The Welly Nix Gave A Glorious Farewell To Aotearoa In Their Last Home Game of the Season But This Whole A-League Situation Is Ridiculous
It was to be the final time that the Wellington Phoenix could play at home this season and it was a glorious way to say farewell. A 3-0 win over Melbourne Victory during which the team was excellent throughout, taking the lead before those in line for a pre-game beverage had even taken their seats and never looking anything but in complete control. Like, there isn’t even much to say about the game. It took a lengthy VAR intervention to preserve the clean sheet but the Nix have now conceded just once in four games whilst tying a club record for the regular season with a fourth win in a row. Just a great day at the office, really.
Of course there were other factors at play here, specifically the rather large dark cloud of a global pandemic. As a result of Aotearoa’s mandatory quarantine period we already knew it was going to be infeasible to play any further games in Wellington so we can be grateful that the fans that turned up got the send off they deserved from what’s been a brilliant Phoenix campaign under Ufuk Talay so far. Only two of their remaining six games were to be at home (Adelaide & Brisbane) and it’s a bloody shame that we won’t get the spectacle of a home playoff game now. Still, as with all things COVID-19 related, predicting the future is a futile task and it’s best to just take it one day at a time and stay in the moment as much as possible. As far as this individual game went, the Phoenix couldn’t have done much more.
That was Ulises Davila’s 11th goal for the Welly Nix. He’d gone four games without one so he was pretty overdue, though it ain’t like he wasn’t influencing games immensely regardless – just think of the assist for Cacace’s goal last week. This goal was a sharp finish on the volley to give the Victory defence no chance after a clever nod back from Reno Piscopo following a typically excellent cross from Tim Payne. Gary Hooper’s backwards header was another early highlight, a great bit of ingenuity after a perfectly placed chip into the danger zone from Libby Cacace.
And Hooper turned provider in the second half with a wonderful assist to David Ball. Normally Hoops is the target man up top but here he’d dropped into his own half to hold the ball up after the Nix cleared in defence. A great first touch even deeper into his own territory had helped him avoid three defenders and bought him time to look up and see David Ball peeling towards the left of the field. Here’s where Super Hooper played the pass from (and recall the long range assists from last week’s game, specifically the Alex Rufer pass to Josh Sotirio)...
Note that both wingers were pretty much level with Hooper, just a little in front. Note that Cacace is running forward on the left too, the Nix committing players forward in transition. But David Ball was the only attacker over halfway and Hooper picked him out beautifully and exposed the Victory defence in the process... and they inexplicably then allowed Ball to cut back twice onto his right foot when it was obvious that was gonna be his next move given there was no support in sight. Sweet finish from Ball though, he and Hooper are now both up to six for the season. All three goals were top quality.
One bugger from the whole thing was that Cammy Devlin picked up an early yellow card, leading to him being subbed off in the 62nd minute. Devlin’s now at five for the season which means an automatic one game suspension. Matti Steinmann also got a yellow card later on which means he’s one game away from his second accumulation stand down. Funny to think of Alex Rufer benefiting from other people’s yellow cards since he’s such a hoarder of them himself... but then his yellow against the Victory was just his third of the season and his first since the third game.
The vice captain’s settled into a closer’s role off the bench lately but... well, depth across the park’s gonna be stretched from here on out so everybody that’s available has to be ready, simple as that. Callum McCowatt was an unused sub for just the second time here, he’s gotta stay vigilant. Ben Waine got three minutes at the end as a reward for his hat-trick for the reserves last week, his first game since mid-January, same deal there. If the Phoenix and the A-League are really committed to finishing this season, and if circumstances allow them to do so, then it’s about to get extremely tough for the Nix as they seek to maximise these first 20 games of footy that have them only one point off second place with a game in hand. Liberato Cacace is also one cheese slice away from a suspension although he’s three games away from the amnesty (after 21 games it becomes 8 yellows for a game off and every subsequent third... so 8, 11, 14, etc.). Steven Taylor is on four yellows but is only one appearance short of the amnesty. They’re the only ones in any immediate risk.
There were also a few lovely and touching tributes from the Wellington Phoenix and its fans to those who lost their lives in the Christchurch terrorist attack exactly a year ago to the day. The kind of emotionally honest community-minded thinking which really emphasises what sports can offer. The kind of humanity-first line which hasn’t really been apparent from the A-League head honchos or the FFA lately.
In a press conference on Monday afternoon, FFA CEO James Johnson and FFA Head of Leagues Greg O’Rourke explained the procedure, as things stand, moving forwards with the A-League and all football in Australia. But we’re here for the A-League stuff so here’s how it’s gonna affect the Phoenix...
The A-League will continue, albeit from now on it will be played with empty stadiums and only essential folks in attendance
The Wellington Phoenix will now base themselves in Sydney the rest of the way with decisions regarding accommodation and venues still being undertaken
The hope/plan from A-League officials is that they can condense the season so as to finish it potentially within four weeks (unsure if this includes playoffs but it may well do)
However the Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Victory will have to undertake a mandatory 14-day quarantine period upon arriving back in Oz (the Nix are expected to travel on Tuesday) which means these two teams will not partake in the next two rounds, though it’s hoped all remaining games will be rescheduled and played
All of which puts the Phoenix in a very difficult situation. It’s not quite as unfair as the Warriors situation with the NRL for a couple main reasons, specifically the fact that they’re three quarters of the way through the season already and also have a younger squad whose families will therefore be less affected (not to mention that the imports are presumably living away from family as it is – although Ulises Davila was due to fly back to Mexico to meet his son who was born last week, doesn’t sound like that’ll happen now as he’s rudely been forced to make a choice between the two). Also there’s the fact that this is a really strong Phoenix team that have been winning a lot of games lately and will be desperate to have a crack at a championship run. They’re closing in on the best ever regular season finish for the Welly Nix. Just look at this pornographic detail...
