Anytime the Football Ferns play the Matildas is a big deal, just as any time New Zealand and Australia meet in the sporting arena is a big deal. But for Tom Sermanni’s team this game had an even bigger context as the first game of a monumental 2019 which will culminate in the mid-year with the World Cup in France.
The man, the myth. Christopher Grant Wood. They say that if you look closely enough on the Burnley club logo you can actually see his name tattooed into the palm of that random hand thing waving out from inside the shield. Because they knew, they always knew. And now the prophecies have come true.
With the top four teams in the Premiership all sorted, the question becomes what is there left to play for amongst the poor souls left out of that picture? Pride is the obvious answer, although that doesn’t always take you too far.
Part One should have been the end of this article but then Mark Rudan went and said some things. He sat in front of a bunch of microphones and he iterated rather bluntly that he’d made it very clear to the Phoenix how he felt about giving up their home field advantage for a game like this.
The first time the Nix played Sydney FC it was a turning point in their season. They’d won their opening game but then went four straight without even scoring a goal until putting three past SFC in a blistering 45 minutes of brilliant football.
Steven Taylor is sticking around for another year. Could be the quality of the Wellington coffee, could be the thriving arts and culture scene, could even be the length of the pins around town. The footy hasn’t been half bad either to be fair.
Another win and Bordeaux are still frontrunners for third place in France with six more games remaining. 2-0 over FC Metz and that’s one more clean sheet for Footy Ferns keeper Erin Nayler ahead of the tour to Australia, bring it on.
Three more games this week but three games which involved five of the top six teams on the ladder. In other words, given the precarious state of the league table, three games which had the potential to offer complete clarity to the top four make-up and complete confusion as to the order of that top four. Which is exactly what happened.
Twenty two thousand six hundred and forty eight people filtered into Eden Park on Friday night in Auckland to watch the Wellington Phoenix. That’s more than the Super Rugby got the following night. More than the Nix have ever had before for a regular season game. The biggest crowd any A-League game has witnessed this season outside of Sydney or Melbourne.
A person could get used to these midweek catch-up games. Early evening in the Aotearoa summer… not the easiest for the players but when you can settle down with the cricket on one screen and a livestream of Southern vs Auckland City on another… mate, that’s magic.
The man scores goals, it’s what he does. Chris Wood went a fair while this season struggling to lock down a regular starting spot and struggling for that because the goals weren’t flowing but both issues have been well and truly taken care of lately.
In the end the transfer window passed with three signings and two releases. Cillian Sheridan turned up good to go as soon as January began. Mitch Nichols and Reuben Way were given the flick after pretty unglamorous contributions over the first half of the season. Then Antony Golec and Justin Gulley were signed to fill things out.
Hamilton Wanderers hosting Canterbury United and really absolutely desperately needing a win to halt their downward spiral and keep their semi-final hopes alive. Lose and it’s basically all over for anyone outside the current top four.
As long as the Phoenix keep battling for points away from home and winning the ones in front of their own crowds then they can still make a real push for the top four. That’s the aim. This result did a little bit of damage to those hopes but it did a lot more damage to the Newcastle Jets trying to sneak back into the top six.
In the proper punk attitude of revolt, both gaffers flipped a middle finger to midweek tradition and named unchanged lineups from the weekend. Probably not too much choice for the WeeNix given the senior side are away in Newcastle for tomorrow night’s game, while Team Welly didn’t need to change anything following their six-goal explosion against Hawke’s Bay.
Liverpool cannot win the title this season. It must not be allowed to happen. We cannot open that pandora’s box and unleash such hitherto repressed joy upon the world. You Liverpool fans have suffered enough already and that’s why you need to suffer some more, for all the rest of us.
At this point there’s nothing special about when Chris Wood plays at Old Trafford or Anfield or Stamford Bridge, etc… he’s done it all before. When he manages to score goals at those hallowed turfs of English football though, that’s another story.
This season’s had all sorts of funky narratives but the one that matters most is this: Who can stop Auckland City? Like an asteroid heading for the Planet Earth, the Navy Blues just continue on their path unobstructed.
The dull light of the crescent moon peeked through the heavy cloud cover, casting dark shadows across the land. A heavy breeze barged through branches and leaves with utter disregard. Perhaps it would rain overnight. It was certainly long overdue.
The Phoenix needed to sign one player, instead they signed two. Justin Gulley and Antony Golec. A couple of defenders to bolster the ranks of what to be fair was already a pretty well-stocked crew but depth is always handy and competition for places, as Mark Rudan keeps on saying, is a crucial part of a competitive team.