Ernie! Another Dull Ol' Result
Dull, but only with regards to the 0-0 scoreline between the Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne City. Each side created plenty of chances but lacked the quality to finish them off, pretty much summed up by Nathan Burns who missed a penalty early on. But getting a gritty draw away from home at this stage of the season isn't too bad.
It's a lot easier to stomach when the Nix fought hard to stay in the game as City played some exciting football and weren't afraid to have a go. Glenn Moss will earn a Carlsberg or two after his effort in goal and given that the Nix had started poorly in their previous two 3-0 losses, they were fortunate not to go down early again. They were slow out of the blocks against City once again but found a way to get into the game.
Once they did get into the game though the signature passing combinations were there, but the ability to get the ball into the net was still absent. The likes of Nathan Burns and Roy Krishna had a go, running at defenders and creating chances but neither of them could find that final bit of class to turn those into goals. That's one of the biggest worries for Ernie Merrick and the Nix, their lack of polish in front of goal but it was a similar situation during their lean patch a few months ago. At some stage those chances will be converted, it just wasn't the case on Sunday night.
Defensively, the Nix were pretty damn solid despite City firing 20 shots compared to 12 from the Nix (10 of City's shots came outside the box though, bit of kick and hope). They haven't really lost much with Michael Boxall partnering Andrew Durante while Ben Sigmund is out, but I reckon Siggy offers a bit more quality passing the ball forward. Still, Boxall was good and having Albert Riera back in the middle of the park went as expected. There's a few variables at play here, but the Nix had 17 interceptions this week with Riera playing 80 minutes, compared to their previous two games where Riera got a red card and was then suspended where the Nix had 12 and 13 interceptions. Just a bit of food for thought.
The blueprint is still there for the Nix to grow and build from. Louis Fenton was man of the match for this game but both he and Manny Muscat found plenty of space down the flanks, which turns into a legit threat when they can connect with Burns, Krishna of even Michael McGlinchy and Roly Bonevacia. They love the intricate passing through the middle of the field and it was evident again last night, but the Nix are also able to hit their fullbacks overlapping which not only troubles defences but creates more space through the middle of the field.
If there's one very frustrating thing about the Nix, it's their inability to do much with crosses and corners. 21 crosses and 11 corners, but nothing. That's what happens when your strikers are quick lads who prefer to dribble at defenders instead of a physical striker who can win the ball in the air. Even when a delightful cross is played into the box, the players who would make a run into the box from the midfield aren't going to win headers against defenders. McGlinchey's a hobbit and Roly isn't much bigger so at some stage they will have to figure out a way to make the most of these opportunities. Quite a few of their corners were played short, which still resulted in a cross, but maybe they should look to go all the way back and then attack the box with their nifty passing. Just an idea, or they can keep whacking it into the box and then have to get their backsides back to defend a counter attack.
Who Are Ya? Welcome back Albert Riera, it was a joy to see you holding down the middle of the field. I don't blame the public for not really watching Riera as the Nix serve up a whole lot to enjoy but just for 10 minutes, keep your eyes solely planted on Riera. He covers the fullbacks, stepping into the space vacated by them as they creep forward. He covers the centre backs. He's always, and I mean always there sitting in front of the back four to squash an attacking threat. But Riera's ability to pass the ball is the key, as he picks up a lot of ball by simply being in the right position and then makes a quality pass to get the lads going forward. Whether it's out to the right, left or straight up the guts, Riera gets the Nix swiftly changing from defence to attack.
Nek Week the Nix are at home against the Central Coast Mariners, which will be another tricky game. The Mariners are in no man's land near the bottom of the table, 12 points behind City who are in 6th but they are coming off a 1-0 win over the Wanderers who sit in last. So in theory we should be too good for the Mariners but if we go another game where we're unable to score goals then anything could happen. What should serve as encouragement for the Nix is that they aren't playing bad football, so if they can keep up their good work across the park then surely they should be able to score a few.