It's not what it used to be - Heidelberg United 2 South Melbourne 1

If I was still the younger me, things would be very different. OK, maybe only slightly different. This post certainly would have come out on Sunday evening, or Monday morning at the latest. But in what has become a common and tired refrain, that was then, and this is now. Back in (insert glory days of this blog) I was a career student making the most of ample leisure time and low responsibility. Now I'm scratching around temporary work scanning senate ballot papers alongside a resentful work-wife, waking up at 5:00am like every other alienated prole. 

At least I made it to the actual match this time, after missing two games a in a row before this one. Mind you, getting to away grounds via public transport continues to be a hell of an adventure. This time there were some sort of indecipherable (to me) alternative transport shenanigans on whatever the relevant train line is that I use to get to Olympic Village. This resulted in me ditching the train network around Dennis station, and catching some bus up to Southern Road and walking up to the old turnstile entrance, which I was informed during the week would be open for this game.

Miracle of miracles, it was. And there wasn't even a line, just one bored turnstile attendant, and one bored security guard. Even with delays, I got to the ground early enough to watch a good chunk of the second half of the under 21s with the very scant number of South fans that were at the ground at this stage. At least the line for the souvs wasn't very long, though for $15 I'd want my lamb a little less overcooked. I'd like to say it was nice to be back at Olympic Village after its renovation, but so much of the improvement is for players, that spectator amenities seem to have come a very distant second in consideration.

OK, so the running track is gone, and people on the western side of the ground can now be closer to the action. Problem is though, that it's been turned into the classic flat outer where a crowd any more than one deep is stuffed - and that's without the non-transparent benches. The hill underneath the shed on the western side has also been carved out, so if you don't want to stand on the fenceline, or behind the goals, or in the eastern stand and burning your retinas out facing the setting sun for a good couple of hours, you're basically being exiled to remaining hilly areas on the western side, basically in the corners. 

And then it gets cold, and dewy as the night falls. And it gets dark as the sun sets and the not fit for match days lights aren't turned on. And unless you time it yourself or use the Futbol24 app, you can't keep time because the scoreboard isn't in operation yet.

All of which complemented a pretty ordinary atmosphere, which saw a pretty ordinary South performance in a pretty ordinary game overall. Credit to the Bergers for the win - they deserved it, but even they'd think twice about putting this match on DVD and flogging it off for $25. They certainly looked fitter and more organised than they did in one round 1, and for whatever reason we chose not to press them up the pitch as we did in the season opener. In fact we seemed to sit off their midfielders throughout most of the match. What's more, we reverted to 2021 tactics in attack, bypassing our own midfield in favour of bombing it to Sawyer.

And as happened in 2021, bombing it to Sawyer meant Saywer getting mauled by the opposition defence. Marcus Schroen came on and kept spinning around in circles in search of an angle amenable to his left foot. After allegedly kidnapping diverting him at the airport on the eve of the season Eusebio style, Jai Ingham has remained largely disappointing. Oh, it all started well enough as he scored that corker against Bentleigh to win the game, and then we assumed he was building up to full fitness. But full fitness seems not to have arrived. Neither has full interest on his part, otherwise he'd be worth more than an average of a singular moment per game where he will do something significant or fail to do something significant with the opportunity on offer.  

Funnily enough, we could have been 2-0 down and/or 3-0 up in the first half. I'm still not quite sure how we scored from our worst attempt on goal in the first half, taking the lead, but by the end there was no argument: we sucked. Some are taking that 98 minutes of suckage as proof of much more suckage to come, almost desiring it, coveting its apparently imminent arrival like they were waiting for the rapture. Oh no, Oakleigh's going to catch up to us. Oh no, Oakleigh has caught up to us, after beating Knights in a midweek game I don't think anyone bothered to note the significance of. Oh no, Oakleigh will surely beat Eastern Lions and take top spot off us. Or at least draw.

But I get the point, even if its custard is over-egged somewhat. We have a good squad, which too often plays horrible looking football. Anyway, getting home meant taking the bus from Northland back into the city, which apart from a delay in setting off, was rather painless. Considered taking the 903 Smartbus all the way back from Northland to Sunshine, which would have been a good hour and a half trip.

Next game

Tomorrow night at home against Bentleigh. It's a very crowded schedule tomorrow - pretty much the entire comp has scheduled matches for tomorrow afternoon, evening, or night, which is a bit old fashioned. Let's just call it Super Saturday.

You know, I learned something this week

Yes, it's five subs you're allowed, but apparently you have to make them within a maximum of three windows. Should just go for full interchange.

Fickle me

Has the senior women's season turned a corner of some sort? I put on the stream of their game against Bulleen on at halftime, saw them concede early in the second half to fall 3-1 behind, and then I went to bed. The next day I see that the game finished in a 3-3 draw.

Final thought

Has anyone seen Oakleigh Harismidis lately? Feels like I haven't seen him for years. Heidelberg Harismidis meanwhile is still kicking on.