Every Wellington Phoenix season gets underway with an Australia Cup jaunt. They’re always played on the other side of the Tasman Sea, usually against a lower-tiered NPL club, and generally very early in their preseason activities. We tend to see a few academy players filling out the squads with the first team often not even finalised yet. This year was no different on any of those counts.

We’re not talking about the most representative example of Welly Nix football... but these games are still valuable competitive fixtures during the club’s preseason, something that this club can’t take for granted. The women’s team has bemoaned the lack of strong preseason games as a factor in their slow starts and the men aren’t much better at hitting the ground running, as we well know. However they have begun to get the hang of this Aussie Cup thing in the last couple swings.

In the first six years of Welly Nix x Aussie Cup entries (back when it was still called the FFA Cup) they only ever won one game. Just a single victory in six years of trying. That meant five one-and-done entries and alas those weren’t all against fellow A-League opponents either. Then the cup took a year off around covid and since then... well, since then the Phoenix have made the semi-finals, the quarter-finals, and they just nudged through into the round of sixteen with a win over Peninsula Power on Friday night.

Of course, that game was also the first (official) match in charge for new head coach Giancarlo Italiano. If you’ve been paying attention since his opening press conference as the new bossman you’ll know that Chiefy’s had a plan up his sleeve for this team. A change in formation was promised. As were a few different patterns and ideas in their play. The team’s no doubt been hard at work on that vision away on the training paddock but that’s all away from prying eyes, hence the Peninsula Power game was like their grand unveiling. An opportunity to show everyone what they’ve been plotting... and yeah it was quite a difference. Here are some thoughts.

THE LINE-UP

The squad was announced ahead of time with four unsigned academy players involved in the touring group alongside all the usual first teamers. Still no confirmation of that fifth import spot and there are a couple of local spots to fill as well. As it stands they’ve re-signed Nico Pennington, added Jack Duncan and Mo Al-Taay from outside the club, and promoted academy lads Lukas Kelly-Heald and Fin Conchie. Except that Conchie is still suspended and the club chose (rightly) to honour his Central League suspension in this competition as well. In other words, Conchie won’t play for the senior team until his reserves ban has been served (assuming that’s how it works because Central Football doesn’t have the jurisdiction to suspend players in another league, let alone another country and confederation). Also Ben Old and David Ball are currently injured and didn’t travel.

Therefore there were call ups for Kaelin Nguyen, Ben Wallace, Joshua Rudland, and Fergus Gillion from the reserves, filling things out with only 14 available senior players in the squad. Wallace you may remember from the U20 World Cup after he scored a banger of a goal against Uzbekistan. He’s a right winger who plays with plenty of quickness and clearly doesn’t hesitate to unleash a shot. Wasn’t in either of the U20s squads prior to the World Cup but earned his way in for the main event on the back of some impressive Central League form.

Joshua Rudland was a reserve during qualifiers and was unlucky not to make the World Cup squad. He’s a striker with an eye for goal, perhaps the best pure goal-scorer the club has produced since Ben Waine, and once scored a 34-minute hat-trick in a National League game. He’s played heaps alongside Kaelin Nguyen who is probably the most experienced of this quartet having been around the Nix reserves for a couple of years. He’s a speedy winger who’s recently begun to find his finishing touch with some important goals for the WeeNix. Meanwhile Fergus Gillion is a little younger and hasn’t played as much Central League as the other three. He’s the younger brother of Auckland City winger Liam Gillion – they both used to play for Western Suburbs/Ole Academy. Gillion’s an attacking midfielder.

Predictably, none of them made the starting eleven. However Lukas Kelly-Heald did. LKH has been a comrade of that lot through multiple WeeNix seasons and was given his senior debut at the first opportunity after signing a four-year senior contract last month.

LKH played at left-back while Mohamed Al-Taay lined up on the right. Al-Taay was signed to be a midfielder but it was mentioned during his announcement stuff that he’s also got some experience at fullback. Considering how they haven’t yet replaced Callan Elliot, this was a case of Mo having to put a shift in for the good of the lads. Between those two we had Tim Payne and Finn Surman at CB. Alex Rufer and Nico Pennington did the midfield things. Oskar van Hattum and Kosta Barbarouses were posted as wingers while Bozhidar Kraev and Oskar Zawada up front. And between the sticks was Alex Paulsen. The former backup was given the first opportunity to impress with new signing Jack Duncan on the bench. Cowabunga.

THE FORMATION

For the last three years we’ve been accustomed to seeing the Wellington Phoenix in a Sydney FC style 4-2-2-2. Ufuk Talay brought it over with him and despite many tweaks and variations within that set-up the basics never changed. Whether the tens were playing wide or narrow. Whether the second striker was operating high or dropping in. Whether the midfield were flat or with one holding a little deeper. Whether the fullbacks sat deep or tried to overlap. The 4-2-2-2 was always a constant.

Now it’s gone. And in its place we saw something that looked a lot like a 4-2-4. The two-man midfield offered Pennington more licence to push forward than Rufer, no surprises there. The wingers played very high and very wide. The strikers were hardest to get a gauge on because Zawada and Kraev both like to drop in and collect the ball, so it took a while to determine that they were operating with two nines rather than a nine and a ten (helped massively when Alex Rufer confirmed as much in his post-game chat). Curiously, we also saw the fullbacks tuck in like midfielders when the team was on attack rather than holding their width as Talay’s FBs usually did.

