WPM R1 vs Macarthur FC | Sun 21st November | 8:45pm | SS7

Disappointing draw. We've had about 5 clear cut chances to one of theirs. Should have had 3 points but still, not bad for a fairly young team that lost Reno and Hoops early in the second half. 
Ball MOM. Elliot and McGarry played well, the latter improved considerably in the second half. Old is very young, no pun intended, but he showed his lack of experience today and was very anonymous. I'd rather see Sutton in that position until Old shows us what he can do. 
Great to start the campaign without losing a game for a change though! 

Good to get a point on the board so early in the season, compared to the last couple of opening rounds. Good to get a goal as well - definitely chances there to get more. Our accuracy in front of goal will only get better as the season progresses. In summary, a lot to like about what we've just seen

Sad to say a game played out by 2 average sides. A game that we would have easily won last season. How did we not score 3 or 4 goals at least? Our backline was solid, midfield is our weakness and it will hurt us badly when we come up against better sides. Next week will tell us more about where we stand, but already we're nowhere near as good this year imo.

Anyone else hear someone yelling at sotorio to get the fudge on side? He really isn't much cop tbh.

Fair draw 🤝 no complaints. Ref was good, MacArthur played well, we did well. First 15 minutes of second half cost us when we decided to stop playing.. We move on

nufc_nz

Ball had a few chances to get a win for us. He needs to do better with his finishing.

 
But he’s not a line leading striker. He’s a great forward, but never really been a high percentage finisher. Kurto was okay too. 
Waine and Sotirio had the best chances with two counters imo and maybe maybe Ball could have slipped  a pass to an unmarked Sotirio with the one he had saved. 
That over the top ball was fairly good too. 
I thought from this team the performance was good. I think Waine needs to be more clinical as we’ve seen he can be!
We will need Pennington to be good and the imports coming in to hit the ground running.
Liked the two yellow cards taken to avoid counters, but we can’t do that every week- we don’t have the depth. 

Fair result in the end. We had the better of the chances, but that's what happens when we sit deeper from the start of the second half. We let them back in when we were in a position of control - Why not go for the throat?

If that's one criticism I have of Uffie, is that we don't have the experience/defensive capability to play like that for long periods and grind out a result based purely on defending. The start of that 2nd half was woeful, we got back into a bit of rhythm in the last 15-20 minutes, but too late to sneak the 3 points.

Impressed with Ball (MotM) Waine & Elliott. 
Hopefully Reno hasn't come up too lame either. Roll on next week. 🟡⚫

Thought the game was pretty decent for us at this stage of the season. Defence was pretty solid and unlucky with chances really - had plenty more then MacArthur had and Kurto saved them the match in the end. Always rated Ball and he showed plenty of signs that look good for the future.  I thought - with the benefit of a TV angle that Waine fed Sotirio way too early and that resulted in him having to tangle with a defender - who should have been put out of the running - and the goalie who may well have been flatfooted by a more square delivery a bit later. But that just 'coulda-shoulda-woulda' thinking - they did really well to get into that position and almost made it pay - so the signs look good there as well. All up a good effort of a new team on what looked like a dodgy pitch on wet and night - coulda been in Welly!  There are plenty of times we wished we'd had the extra point last season. We'll take it!

InsulinMachine

Sad to say a game played out by 2 average sides. A game that we would have easily won last season. How did we not score 3 or 4 goals at least? Our backline was solid, midfield is our weakness and it will hurt us badly when we come up against better sides. Next week will tell us more about where we stand, but already we're nowhere near as good this year imo.

 
Nah, have you forgotten how absolute pants Hemed was for half the season? I mean we’ve lost Uli and Hemed. We’ve lost the equivalent of one of our main goal scorers. Super Dooper Gary Hooper is 1 from 1. Waine had an off game in terms of chances. Midfield we’re missing Cammy, no doubt. But we have to wait and see what Pennington and Prso can bring to the table. Remember Cammy twice had to break back into the team. 
IMO a strong performance from a young underdog team against a team who’ve bought the Johnny Warren, a top City player, de Silva et al. 
We were always guna be doing it tough and holding on for the transfer window. 

Also, just as an aside this result extends our club record unbeaten streak. 

Currently at 12, unbeaten since April 11th. (6 Wins, 6 Draws)

Wish we could've been a lot more braver in the second half as we were in the first. We really had nobody effective off the bench. 

Magnificentman

Wish we could've been a lot more braver in the second half as we were in the first. We really had nobody effective off the bench. 

Magnificentman

Wish we could've been a lot more braver in the second half as we were in the first. We really had nobody effective off the bench. 

