Ernie! 1-0 Loss To Melbourne City/Cheeky Glimpse Into Phoenix Future
Wildcard’s Word:
A loss is only as bad as the best excuse you can find for it and this loss had a very good excuse. It shouldn’t have even been played. Five players unavailable for international duty!? It would’ve been six had Tom Doyle been fit. That’s half a team missing and no club in the A-League has the depth to where that isn’t a completely unfair thing to play through. Let alone when you’re playing against one of the top teams out there, like Melly City.
Ahhh, but having said that, there might have been only one All White that we really missed. Kosta Barbarouses’ speed and guile is perfectly suited to the 4-4-2 formation that they started in, with a diamond in the middle headed by Gui Finkler and footed by captain of the day Vinniesta. Hamish Watson joined Roy Krishna up top, with the each of them drifting out towards their wings to allow Professor Fink to push forward and into a kinda 4-3-3. But that didn’t happen too often because the Nix never saw the bloody ball.
Blessed with a murderer’s row of attacking talent, City began on the front foot and slowly turned the wheel from control into complete dominance. Colazo and Fornaroli coupled with the additions of Luke Brattan and Fernando Brandan are gonna make problems for every defence in the league let alone one missing Andrew Durante – okay yeah, another dude we really coulda used. On the positive side, this Rossi lad looks the business. Good in the air, composed at the back – he was bossing Adam Parkhouse about in a language he barely even speaks, now that’s a defender! As for Glen Moss, well he kept us in it when he did this:
Possibly the save of the season already right there. Oh and how great is it to have Piney on the call? All Sky needs to do now is incorporate some kind of pre- and post-match stuff, maybe a few sideline interviews, and it’ll finally look like they take this team seriously, aye.
But yeah, the Nix got overrun through the middle. Completely and utterly. Vince Lia did some nice things sitting in front of the defence but it was a constant siege, just wave after wave. Our best chance came from a deep cross from a Fink free kick and even that was still cleared by a defensive head. Legit not even sure that we had a shot in the first half – so it was no shocker when Anthony Caceres popped one in.
A frustrating goal to concede though one of pretty incredible footy. That goddamn wizard Fornaroli started it, dragging Rossi all the way to the left flank with a run where he still held the fella off and poked a square first time ball to Bruce Kamau. Rossi’s position drags Dylan Fox over into the gap next to him but Jacob Tratt doesn’t quite get the memo of ‘SLIDE!’ He has his own man, but there’s no way to get the ball from here to there without you having the time to recover. Gotta slide, lad. Which is maybe something that can happen when you have an entirely new back four for this game. Kamau plays a lovely ball not into the gap left by Rossi but into the gap left by Fox covering Rossi and Caceres’ first touch is utterly perfect. His second cops a leg by Mossy but it falls nicely on the other side of him and the finish from roughly three centimetres out it flawless. What composure, what placement with the shot!
For the most part though, we defended pretty well, I thought. However the fact that the midfield couldn’t string too many passes together was an issue, a serious one, because that is not an area that we were very weakened by with the All Whites selection. Fink, Roly, Roddy and Vinniesta… that’s a strong quartet. Hmm. Maybe Wee Mac alters things, maybe not.
When the red card happened, we were entering that territory where it felt a second was coming and a probably a third after that. Apparently the Phoenix have only ever won once in round one before. So Justin Rose’s horrific pass was more than a lifeline. Krishna got there first, Thomas Sorensen left his arm dangling out there and it was a clear handball. Bit stink on the Dane who couldn’t do a lot about it but he can blame his defence for that. They should have subbed Rose off to bring on the replacement keeper, just to be fair.
And with the red it swung completely. The Phoenix had already made a change at HT, bringing off Watto – who was aaaaaawful – and bringing on Alex Rufer. Now, I was calling for a bit of Logan Rogerson but all goods. Rufer’s introduction meant a 4-2-3-1 and although City still pressed hard, we at least had a foothold again. With the red we were suddenly dominating.
Half an hour of bossing that game, we probably shoulda scored. Another crappy back pass provided the chance and Krishna didn’t square it to Rogerson – it was Cooper Cronk on the inside waiting for Will Chambers to pass all over again only this time the Melbourne team got the benefit. Rogerson came on for Vince Lia who was struggling with cramp after a heavy effort, Rufer went deeper and Roger played from the left wing but held so far forward he was effectively a striker. And a good one too, his pace and energy made a difference. Almost wish he’d started, to be honest.
It was all Nix and the goal wouldn’t come. Prof. Fink free kicks ranged from tasty to mildly appetising but none led to a shot on target – most ended up in the area of Foxy when Rossi was the dude you felt had the beating of any City defender. And his one shot was a waste, way over the bar from the Sorensen red free kick. Roly ran at guys, Krishna tried to beat the offside trap, the fullbacks, finally, got forward for some width (though both had terrible deliveries, which is disappointing because Parky is meant to be a winger by nature), Rogerson tried hard and even Lil Rufer swing a couple beauties across the park from deep. He looks a better player in the midfield, does Alex.
(I was thinking at the start of the game that Tratt and Parkhouse might actually be better options than Fenton and Doyle anyway but after 90+ minutes I'm not so sure).
There were even seven minutes of injury time and yet for about the last ten of the game, City expertly killed it. They used all the tricks in the book. They took it to the corner, they won free kicks from the Phoenix’s impatience, they took their time getting the ball back in play. They played it at the right end of the pitch and turned the home-town script into an anti-climax. A 1-0 loss to start the season. But no worries, it was the A-League’s fault – we didn’t even have our players, yo!
