Ernie! Thou Shan't Overreact
I had to boost home to watch the Phoenix this week and it's not the best sign when you chuck on the radio commentary and within five seconds, the Phoenix are 1-0 down. It was one of those days.
It was one of those days which we had an early taster for as we already knew that Albert Riera wouldn't play. You, like myself would have hoped that the Nix could battle on without Riera and hold their ground defensively while getting our Aussie duo and Roy Krishna plenty of early ball at their feet.
That came slightly unstuck when Ben Sigmund was ruled out after injuring himself at training and all of a sudden the defensive Bermuda triangle was no longer. Michael Boxall did a decent job as Sigmund's replacement at centre back, but in attack and defence the cohesion and understanding that comes with Andrew Durante, Sigmund and Riera simply wasn't there.
For the second week in a row, the Nix have faced an opponent who was eager to put them under the pump. The Melbourne Victory won 3-0 and looked very comfortable despite the score at 1-0 for much of the match, they did so because whenever the Phoenix had the ball, there were Victory bodies around them.
Whereas the Nix would sag when the Victory had control of the ball, inviting them to creep on in to their halve and have some attack fun, the Victory pressed high up the field and made it difficult for the Nix to start their attacking motions from within their own half. The Nix did offer some typically saucy attacking play, stringing passes together down the Victory's end of the field but a lack of polish up front meant that many of the chances the Nix created, fizzled.
It really did look like something was missing for the Nix, which was probably Riera but it could have been Michael McGlinchey playing a bit deeper. The Nix always had bodies deep, but there was never pressure on the ball which just allowed the Victory to do as they pleased and they enjoyed far too much space and time to make decisions in. Whether that's because of the positional changes or just a lack of any intent, it sucked.
More passes, more possession, more interceptions, more shots and more duels won by the Victory doesn't make for great reading.
Roy Krishna and Nathan Burns looked likely whenever they received the ball, but they always found themselves carrying the ball into congestion, into another tough challenge. I reckon that this is where we are seeing McGlinchey's value in that #10 spot as his passing quality going forward is top notch and he's able, along with Roly Bonevacia to get the strikers in more space. It was rough for Joel Griffiths, suffering a stinker of a knee injury that will probably see him out for the rest of the season but his replacement Kenny Cunningham was exciting without being able to actually score.
It just felt like there was no one pulling any strings. McGlinchey does that up front, Riera does that further back. McGlinchey was trying to keep the Victory's midfield under control, Riera didn't play.
Who Are Ya!? It's hard not to watch Roly Bonevacia and get excited, he's now named Roly Poly because of the way he rolls with his receives, turns into space and generally does something positive. The Nix offered more than enough on attack to put a smirk on their fans faces and a lot of this came from the right foot of Bonevacia who can turn any receive into a flow of tricky passes.
Nek Week the Nix face Melbourne City, which is why thou shan't overreact. Some people will be looking at the NIx loosing their grip on first spot and the trophy that comes with that, as reason to be sad but we've got to note that they have played two top four teams while missing key players and lost. It would have been nice to win those games, rally the club and have good vibes throughout the nation, but Ernie Merrick has said that they are just eyeing up the playoffs.
Question - Would you rather see Louis Fenton or Michael Boxall at right back should Sigmund return?
There are still a few games left to build some confidence and get a few things right ahead of the playoffs and these next few weeks will be a great chance to do so. They get Riera back, hopefully Siggy is alright and they should be able to take care of Melbourne City who sit in 6th. She'll be tough, if the Nix sag and allow City to play their game then the Nix will be on the back foot once again but if they're aggressive and take their chances, it's hard to see City putting more goals on the board.