Hmm but now consider the two week isolation period. The team isn’t even allowed to train while they’re in quarantine.. although what constitutes ‘training’ might be a slippery one. There’d be nothing stopping them doing individual fitness (probably not at the gym though, so lots of sit ups and other body weight stuff may be in order). The tactical side of things and video sessions are easily done online. Plus with everyone based in the same area... dunno. Do low-key social five-a-sides count as training? That might be too much. But juggles in the hotel room should be all good, the FFA can pay for damages since it’s their smartarse idea.
Nah it’s the condensed season where the Nix are most clearly getting taken advantage of. Melbourne Victory too, although they won’t have the playoffs to worry about afterwards and will probably welcome the chance to do some rotating and blood a few youngsters looking towards next season. The Phoenix don’t have that luxury, they’re gassing it for second place on the ladder... which is now the most important thing competitively speaking as without the boost of a home semi they really, really need to get that first round bye just for fitness reasons. They’re already having to play the rest of their season away from home and now they’re facing their league telling them to play six games in two weeks, which cannot be done.
For real, if they actually do that and the PFA don’t step in then what’s the point of even having a PFA? Games on Saturday and Wednesday, for example, two games a week, are surely the most you can ask from a team who have only used 23 players in matchday squads this season (two of whom haven’t taken the field) and won’t be able to call upon any additional cover because they’d then have to take the 14-day self-isolation too. Interesting to see if any folks like Ronan Wynne, Kurtis Mogg, Ben Old, Henry Hamilton, Noah Tipene-Clegg, or Riley Bidois also make the trip over just for the numbers.
Also of note, here are the home and away splits for the Phoenix this season:
HOME: 11 GM | 8 W | 1 D | 2 L | 19 GF | 9 GA | +10 GD | 25 PTS
AWAY: 9 GM | 3 W | 2 D | 4 L | 14 GF | 14 GA | 0 GD | 11 PTS
That’s first equal in home form, behind Sydney on goal difference and having played one more game (but also still having to play them once more in Sydney), and seventh in away form granted that’s having played two games fewer than three of the six teams above them. They lost their first four games, two at home and two away. Since then it’s nine unbeaten in home games while the two remaining away defeats were a 1-0er in Brisbane that they should probably have won and a loss in Perth. It’s a distinct disadvantage but at least the two ‘home’ games they have left aren’t against fellow Sydney teams.
Oh yeah and let’s not forget that they would have already played Sydney away, thus meaning one fewer game to cram in after the quarantine period, had the A-League not rearranged it for a midweek game to allow the Sydney derby to have prime time telly listings. Today’s news ain’t the first time recently that the Nix have been given the impression that they’re of a lower standing in this competition, in case you thought those days were dead and buried.
One more reminder here: all of this is subject to change. The A-League are fighting pretty hard to continue this season but all it’d take is a positive test from a player to take that task from risky and a little cynical to downright reckless. That’s what happened in the NBA, one positive test and they were doneskees (and new federal guidelines in the USA have made the possibility of a resumption even more unlikely, we’re now looking at two months in the very least). Think of how much has developed over the last two weeks already and we’re not at the peak of this thing. It’s really not that hard to imagine this happening...
In the meantime, this is the situation we’ve got and every Phoenix player is going have the personal option as to whether they participate. This might be a tad reluctant on the Nix’s part, this might not be their preferred (or even the most sensible) option... but nobody’s gonna be kidnapped. And if enough players back out then they’ll be able to force the FFA’s hand. Luke DeVere’s wife is expecting a child pretty soon so what’s he supposed to do? Even some of the younger dudes without partners and kids... they might just not feel comfortable going ahead with this and there’d be no judgement there if they didn’t. It’s quite a bonkers predicament to be putting young professionals in. They’re being completely exposed by a lack of leadership at the top.
I wonder how much pressure is coming from broadcasters to keep games going... Fox Sports could basically bankrupt things if they withdraw their financial support due to a lack of product on their end. On that subject, who owns Fox Sports? Why, friend, Fox Sports happens to be owned by the subsidiary company Foxtel, itself split into a 35% ownership stake for Telstra and a 65% controlling ownership stake for News Corp Australia, which is the property of the war-mongering, profiteering, exploiting, lie-spreading, corrupt pack of evil-incarnates known as the Murdoch family. So... yeah.
This is not an easy landscape to traverse for anybody. Not the fans, not the governance, not the players... nobody. And I can understand the desire to try and finish the season from here, I really can. Postponing it may seem like the obvious call but if you postpone it then at what point can you restart it? Even the world’s longest offseason may not be enough of a buffer, once the cat’s out of the bag you might not be able to get it back in there. Sporting organisations across the world are grappling with these ideas... and the A-League have distanced themselves from much more powerful and influential leagues by taking their own path of not only not stopping games but, with the condensed schedule idea, playing even more games.
But honestly, none of this really matters because sooner rather than later a player or a team staff member is going to test positive for the virus and the prospect of continuing to play will be untenable. At which point all these hugely compromised contingency plans and desperate measures are going to look ridiculously stupid.
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