Ernie! A Tale of Two Penalties (& a Whole Lotta Fouls) vs Melbourne City
Wildcard's Word:
When you play away from home in these leagues, it often feels like the chips are stacked against you. The Breakers found that out this weekend and the Warriors learn that lesson afresh every damn other week. The Phoenix have it worst of all.
Up against Melly City, this was a game that most Nix fans probably would have been cool with had it been a comfortable 2-1 defeat, the Nix conceding early, scrapping away with a few chances but going down 2-0 midway through the second half, then bagging a late one for the rapid finish. I’d certainly have taken that. But a 2-1 defeat in which one goal came from a ruthless deflection off a shot that wasn’t even going in and the other a debatable penalty, that’s a very different kind of 2-1 defeat.
The team that Ernie named was quality. Full strength in every way I can see it except for Parky at left back but then there’s not really anyone else (Matt Ridenton was needed to be the McGlinchey off the bench - with Wee Mac out long term now it sounds). So sure, whatever. The important thing was that we got Roly and Fink, Kosta and Roy, Vinnie and Alex, Dura and Rossi. The four duos. The keys to victory. Add in Mossy and a couple fullbacks and there ya go. Meanwhile if our front four looks good then that’s because you haven’t had a look at what City have to offer. Friggin’ Tim Cahill can’t even win his way off the bench. Fornaroli, Brandan, Brattan and Caceres, those guys tend to get it done.
Although last time we played this lot, it was a tight one as the Nix went down 1-0 at home – a game probably best remembered for Thomas Sorensen getting sent off in the second half but a half hour against ten men wasn’t enough to scrape an equaliser. No All Whites in that one either.
This time away in Melbourne it was always gonna be a different story and the Nix were almost behind within 30 seconds as Ivan Franjic smashed a cross into the box that drew a bit of own goal potential. Nah, but it was all goods, out for a corner. The first of many, many City corners. Like, that was the state of most of the first half – City didn’t always control the ball but when they had it they were far more dangerous and had far more attacking intent. That man Fornaroli was skipping by defenders like cones on the training paddock.
In return the Phoenix started playing a bit more on the break, looking for quick outlets in the runs of Barbarouses and Krishna. Having had a bit of possession in the early stages without any piercing through balls or whatever, that seemed the better way to go. The quick trigger stuff meant they also could afford to hold their shape a little better at the back, keeping the midfield shield in place and ensuring that they always had numbers to deal with the MCY attack. Which they mostly did. Endless corners, lots of pressure, clearance after clearance and they held them out. Mossy made a few smart saves. Yeah, good stuff.
And it might’ve gone better had Krishna been awarded a first half pennie, but let’s be honest it would have been harsh. Especially when Professor Fink (ex-Melbourne Victory of course) was getting hacked at over and over with no reproach from the ref. Also getting in the way were a number of bad passes. The press that the City midfield put on makes things tough but a bit more composure always helps. Probably worth remembering in that is not only did the Nix have last week off, the teams they beat the two weeks before that are the two worst in the A-League. While City are prepping for an FFA Cup final in a few days. (One day the Nix will get an FFA Cup tie that isn’t away at a fellow A-League club…). Fair to say the pace of the game was a step above.
Things that are always problems for the Nix and were again here:
- The offside flag
- Refs not punishing fouls against us
- Clearances that don’t find teammates
- Half chances not capitalised upon
Speaking of the last one, oh man when Kosta got through clean against the keeper and then just slipped over? GAHHDAMN. Come on, lad. Gorgeous ball from Professor Fink too – he was superb in this game. Kicked and scratched at the whole time but still able to find those clever passes in the attacking third. And you know when you get in behind their midfield, City are pretty vulnerable.
But then they conceded right before the break. All that hard work and they coughed it up with the shelter of half-time in sight. Parky was spotted up against Fitzgerald and I was sitting there yelling ‘don’t get beat, don’t get beat’ and wouldn’t you bloody believe it, he got beat. Beaten to his left and then beaten again as Fitz cut back inside and unleashed a shot which deflected in off Rossi. So unlucky. Moss had no chance at it and he’d been brilliant all half.
Tell you what, the Phoenix were much better after the break too. Maybe City eased off a bit, that definitely felt the case, but Ernie also made a few tactical tweaks to get the fullbacks more involved in the attacks and having the defence slide across (with the help of Vince Lia who was playing reaaaally deep all day) to cover them. Kosta and Fink both had dangerous shots as they drifted in from the left. And then we won a penalty.
No doubt about it either, Kosta beat Franjic down the line and the MCY defender tried to pull him back. Clear as day and although I can’t say I was too confident that Roy would score it for whatever reason, he was aware enough to tap in the rebound after Dean Bouzanis had guessed the right way and saved the initial spottie. 1-1, ya mugs!
That was about when the game began to descend into slapstick. There were 46 fouls in this game. A foul every two minutes! (Less if you exclude the time it takes for 'injured' players to be treated and free kicks to be taken).
Finkler must have been chopped down almost ten times (he’s the new Roly) and yet it took 80 minutes before a City player was booked – and it was Nic Colazo for his first foul! The dude had only just come off the bench! Ivan Franjic the stocky bastard, he could’ve been sent off if he’d been booked for the penalty (which he should have been) and also the time in the first half where Kosta was on the break and looking for a man in the middle to cross to but there was nobody there because Franjic had hauled Roy down in the lead-up. The ref saw it too, he warned the bugger.
Rodriguez had been booked in the first half and about six minutes after the equaliser went in, there was a period where five more Nix players were booked in the space of about eight minutes. Including the entire defence. To be fair, a couple of them got their cautions for yelling unrepeatables at the ref after he kept repeating this weird twitch he seemed to have where he’d let a foul go for one thing and then an identical foul would be whistled up against the Nix a minute later. Oh and the penalty didn’t help.
