Broadmeadow coach Ruben Zadkovich has unloaded on his own team’s performance, the opposition’s tactics and the timing of Tuesday’s Anzac Day fixture after an uninspiring 0-0 draw at Adamstown Oval.
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Zadkovich was happy to see former Olyroos teammate Stu Musialik make his first start for Adamstown in several years and congratulated Rosebud for commemorating Anzac Day, but but he found little to celebrate in his team’s effort against a defensive-minded home side.
“They are a great club, and [coach] Pete McGuinness is a great guy,” Zadkovich said.
“I’m frustrated because everyone who came here to watch a football game didn’t really get one. They just got a boring, frustrating training exercise.
“But well done to them. If that’s what they wanted to get, a draw out of that game, then well done to them, well executed game plan, but for me it was just a really dull, boring spectacle, and I’m pissed off that I’m not somewhere else.”
Zadkovich said he understood why Rosebud wanted to play the game on Anzac Day, but he would have preferred the game to be played last weekend.
“The game should never have been played on Anzac Day. We should all be at the pub with our family and friends,” Zadkovich said.
“Adamstown wanted to move it to Anzac Day. They sat in and defended in their own half. It was the most boring game of football, and all we did was try to break down a defensive block.”
Both keepers enjoyed an Anzac Day holiday for much of the game as both sides struggled to create chances.
Magic winger James Virgili skewed his shot wide when played through one-on-one midway through the first half, then teammate Dino Fajkovic could not beat Paul Bitz at his near post before half-time.
Second-half Rosebud substitute Justin Tannock combined well with winger Charlie Horsley but shot meekly from the top of the box, then Magic’s Scott Pettit finally produced a meaningful save from Bitz with a dipping, long-range strike.
Rosebud had a chance to win it on a breakaway in the final minutes, but Tannock mis-hit a return pass to fellow substitute Alex Read.
The best moment of the match arrived in the final second, when Broadmeadow midfielder Jon Griffiths thundered a 30-metre drive into the apex of bar and post.
The draw was winless Rosebud’s third of the season and lifted them above the Jets youth team at the bottom of the ladder. Magic have not won in four games after two losses and a creditable 1-1 draw with leaders Lambton the previous week.
Zadkovich said his side had played with intent in the first half-hour but then had become frustrated at not being able to score.
“I’m just frustrated that that’s what we dished up on Anzac Day. It was s---,’ he said. “I would love to have been on the field ripping in, but I can’t do it for people.
“People have to deal with frustration, rise, tackle, work harder, talk. At points in that second half the game was literally so quiet you could hear a pin drop, from both teams.
“So you guys wanted to play on Anzac Day, and this is what we’re getting dished up. Neither team wanted to win. You’re just waiting for the ref to blow the whistle, waiting for someone else to do it.
“It’s just a matter of, ‘Can you deal with the frustration?’ And the answer today was no.”
Rosebud coach Pete McGuinness made no apologies for setting up his team to defend after shipping 18 goals in six games.
“That’s one way we can play. Honestly, the results we’ve had, we’ve got to build some. It’s no good going through a season coaching a group of players that go quite well but they always lose.
“We don’t advance as a team or a club. We’ve got to get something out of it, hence the reason why I stifled the game up a bit today. We’re going to play without the ball for a lot of the game and any chances we get, can we take it. We didn’t do that.
“They’re a good side. They had a lot of the ball and were good with the ball. They had more chances than us, but they didn’t take them.”
McGuinness singled out 16-year-old right back Tom Beecham for praise after he kept Kale Bradbery quiet before the Magic winger was replaced midway through the second half.
He also savoured a rare 90 minutes of discipline from his players.
“No send-offs, no cards. This is a game-changer for the club,” he joked.
