A POINT away from home is never a bad result, but Friday night’s 0-0 draw with Peninsula Power was probably a fair reflection of the game.
I thought both teams were trying to play in a similar way and, to be honest, we cancelled each other out for long periods.
Chances were few and far between for both sides, so a draw was probably the right outcome.
The pleasing part for me was keeping a clean sheet.
Defensively, I thought we were much better.
The boys showed plenty of resilience, worked hard for each other and stuck to the job for the full 90 minutes.
We’ve changed our shape over the past couple of weeks, moving to a back five after conceding too many goals earlier in the season.
I just felt we weren’t protecting our back four well enough through midfield, so we needed a few more bodies in those defensive areas.
The change also made us a little more robust through the middle of the park and I thought our defenders were much better protected against Peninsula Power.
Of course, there’s always a trade-off.
When you commit another player to defensive duties, you’re probably going to lose a little bit going forward.
That’s the balancing act every coach is trying to find and, if I’m honest, we’re still searching for it.
We’ve had games this season where we’ve let ourselves down by collapsing for periods and conceding soft goals.
Getting back to being hard to break down was an important first step.
Unfortunately, with only a handful of games remaining, our finals hopes are becoming increasingly difficult.
Unless results elsewhere start falling our way, we’re running out of opportunities to make up ground.
One positive has been seeing our new players settle in.
Lewis Doci has fitted into the back line well and has looked composed since arriving.
Jez Lofthouse is still catching up after coming back from international football with the Solomon Islands.
It’s not easy joining a group three-quarters of the way through a season.
They’re not only building fitness but also learning a different style of football and adapting to new teammates.
Changing our system has also been influenced by changes to our playing group.
I’ve always believed coaches should have a clear philosophy about how they want to play, but you also must be realistic about the players you have available.
With Joe Duckworth moving on from the club, we simply don’t have the same midfield personnel to continue playing our old system.
Joe brought a lot more than what people saw on match day.
His experience, composure and leadership helped settle the group, particularly with such a young squad.
Naturally, I would have liked to keep him.
Now it’s about making the most of the players we do have and finding a structure that suits them.
Next up we head to Gold Coast Knights and we’ll need another disciplined performance.
They’re one of those teams capable of beating anyone on their day, so we’ll have to be at our best again.
Our challenge over the final few weeks is simple — keep improving, stay organised and finish the season playing the kind of football we know we’re capable of.
