Will Booth 
Ryan Edmondson in a scuffle for the ball against Melbourne Victory. Photo: Texi Smith
The Central Coast Mariners took on Perth Glory at home in what appeared to be a winnable game on paper leading into the match, but the problems that have been apparent this season continued to show themselves throughout the 90 minutes.
The performances so far this season have been a far cry from the lofty heights reached at the end of the previous one, but that is to be expected when you lose five starters.
It is in the attacking phases of the game where the Mariners shortcomings are most apparent, with neither Alou Kuol nor Ryan Edmondson managing to get on the score sheet despite playing the majority of the minutes in a strike partnership up front.
Neither player can use the excuse of needing time to acquaint themselves with the league, having been at the club during the previous campaign.
But the issue goes deeper than strikers not finishing their chances. The issue is in chance generation, with Kuol and Edmondson only able to manage a handful of shots between them in each game.
Josh Nisbet is an obvious place to point to in understanding why there is a shortage of chances being created.
His ability to progress the ball with carries or incisive passes was indispensable to the team, and with the signings during the off-season, it is something that has not been replaced directly, leading to a change in style this year.
Mariners coach Mark Jackson did tweak the set-up against Perth, in a structure that resembled the second-half changes from the Adelaide game the week before, but the outcome remained the same.
Mikael Doka is being used further up the field in an attacking midfield role, but he is yet to make the same impact as he did when occupying the wide spaces during last year’s campaign.
Mariners could have, and according to Jackson, should have had a penalty late in this match, when the ball struck Luis Canga’s bicep in the box.
Initially, the referee gave the penalty live but was quickly called pitch-side to take another look on the monitor, where he decided Canga had withdrawn his arm back into a natural position.
Jackson was adamant that the penalty should have been awarded, but also pointed towards the bigger picture problems that are plaguing his side.
“In my view it was a penalty. I think we’ve been hard done by with that decision,” Jackson said.
“When you get to the final third, you need quality, detail in the pass, creativity as well as composure, and we obviously lacked that today.”
“To get three points you have to put the ball in the back of the net, and we didn’t do that tonight.”
The Mariners have a chance to build up their form in time for their clash against Wellington Phoenix this Sunday, with a Champions League fixture against Shanghai Shenua coming up mid-week.
Having just lost the Chinese Super League to Kevin Muscat’s Shanghai Port on the last day of the season, it may be the best time to take on the side who sit in fourth place on the Champions League table.