For forty-five minutes that was a performance on par with the worst we’ve seen this season. Then for forty-five more it was a whole lot more of what we’re getting used to lately: the good stuff. Central Coast came into this one with nine straight defeats but the Nix, who were recovering from three away games and last played on Tuesday night, let them off the hook and then some with a trashy first half which saw CCM hit the sheds up 2-0. A quick tactical adjustment and a couple moments of excellence however and the Phoenix just broke a club record with their eighth game unbeaten in a row, continuing to put clean air between themselves and seventh place.

THE PITIFUL FIRST FORTY-FIVE

In fairness this had been coming for a little while. The Nix might be on a big old undefeated run but the last couple games have not seen them at their best. For large portions against Western Sydney midweek they were actually kinda bad, twice conceding sloppy equalisers soon after taking the lead. From set pieces too, dammit. That was an away game so even on a short turnaround, it was figured that they’d be all goods against the bottom team on the ladder at home… but that wasn’t the case.

There was one change to the team that beat WSW and it was not, as I’d hoped, Cillian Sheridan coming in to start. The Shepherd has still gotta work his way into things, having only been with the squad a short amount of time. Nah, the only change was an enforced one with Alex Rufer suspended and Mitch Nichols coming in for him in midfield alongside Michal Kopczynski. Both Rufer and Mandi will be back next week for the game away to Melbourne Victory so it was a matter of getting through this one game unscathed with a second string pair in the middle… but she wasn’t pretty, I’ll tell you that much.

About two minutes in there was a moment which illustrated why Nichols is not a defensive midfielder. He’d picked up the ball outside his own penalty area on the left. There was space in front of him but he tried to lob the ball over a defender to find Libby Cacace, putting him under pressure with the pass. A small moment but a telling one. Alex Rufer has had a brilliant season by being a tough bugger off the ball and keeping it simple on it. Mandi has settled in wonderfully with vision and composure to his passing. Nichols isn’t able to make things easier for guys around him in that same way. To be fair it’s not his position, he should be further forward, but he was still the obvious candidate to fill in this game and that’s a responsibility to the team (curious that Max Burgess ended up being the midfield cover on the bench, with Dylan Fox also playing the last couple mins at CM). Unfortunately this was merely a sign of what else was to come.

Nichols is also short on match fitness, having been struggling to make the bench most weeks of this eight-game run and only once kitting up for the WeeNix (though he did score that game). You can sorta see why he’s not been playing after that one. It’s been funny how some of the reaction has gone with Rudan’s selections. When Sarpreet Singh was dropped there was outrage but now look at how well he’s going since he was reinstated. Same with Libby Cacace (albeit with less outrage). David Williams has been in and out and back in again and he’s done it through form and goals, earning his place in the team. When Kopczynski started the season with the reserves people were already calling him a flop but the point is that Rudan’s selections aren’t complicated. When the team loses, he makes changes. When they win he rewards the players that got it done. Nichols being out of the team recently is not a coincidence. Nichols being given an opportunity to start again thanks to suspensions rather than taking his opportunities in training and off the bench was a bit of a coincidence, a fortuitous twist for him, not a regular Rudan rotation, and it showed in the way he played.

Because I don’t want this to come out the wrong way, this was a tricky circumstance for him to play in, out of position and short on match fitness, but… he was bloody awful. Him and Kopa played so far apart, it was like they weren’t even on the same team. Nichols was worse and it was his silly giveaway that led to the second goal, however neither was up to a whole lot. It’s a tricky one with Kopa because he’s not had a lot of chances and you can see there’s a better player in there then he’s shown so far, same with Nichols, yet you’ve gotta show it or you won’t keep getting these chances while other guys are thriving.

Rufer and Mandi have a great combination, complimenting each other’s strengths and commanding the middle of the park. Nichols and Kopa were playing different games to each other. They weren’t the only problem in that first half as the entire team seemed to turn up short of a gallop but they were the main problem. Barely able to keep the ball against the bottom team, there was a gaping hole where the midfield should be and that only got worse after Steven Taylor got silly and fouled Matt Simon for an early penalty. Taylor was then beaten pretty easy by Andrew Hall’s cutback for the second. He was always going to get waxed there a little bit but the dude ran right past him, leaving Hall with all sorts of space to shoot. But yeah, it all started because Nichols gave the ball away in midfield and left the defence exposed… something that was happening time and time again. The channel between Tom Doyle and Libby Cacace was getting a workover. It was all quite ugly.