Sotirio was disappointing, I was hoping that with his introduction we'd take advantage of Macarthur starting to press and get in behind. But he hindered play by being offside during promising attacks. 

first game up after an off season where we've lost 4 of our big name players either to retirement or other a-league teams and we get a draw where for a good chunk of the game we were in charge. Bar maybe for that 10 minutes where they scored form the corner we looked well in control. One concern about our tactics is that we tend to sit on 1 goal leads, we did it last year too and it cost us.
First game in 1 point so not all doom and gloom.
The back 4 looked ok, Payne and Laws did well and McGarry and Elliot looked sharp out wide. Lewis (wtf with the cornrows?) and Rufer we solid in the middle with some good passing, Rufer looks like he's gonna continue with the rash challenges and is likely to pick up a lot of yellow cards. Ball, as always was consistent and worked hard. Reno was good, but not involved nearly enough as he should be. I have to question if he is up to anything close to a physical game. The boy seems to be made of glass, he draws the penalty and then 5 minutes later he is limping off. Needs to toughen up. Waine did ok as far as holding the ball and running into good spots, was just never able to get a shot away. Hooper put in a solid 55 minutes, expect to see more from him as he gains match fitness. Sotirio looks god awful, if he cant stay onside he'll score nothing this year, please to see old get some game time and he did ok with then time he had. I was hopeful that Talay was gonna use his subs earlier than he did last season, but again he only used 2. Not even a tactical sub at 85 minutes - Lewis or Rufer could have taken a breather given one of the new guys a run. Overall happy enough with a 1-1 result. We managed to tie Davila up well enough and he only really caused problems at the end. 
New commentary team were a little dry but at least they werent the usual one-eyed anti nix crew that we have been served over the last 14 years. Can only get better.

Nix with 7 Kiwi starters plus Old off the bench, so doing their bit for NZ Football.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSnjX-hJrN4

Could the early season 6 team NSW Conference (first 6 games) they are in be the weaker of the two? None of Jets, Bulls & Mariners sound great shakes.

Nix to travel to both Adelaide & Perth from NSW in January, shortening 2 of the longer usual road trips from Wellington. Then a long run of scheduled home games if that TT bubble happens from late Jan.
https://us.soccerway.com/teams/new-zealand/wellington-phoenix/8542/

This is what the Nix's 4th time based in Aus due to Covid, they must as a group be all becoming better at managing it, if not liking it. This season may go alright.

But will need any visa players coming in January to be near match fit. Hooper & Hemed coming in late, last few seasons unfortunately took a bit too long to get there.

Then you just need some luck Piscopo & Hooper are mostly available, plus 2 of Talay's young Aussie punts - Prso, Pennington & Bozinovski to show they belong.

The FFA/FFC cup game against Western they play mid week in early Jan, they should just give all their Academy players a run. A run in the Cup, would just seem an unneccessary distraction, it's value previously was always providing quality pre season games.

The Good: Ball doesn't seem to be carrying anything from his knee trouble last year, Reno looks like he floats on air, Waine Train is a heavier goods vehicle but looking sharp, McGarry and Eliot looked comfortable at full back, Payne and Laws organised, Captain Rufer putting in a big shift and working just as hard on the yellow

The Bad: Switching off at one set piece like that, how didn't we get the ball over the line, Kurto having a blinder against us, Hoops and Piscopo being off for 40 minutes of the second half, the first 15 after the break when we sat deep. Think Clayton was the weaker link in midfield yesterday, not just because of his hair.

The Ugly: Reno, Bally getting kicked about the place is going to be a constant I reckon, I don't see how 20 year old Waine has a better understanding of offside than 26 year old Sotirio lol, the conditions were fudgeing dogshark

We did kick the shark out of davila as well to be honest, a few rugby tackles.. we can’t complain, about yesterday anyway 

Balbi

The Good: Ball doesn't seem to be carrying anything from his knee trouble last year, Reno looks like he floats on air, Waine Train is a heavier goods vehicle but looking sharp, McGarry and Eliot looked comfortable at full back, Payne and Laws organised, Captain Rufer putting in a big shift and working just as hard on the yellow

The Bad: Switching off at one set piece like that, how didn't we get the ball over the line, Kurto having a blinder against us, Hoops and Piscopo being off for 40 minutes of the second half, the first 15 after the break when we sat deep. Think Clayton was the weaker link in midfield yesterday, not just because of his hair.

The Ugly: Reno, Bally getting kicked about the place is going to be a constant I reckon, I don't see how 20 year old Waine has a better understanding of offside than 26 year old Sotirio lol, the conditions were fudgeing dogshark

I did laugh at us rugby tackling Davila because he couldn't get mad at our boys because they're mates - plenty of friendly shoulder pats after we'd cleaned him out.

Bulls will be better in drier weather you’d think 

My biggest takeaway was that Tomi Uskok is still a cock 

While I thought second half was a bit gash from us, am happy that Davilla didn't have a blinder against us although Kurto did.

Mainland FC

Surprising amount of booing at Da Silva

He's ex-Central Coast Mariners and was getting booed by the CCM fans that hung around after their game.

A game in which Ball could/should have had a hat-trick. The referee was actually pretty good. 

Our beloved Captain took only 33 minutes to get his first yellow card of the season. I expect many more to follow. Why did he do such a dumb thing to get the card anyway?? I also noticed right at the first kickoff he tried a long tackle from behind that missed the player, otherwise he'd have been sent off inside the first 30 seconds. 

"Live" football again - Yay.

