There are few things more depressing for a struggling team than when you scrap away in a tight game and then gift-wrap a goal to the other jokers. Goran Paracki’s sloppy back pass is not in indictment against the Nix’s new tendency to build up their play from the back but it is a symptom of the worries that are festering around them at the moment. We’ve seen more than enough Welly Nix seasons to know that one win can spark a run of four or five… yet right now that one win is acting pretty elusive. Leprechaun levels of elusion.

Obviously Darije Kalezic was going to take some time to mould this squad around his vision for it. It also didn’t help that he rocked up to work with a largely new set of players, significant changes taking place since last season. In the long term that might actually be advantageous – less of the old ways of doing things embedded in there – however you still have to expect that settling-in period. Andrija Kaludjerovic is a great example, he looked anonymous in the first game or two and has really started to get it going now a month in. Sweet as then.

Except that we’re five games into the season and the Phoenix are still winless. Fingernails are getting chewed through. Coffee cups are shivering with anxious tics. There’s a very palpable discomfort among the Welly faithful and it’s not a situation that this team deserves to be in… which makes it so much worse. Losing is a habit after all and if the Nix are dropping games even while playing well then what the hell is it gonna take to win!?

They were crap against Adelaide in the first one. The All Whites were away and it was Kalezic’s first experience of the A-League. They sucked but they held on for a 1-1 draw. Then they played much better away to Sydney only to lose 3-2. Similar stakes against Melbourne City – two extremely strong teams at home and the Nix pushed them bloody hard. Back in Wellington they channelled that emerging form to take a 3-0 lead against Brisbane… only to stay at the blackjack table too long and leave with evens in a 3-3 draw. Then a comfortable pumping in Newcastle.

It’s not even that they played that bad in Newcastle, the Jets are looking sharp under Ernie these days and were clearly the better team but it was wide open when Paracki played that blind pass. Almost as wide open as Roy O’Donovan was. A luckier team might have already snuck that early away goal and it could’ve been a different story from then on.

Yeah… but the Nix are not a lucky team. You make your own luck and it’s not a coincidence that the team down on confidence, doubting their ability to score goals and win games, is the one whose most influential player so far this season goes and whips a pass directly to Roy O’Bloody’Donovan.

Man, and what’s worse is that if they weren’t all in shock at the gaffe then they might still have been able to prevent the goal after Keegan Smith had saved the initial shot. But Durante was caught unawares (can’t hardly blame him, to be fair) while Paracki tracked the runner rather than looking to close down the striker. Maybe if he goes to Lesser Roy (Krishna = Major Roy, obvs) then Donny just squares is for the tap-in though. Hmm, moral of the story being: try not to give the ball to a wide-open striker in your own penalty area.

The Alternate Wellington Phoenix Season begins with a win over Adelaide, which was a very winnable game. They then get a draw out of one of the Sydney/MCity games and beat up on Brisbane. Then we’re talking 7 points on the ladder, even with a defeat against the Jets, and everybody’s a little bit more comfortable. Rather than 2 points and sitting near the foot of the table.

The thing is, there isn’t a lot of stuff they need to do to fix this either. They’re playing fine, just low on confidence. And that’s as tricky as it gets because when the confidence dips, so does the unquestioned trust in what the gaffer’s dealing. In the Jets game we still saw a commitment to that deep possession stuff, Smithy looking to play the ball out at his feet and all that. When it works it’s beautiful. You invite the opposition to press you high up the park and then ping pong the ball around them, creating space to attack at the other end. When it doesn’t work… well, Roy O’Donovan’s first goal, basically.

Which is where Keegan Smith deserves an immense amount of praise because that young buck is holding this goddamned thing together. He’s conceded three in three of his five starts but that’s the defensive line bollocksing things up more than anything. Get Dura and Rossi playing together… wait, sidebar: who the hell is Andy Durante’s doctor that he’s already back starting, haha? Who is the witch doctor extraordinaire that turned a three month injury into a couple weeks? Or is the question actually who is the Dr Nick Riviera that diagnosed him in the first place? Either way, thank God for second opinions.

Anyway, the Nix are demonstrably better with Dura and Rossi both starting – something that hasn’t happened at all this season. And these days, with Dura turning 36 in May, it’s a genuine argument that Rossi is the more important guy. Certainly the two games in which the Nix have kept teams under three goals against them were the two in which Rossi started… which might be an oversimplification but it’s worth a pondering.

So don’t ignore the defensive chaos but also don’t blame it on young Keegan. Poor lad’s got enough to worry about as it is with exams coming up. What’s remarkable about Smith is how unbelievably composed he is on the ball. He knows exactly how much time he has on it under pressure – and he’s usually under pressure – and he very rarely misplaces a pass that he hasn’t deliberately hoofed to safety. The shot-stopping is impressive enough and the kiss that was blown (tm – Mills & Boon) demonstrated a bloke that isn’t worried about being a little unconventional. Two great indicators of a player who can develop into a very good goalie… but it’s the composure on the ball that really sets him apart. There are keepers twice his age in this league who don’t have that self-assuredness.

Smithy’s situation is so utterly out of the realms of normality that it deserves a much longer exposition at a future point. Where he fits into this current conundrum is in how well he’s setting the tone for the rest of them. He plays the first pass. He instigates the possession. If this rough patch starts to affect players too much then all this slick build-up stuff (and people panic when they see a goalie with the ball at his feet – the reality is that for a calm and collected team it’s almost zero risk, you just clear it if you get stuck), is gonna swiftly disappear into a haze of panicked long balls.

Like, the way the Nix have chosen to play is massively reliant on their being able to stay calm under pressure, beginning with their teenaged goalie and sweeping right the way through the team. That pressure gets amped up with every subsequent poor result and right now they’re 5/5 in the poor results column.

Again, a few wins in a row and this sloppy start is all in the rearview. There’s plenty of reason to feel like that prospect-flipping game is only a moment away, another thumping Roy Krishna strike or a towering Kaludjerovic header. That might be all it takes to turn things around – although that wasn’t the case against Brissie, sadly.

For now we’ve just gotta stay settled. The Wellington Phoenix play three of their next four games at home. One, probably two, of those games will be affected by the international window but they’re better positioned than ever to roll with those punches, particularly if Rossi and Finkler are fit (otherwise… hmm…). Still, any home game is a winnable game and they should’ve won without their All Whites in the Adelaide anyway. Plus away trips to Western Sydney and then Brisbane are winnable as well if things (finally) break right. Like it or not though, they need to stick with the way they’ve been practicing because they really aren’t that far away from the good stuff.

Make it happen, lads. Come on. Trust the process.

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