THE WONDERFUL SECOND FORTY-FIVE

2-0 down at the break against the bottom team, something had to change. And something did change, with Cillian Sheridan replacing Mitch Nichols at half-time. Sheridan went up front with David Williams dropping behind, though the front three all rotated around, and Sarpreet Singh went into central midfield. That was a risky move from Mark Rudan. Getting an extra attacker out there was a sign of intent but it also left the team vulnerable through the middle if Singh ever over-committed. Granted, Mitch Nichols was the same so maybe it wasn’t really any different.

Thing is, we never got to see about those risks because within thirty second Sheridan had already played a perfect ball in behind the defence, Roy Krishna piercing the offside trap and getting through on goal only for Kye Rowles to get in the way. Penalty. Red Card. 2-1. The entire game turned as quickly as that.

With the Mariners down to ten men the Nix had the extra man in midfield anyway and could afford to push forwards. The plan seemed to be, with Matt Simon now a lone figure up top for CCM, that Andrew Durante was free to step into the next line whenever he felt necessary. No need for three against one at the back after all, Simon’s not exactly the fastest bloke over a hundred metres to play for Central Coast this season. Which in turn freed Singh up to be more adventurous. Which in turn created an overload on attack. Soon enough we were back to the Nix at their recent best. The passing was swift and decisive, with movement from all sides and corners. The fullbacks were getting in behind. The front three were looking hungry and sharp.

Ten minutes later a magical cross-field switch – I think it was from Doyle but it was cut out of the replay – found Krishna in space on the right. A perfect first touch (jeez, his touch has been immaculate lately) gave him the chance to drive into the penalty area and, oh look, another foul. Another penalty. Another goal. Roy went the same way both times, opting for more power the second time to remove all doubts.

Then David Williams smashed in the third in the 65th minute, the ball falling conveniently right too him after Krishna had tried dribbling into the area and the defensive line conveniently played Willo onside – the first and third goals weren’t specifically because of the Mariners’ disjointed backline, there are always many aspects to any spot of play, but if their backline had been more onto it then neither would have happened. You don’t turn up to play the Phoenix with a staggered backline any more than you’d turn up to a pool party in a three-piece suit. It’s just asking for trouble.

Twenty minutes of quality footy and that was the difference. You had to feel for the Mariners a tad, they didn’t even play that badly but every mistake seems to be so much more punishing when you’re on a losing streak, Phoenix fans know that feeling way too well. The only complaint from the second half is that they didn’t get the fourth goal for insurance. Like, this team was 2-0 down at HT and we’re annoyed they didn’t win by more. Instead they had to deal with some nervous moments in the final ten minutes (including six legit minutes of injury time) during which the Mariners actually did get the ball in the net but Jordan Murray was just offside. Again, the difference between the sides was an organised defensive line.

There must have been some fatigue happening in the last ten mins given this was their third game in seven days, not to mention the energy it takes to come from behind like that. They almost took care of the comeback too quickly, with too much time left on the board. And all three subs were in the midfield too. Nichols then Singh and Kopa. There are some tough games coming up but there’s also eight days to prepare for the next game and the first choice midfield pairing is good to go again.

In a lot of ways this was a banana-peel game and for forty-five minutes it looked like all that and more. I dunno about you though but even at 2-0 down halfway through the contest I never felt like this was beyond the Nix. Maybe it was the sight of that delicately spindled man-bun on the sideline ready to come in or maybe it was the sight of The Man In Black in his technical area barking orders or maybe it’s that this Phoenix team are actually really good and they’re proving it week after week and they keep finding a way toto grind out results even on their off days. There’s a real belief in this side. In the old days they’d go 1-0 behind and I’m on my phone disinterested. Now they can be 2-0 behind and I’m still sitting calmly waiting for the comeback. It isn’t always going to happen like this but it could, and that’s enough to keep trusting in the process (in the parlance of our times).

Also, shout out to Andrew Durante. 300 games in the A-League. What an absolute star.

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