There was a good example of all this early in the game when Nico Pennington stepped into the attacking third and then Bozhidar Kraev and Oskar Zawada worked some cheeky interplay leading to a Zawada shot that flew slightly over the crossbar...

It began with Lukas Kelly-Heald and Nico Pennington linking up, the left fullback operating almost like an extra midfielder (note the slippery footwork of Pennington to evade defenders – midfielders who can dribble are a beautiful thing). You can see where LKH (#18) ends up and it’s not where any fullback had a right to catch their breath last season. Additionally pay attention to where wingers Oskar van Hattum and Kosta Barbarouses are. OVH is barely in frame on the left whereas Barbarouses is stationed similarly wide right making no real effort to get infield. They only really made those moves after they got the ball at their feet with attempted give-and-gos proving relatively common.

We’ll get a better idea of all this when we’ve seen them play a few more games, especially against fellow A-League teams. The inverted fullbacks should give the team more scope to set up camp around opposition penalty areas (as well as helping fix their transition defence which was such a killer in the elimination final defeat to Adelaide last season). There is going to be a burden of creativity on the midfield within this shape, hence it’s a pity that Clayton Lewis has gone because he’d have loved it. Big pressure on Pennington to deliver a breakthrough season. However Italiano’s past points about wanting to put players in better positions to succeed seems most applicable to the wingers. Remember how none of them could finish a chance to save their lives last season? Yeah well now they don’t have to. They only have to create them for the two imports up top.

THE GAME ITSELF

It’d be silly to go any further without describing the actual game of football that unfolded, aye? It’s one thing to lay out the tactics but that says nothing about how well things actually worked. So on that note... let’s just say it was okay. First game under a new manager, it was only ever going to be a work in progress. Intentions still mean more than outcomes at this stage.

The Nix came out and bossed possession but didn’t have much luck breaking down the Power’s deep defensive line – which included kiwi right back Hayden McHenery. Always seems to be a New Zealander on the other side of these games (Keegan Smith and Scott Hilliar have both had that same experience in recent seasons). Anyway, there wasn’t much penetration and for all their width there wasn’t much in the way of crosses either. The strikers did a decent job of dropping in and linking up and Pennington tried a few Pennington things, rolling the dice to see what happened. Also worth mentioning how often Tim Payne went long with his passing game. Not very accurately... although that reflects the lack of space in behind more than T-Payne’s ability because we know he’s got a mean long ball in his toolbox.

Instead it felt like the Nix’s best shout was either going to be set pieces or a defensive mistake. It ended up being the latter. The PP keeper was unable to gobble up an attempt from Oskar van Hattum who’d done a nice job of getting infield by collecting a return pass. Pennington pounced on the loose ball. Nice way for NP to begin a season in which there could be a lot of creative expectation on his shoulders (or on the shoulders of another midfielder whom they haven’t signed yet).

That goal arrived just before half-time and would’ve eased a few worries after having otherwise failed to capitalise on 65% of possession. But they got sloppy in the second half. Maybe it was match fitness. Maybe it was the substitutions. But all of a sudden Peninsula Power began forging a few moments of their own. They’d had nothing in attack for the first forty-five but Alex Paulsen definitely got his gloves dirty in the second... leading up to a 71st minute equaliser. The defence got staggered and narrow and then Payne missed a tackle. Bang. 1-1. Just like that.

Fast-forward and extra time beckoned. Fast-forward some more and penalties beckoned. Yet we never quite got to those pens thanks to Kaelin Nguyen finding space to cross down the left and Josh Rudland getting to the near post in time to touch home the winner in the 119th minute of action. Two academy fellas combining for the winning spark that the senior lads hadn’t quite managed. How about it? To be honest, they should’ve been good enough to advance even if it did go to a shootout but this way was more fun. A 2-1 win for the Wellington Phoenix after extra time.

THE AFOREMENTIONED ACADEMY RESURGENCE

If you’re reading this article then you’ve probably already read this one too...

After a season in which there was a notable drop in homegrown players for the Nix - caused mostly by injuries and the sale of Ben Waine it should be added - all signs pointed towards a massive resurgence under Chiefy. It’s only been one game but so far that’s exactly what we’ve had...

• There were nine academy players in the matchday squad for the Peninsula Power game

• Four of those players were in the starting eleven (Kelly-Heald, Van Hattum, Surman & Paulsen)

• Four more got minutes off the bench (Nguyen, Rudland, Sutton & Wallace)

• Four of the eight who played were making their first team debuts: Lukas Kelly-Heald, Kaelin Nguyen, Josh Rudland & Ben Wallace

• Two of them combined to score the winner in extra time, with Rudland bundling in the goal from a Nguyen cross

Fergus Gillion was an unused sub so we know he’s close to cracking it. Fin Conchie is also yet to debut for the senior side and he’s now on a full contract so that’s only a matter of time. Ben Old missed this match through injury or else he’d have been amongst. Plus that doesn’t include guys like Alex Rufer, who didn’t come up through the academy but has played plenty for the reserves over the years, or Kosta Barbarouses, who predates the Nix academy but did still get his big break with the club back in the day.

There’s still more than two months until the A-League Men’s kicks off again. That means plenty more training sessions with which to refine the new style of play – not to mention another Aussie Cup game in a couple of weeks. With only 17 players on senior contracts there’s also more transfer business to be conducted too. We’re a long way from witnessing the full Chiefy evolution. But this was an enticing start.

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