AMONGST the drama of another exciting weekend of A-League action, it was great to see Central Coast Mariners finally get their first win of the season.

That’s my best, amongst other observations from the weekend, in Round 5’s Random Thoughts column.

BEST

For so long they were: “The Little Club That Could”.

Then for a troubled few years: “The Little Club That Couldn’t”.

Now for the third, harder to say edition: “The Little Club That Might Be Able To Again (Finally)”.

The Mariners, at last! A win, and a win of substance. Away to Adelaide, the champions’ remarkable streak of 2-1 defeats continued by a committed, organised and eminently watchable performance from Paul Okon’s side.

No fan of any club needs to be put through the utter dross Mariners fans have had thrown in front of them in the last 24 months. The fairytales with happy endings turned into Steven King-type narrative.

Now it finally looks like the club is moving forward again. There’ll be more hiccups, hopefully nothing more sinister despite the endless possibilities that exist in football.

Enough of the pessimism. Mariners fans can be truly happy about a result. A proud club is moving away from being a punchline, and back to punching above its weight.

Paul Okon, coach of the Central Coast Mariners celebrates with his players. Source: Getty Images

LEAST BEST

David Carney handled the ball and scored, and Sydney started that comeback on Saturday night against Melbourne Victory.

Chris Beath saw it, but thought nothing of it. Something is wrong here.

Beath has interpreted the law his way. So the decision isn’t the subject of least best. It’s the law itself.

Laws of the Game, Law 12, Part 1. It opens itself up to ridicule.

Here’s our take on what is written in the lawbook.

The opening line states - “Handling the Ball involves a deliberate act of a player making contact with the ball with his hand or arm.”

Deliberate. Apart from Luis Suarez playing volleyball at the World Cup, how do you easily define deliberate?!

Then it goes on: “The referee shall take the following into consideration:

- The move of the hand towards the ball (not ball to hand)

Carney didn’t, as Chris Beath pointed out. But he should have got the thing out the way.

- The distance between the opponent at the ball (unexpected ball)

Aren’t players meant to expect everything in and around a penalty area when the opposition as the ball?!

- Position of the hand does not necessarily mean that there is an infringement.

What the hell is this supposed to mean? Was this put in for a laugh just the confuse the hell out of us?

Surely all of this can be simplified:

“Don’t touch the ball unless you’re the goalie. If you’re not the goalie, and you have the chance to move your hand, move it!! If you can’t move it in time, better be sure your arms aren’t flapping like an albatross. Run or stand there like a normal person otherwise you’re in strife.”

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is the body that oversees the Laws of the Game. Historically, they’ve been about as progressive as an Amish bishop, but this year they implemented a few tweaks to a number of laws and interpretations.

However IFAB didn’t touch the handball one, leaving it as confusing as ever.

Instances like Saturday night will keep happening and happening until there is a change.

UNSUNG

Sorry to go back to the Mariners, but Connor Pain’s right foot. Who knew? WHO KNEW?!

For many a left-sided player, the right foot is purely there for incidental purposes. Like walking. And not falling over. Pain has shown quality before, but most, if not all, has been with the trusty left peg. His bullet at Coopers Stadium to give the Mariners the lead made you wonder why he’s been hiding it for so long.

10 minutes later came a bit of the answer, as he tried the same trick and nearly hit the corner flag.

But that’s not important right now.

That right peg… WHO KNEW?!... broke the Mariners winless streak.

SURPRISE

Possession stats are like neat writing on a test. Sure looks nice, but means squat if you don’t get the important part right.

Take doctors, for instance. They’ve all got terrible writing, but got to where they are by acing exams for fun.

Sure, you can write neat AND get straight As.

Look at Brisbane at Suncorp - they were getting the answers right, like a young Jerry Seinfeld in the eyes of Uncle Leo, and displayed beautiful penmanship.

Before all of this gets way too confusing thanks to a love of metaphors… let’s bring it back to the point - on Friday night, Roar scribbled AND got the marks.

The product of a game-plan devised by Dr Aloisi, Roar had 36% of possession – a new low at Suncorp since Fox Sports Stats have been compiling such data. Melbourne City couldn’t muster a shot on target with their 64%.

36 PER CENT!

Upon evaluation that stat was a shock. For about 10 seconds. The perfect game plan got the desired result and was relished by 20,000 on Friday.

Who cares about possession of a neat hand when you’ve got the answer?

UNSURPRISE

Until Saturday night, Wellington’s fearsome attacking unit was proving to be as fearsome as a paddock of newborn lambs.

Eventually they had to click and while it wasn’t a domineering response to the Cup Eve shellacking, it was more than enough. The stability of Marco Rossi at the back helped, and if that solid backbone remains, Finkler, Barbarouses, Krishna, McGlinchey and Bonevacia can do what was expected.

Maybe after next week - another international break. Pump the brakes, the Nix will be missing a few in Canberra against the Mariners. A postponement would have been nice, but that’s a whole other matter.