big bucks.

They need to beat SFC and CCM now - while hoping SFC slip up. Unlikely, but there's a slim chance. No matter what happens in the last 2 games, Clayton and his boys can be very proud of their season. It's been a super effort without Lundy and Cooper some weeks, Cowburn pretty well every week and they also lost Burke and Waller for the season. Chin up, lads. Be proud of your efforts.

I'll write up a more objective match report later on too guys.