Not our one but their one. 13 minutes after Kosta was pulled down, Rossi and Fornaroli got tangled on a cross into the area and the whistle suddenly went. There was definite shirt-tugging on both sides, though how you can choose who was worse is beyond me. If anything, I thought Rossi had the better position. He was trying to lean in on a clearing header while Fornaroli was going for a no-hoper bicycle kick behind him. Who impeded who, I implore? Dammit. I hate these refs.
So we lost 2-1. Hamish Watson and Matt Ridenton got a run late on, Louis Fenton got on the park a bit earlier as Jake Tratt was injured (his last act was to limp down towards an attacked and then inexplicably launch his entire body into a tackle he wasn’t even 10% fit enough to make – Oh, Tratty. Never change). Problem was while Watto and Rids offered enough to warrant chucking them on, Ernie also replaced Roly and Fink – our two most creative players. But you can’t hardly blame him, those two were getting lumped. Probably had a pair of cracked shin-guards between them. There was one great chance when Kosta showed some brilliant vision to slide a reverse ball in for Watto, who in turn squared it to the far post but it was narrowly out of Durante’s reach.
It’s not so much that we deserved more than we got because City were much better in the first half especially. It’s more that we didn’t deserve to lose in the manner that we did. There are too many games in this league where you can’t even trust the referee and a team like the Nix is full of players that like to run at defenders, that need a bit of protection from cynical oppositions. Let's not ignore that City had plenty to moan about at the ref as well - we're not talking bias here, we're talking not being very good. Ernie might be onto something with the whole video ref thing.
Because the thing is, the Nix dealt with most of what City had to offer and while their chances were more scarce, they still existed. This was a road performance that bears well for future road performances and thanks to the two wins previous we've bought a little time. On another day guys like Durante and Finkler would have gotten better reward for how well they played. On another day, that ref might have been more generous.
Maybe next week.
Diggity Doc's Digest:
What a weird bloody game. It's hard to be overly disappointed when you lose 2-1 and one goal comes via a massive deflection, while the other is a dubious penalty. Our Wellington Phoenix had their backs up against the wall for much of this game, giving up a wealth of possession and territory to their opponents, yet their defensive grit and effort was a stand out feature.
The Nix didn't create enough opportunities to win and it's a familiar tale there. We were graced with some slick passing movements as Mr Finkler was promoted up the field to play slightly behind Roy and Kosta; both of whom stuck to their wide channels. A few slick passing movements were all that we had going forward though, as most attacking movements stalled with a sloppy outlet pass or an inability to trap the footy. Most times, as the Nix moved into a threatening position, you could sense that the passage would break down somewhere along the change. Most times that ended up being the case.
The enjoyable aspect of the Nix's performance was their defence and they had many opportunities to show off some defensive steel as they kept on gifting the ball back to City, even after they had just repelled an attack. City raided the Nix's half of the field and they created a gang of chances that would have seen the ball go in the back of the net if City were up against a defence that was quite as desperate, or focused, or willing to work their backsides off for their comrade.
Whether Bruno Fornaroli was slicing and dicing or Luke Brattan was plotting, there was always a well-timed challenge from Andrew Durante for example. Some of the tackling at the back was top-shelf, so too was the ability of the Nix to simply get bodies around the footy in goal-mouth scrambles or cheeky foot in to put pressure on a cross. City have attacking talent in abundance and while we're still waiting for things to genuinely click into gear down the attacking end, what I saw at the back was a defensive performance that made me proud.
During the week I heard Ernie! describe how he wanted to press City higher up the field and not allow them as much freedom to play out from the back as he thought they had been granted previously. When I saw how the Nix lined up when City had the ball at the back, this all made sense and there were a few funky looks from the Nix that ensured that a talented City team had to work hard to advance the ball.
Here Mr Finkler is slightly deeper, he was often forming a front-three with Kosta and Roy as well...
Mr Finkler's in that front-three position here, but the attackers are supported by Alex Rodriquez who tracked his midfielder's run back. It's weird to see four blokes line up like this and invites one-on-one battles behind them, although it's super funky...
The speed of Roy and Kosta is a huge advantage on defence as they can sneak up when a City player put his head down. Starting with those two and then working back to the defenders, this was an encouraging game without the result they wanted as the Nix kept City in check. With the footy though, it's all very frustrating and until the Nix can show a ruthless level of execution as they steam forward, they'll struggle to get results.
Who Are Ya!? – Gui Finkler’s taken a little time to find his sea legs but he last couple of weeks he’s flashed the cash and he was great again here. Lots of that sharp passing and clever vision he’s known for and you get the feeling the combinations with his two strikers are really starting to develop now. More please.
Undercover Brother – To be blunt, if it wasn’t for Glen Moss then the Nix wouldn’t have had anything to play for in that second half. He made a series of quality saves, mostly in rushing out and covering his near post, smothering crosses and the like. Plus there was that one that was sneaking in the post which he had to dive across and tip behind in the first half, that one was a belter. Also, they may have close to opposite reputations in this way but his distribution was waaay better than Bouzanis’. Just saying.
Chin Up, Son – Gotta feel a bit for Marco Rossi with the deflection going in off his back and the penalty being whistled against him. Plus there were some uncharacteristically poor touches in there for such an assured player, particularly in the first half. Dura and Mossy were sublime so it wasn’t really noticeable though – or at least it wouldn’t have been if the luck had gone his way.
Next Up: Adelaide Utd vs Welly Nix, 9.00pm Sunday (NZT)