Diggity Doc’s Digest:
Before I get started, we need to salute Sky TV for a few things. First and foremost is the appointment of Jason Pine as the top-dawg commentator. Pine is undeniably the best sports commentator in Aotearoa and puts all sorts of other wannabes to shame, what's even more impressive is that Piney has seamlessly transitioned from radio to telly.
That takes some doing folks as you've gotta move away from painting the picture, to complementing the picture. Whether Piney was dropping a stat, explaining something or even just letting the picture speak for itself with some well-timed silence, I thoroughly enjoyed the first game of the Wellington Phoenix's 2016/17 season because it was delivered with a delicious side of Pine.
My comrade el Wildcardo brought up the lack of a pre/post-game show from Sky; kinda having a lil' moan there were ya mate? (WC: Well, yes...) I actually really enjoyed this simply because there was no bullshit and given how horrible the pre/post-game stuff for the NZ Warriors was this season and also having to look at those rugby jokers so often, it was a nice change to know that the coverage started at 7:35pm, right when the game was about to start as well. Maybe Sky really don't care, maybe the are just so crappy that they can't give football the attention it deserves, but I loved it.
Speaking of the NZ Warriors...
Throughout the NRL season - well, after Roger Tuivasa-Sheck got injured - I found myself less concerned with the here and now and more concerned with filling myself with positive vibes about the future. I only did so because the youngins' at the Warriors are blatantly talented and are not yet in their prime years as professional rugby league players, so while I do tend to preach about the future, it's done within reason. Yes, there were some All Whites away and yes the A-League is a bit dumb for that but this season opener gave us a nice glimpse as to why we should all share some optimism about the talent coming through at the Nix.
Two blokes stood out for me with that youthful optimism in mind: Alex Rufer adding some polish to the midfield and Logan Rogerson doing his best 'sore thumb' impersonation up front. These are blokes that footballin' fanatics would know all about, yet the casual kiwi sports fan won't quite recognise them just yet. Either way their impact on the Nix was obvious when they entered the arena, both off the bench.
It wasn't an easy task for our midfield to keep that City midfield in check, led by that prick of a Brattan lad. City have talent mixed with early cohesion which is exactly the sort of blend that the Nix didn't have as it still looks like the Nix are a few solid training sessions and games away from really finding the required chemistry, yet Rufer slotted in their nicely. Rufer also featured in a funky bit of coaching from Ernie! in which Hamish Watson started the game up front before making way for Rufer, allowing the Nix to switch things up schematically.
You'd have to assume that Rufer will have to wait for another opportunity, sliding back down the pecking order when Michael McGlinchey returns. That will also be the case for Rogerson ... or will it be Watson that is used less? Rogerson's speed and silky touches caught the eye immediately and he looks to be the perfect lad to bring on around the 70 minute mark to spice things up, giving the Nix a possible relentless dose of speed with Kosta and Roy to start.
Watson will play his role as well, giving Ernie! options as he can go with a speedy wide player or more of a typical striker. The way that Watson made runs in-behind the City defence, trying his best to keep up with Krishna's runs was encouraging, as was the way that Krishna and Watson swapped sides of the field as well.
Watson, Rufer and Rogerson were joined by Adam Parkhouse and Jacob Tratt in the Depth Gang. Parkhouse and Tratt were blokes I had never really seen before, all I knew about the two of them was that Ernie! had done his research on Parkhouse and knew he could do a job on the left despite being a striker. Neither really set this game alight, nor were they horrible and they did a decent job in combining with Dylan Fox and Marco Rossi to keep Melbourne to just one goal. Maybe Parkhouse or Tratt goes on to establish themselves as a regular starter, however I was just happy to see that there are two blokes who will cover Louis Fenton and Tom Doyle, perhaps even put them under pressure to start.
That's what I took away from this game as the Nix were always going to struggle to contain City given the circumstance and yes the Nix did fluff a few opportunities, while also giving up a wee bit too much ball in the midfield. I'm excited though because I saw that Nix have a deep roster to get them through the season, plus they asked enough questions of City's defence to make you feel like they were a moment of quality away from getting a goal or two.
That moment of quality never came, but all good.
WHO ARE YA!? – One time for Marco Rossi, who made his Phoenix debut and was all class. It's probably more of a sign as to what other players didn't do, however Rossi impressed because he simply did his job with little fuss and slotted in nicely to a fairly inexperienced defensive line. That basically meant that Rossi was thrusted into a leadership role on the field, despite still coming to terms with his new club and as he did so in a professional manner, we should all be fairly excited at the prospect of Andrew Durante teaming up with Rossi in the near future.
UNDERCOVER BROTHER – Here’s to Vince ‘Vinniesta’ Lia for a second. He barely crossed half-way and he had to leave 15 minutes early coz he was cramping up but the club’s only remaining foundation player (excluding Mossy coz he left and came back) was pretty influential here. Being the only defensive minded midfielder in the team that might have to be a regular thing as well.
CHIN UP, SON – Gotta be Hamish Watson. Subbed off at half-time after a 45 minute clinic in how to be caught offside, it was a tough ask to expect your chunky centre forward to play the role of a wide, running forward like Kosta or Roy. Especially with Rogerson on the bench a way better backup option. But Watto was the more senior player, either he was dropped for a younger guy or he was subbed off for one later on. Lose/Lose. Sad thing is he’d have been a handy late sub option as a presence in the box.
Next Up: Away to Perth Glory, 9pm on Sunday (NZT)