Trying to remember.  Have we ever (before this year) not lost the first game?  I cannot recall one but I am getting old and memory fades on finite details

Our first ever game v Victory was a draw

Walsall Boy

Trying to remember.  Have we ever (before this year) not lost the first game?  I cannot recall one but I am getting old and memory fades on finite details

I thought we were ok - not brilliant, but not bad. Kurto cost us two points with some great saves. No idea how Rudan didn't give him back his #1 spot after being injured.

I think Laws was much improved (against an average team). He looks to have bulked up a bit, and was stronger in the air. Which we need.

We are god awful at defending set pieces!!

Napier Phoenix

Our first ever game v Victory was a draw

Walsall Boy

Trying to remember.  Have we ever (before this year) not lost the first game?  I cannot recall one but I am getting old and memory fades on finite details

Fenton's debut against Bling and Rudan's first game in charge against Newcastle - the only times we've won an opening round fixture in 15 seasons.

Overall opening day ledger isn't impressive at all
2 wins, 6 draws, 7 losses. Including last night's result. 
 
Couldn't be bothered working out goals for and against, but the overall conclusion that we can come to from this is that we are  pants when it comes to picking up points in the opening weekend...

On a positive note, we're up on the average amount of points we usually get on the opening weekend 😅

YoungHeart

Napier Phoenix

Our first ever game v Victory was a draw

Walsall Boy

Trying to remember.  Have we ever (before this year) not lost the first game?  I cannot recall one but I am getting old and memory fades on finite details

Fenton's debut against Bling and Rudan's first game in charge against Newcastle - the only times we've won an opening round fixture in 15 seasons.

Overall opening day ledger isn't impressive at all
2 wins, 6 draws, 7 losses. Including last night's result. 
 
Couldn't be bothered working out goals for and against, but the overall conclusion that we can come to from this is that we are  pants when it comes to picking up points in the opening weekend...

On a positive note, we're up on the average amount of points we usually get on the opening weekend 😅

So what you’re saying is that our performance was in the top half of all time opening day performances?

martinb

YoungHeart

Napier Phoenix

Our first ever game v Victory was a draw

Walsall Boy

Trying to remember.  Have we ever (before this year) not lost the first game?  I cannot recall one but I am getting old and memory fades on finite details

Fenton's debut against Bling and Rudan's first game in charge against Newcastle - the only times we've won an opening round fixture in 15 seasons.

Overall opening day ledger isn't impressive at all
2 wins, 6 draws, 7 losses. Including last night's result. 
 
Couldn't be bothered working out goals for and against, but the overall conclusion that we can come to from this is that we are  pants when it comes to picking up points in the opening weekend...

On a positive note, we're up on the average amount of points we usually get on the opening weekend 😅

So what you’re saying is that our performance was in the top half of all time opening day performances?

Well statistically speaking, yes. 😅

We've had far worse opening day performances at that too. Bitumens on opening day last season anyone?

You know it's going to be a long season when David Ball is the most creative player in the team. And that's not a knock on David Ball - I rate him at A-league level and think we would be in far worse shape without him.

Ninja

You know it's going to be a long season when David Ball is the most creative player in the team. And that's not a knock on David Ball - I rate him at A-league level and think we would be in far worse shape without him.

You know it's going to be a long season when Stuff says we "made a solid start", when it was a draw against Macarthur, and our only goal came from a penalty spot.  However, there were positives in that game (like, we did not lose, and  Hooper and Piscopo managed good sixty minutes or so on the park, and Rufer did not get a red).
Our attack was good if not clinical, and the defense surprisingly solid against an undemanding opposition.  Lack of depth was showing and it may cost us a bit against better teams after a few rounds.

Contrary to other posters here who have suggested specific positions to fill, I would like to see money spent on a decent player (a quality import) in almost any position, as it will improve the squad. OK, so maybe not a FB or a goalie... but apart from that, almost any position could be strengthened with a quality player, for creativity and for depth.

Get Winston in to shore up the back, find a decent creative midfielder to tandem with Reno. Only uses 1 import slot as well.

Why do people keep saying Rufer is a red card magnet.

He's only ever had 2, and one was arguably the worst refereeing decision of the year that even the A League bosses admitted to stuffing up.

Whose our 2022 scapegoat... you got it!

I'm amazed at all the negativity.

First game of the season, in horrible conditions with a very inexperienced and young squad - yeah the performance was average but they ground out a point with a couple of decent chances.

The squad will progress as the season goes, so I think this is a decent first up result.

Degenerate

I'm amazed at all the negativity.

First game of the season, in horrible conditions with a very inexperienced and young squad - yeah the performance was average but they ground out a point with a couple of decent chances.

The squad will progress as the season goes, so I think this is a decent first up result.

Don't know about "negativity".  We just do not want to settle for mediocrity.  
Also, consider that the team was not "very inexperienced".  All the players we had on the park played last season and are not new to the team. It was more to do with the loss of key players in the offseason (Davila, Hemed, Devlin, Taylor). Taylor's 'retirement' case aside, our inability to retain such good players, COVID or not, is going to take some fixing, and it will not be a one-off problem.

It's a one off problem, we had players ready and willing but either we decided not to follow through with it because of character issues or we couldn't get them through MIQ. MIQ will be a thing of the past before next season and already the rumors are we have two players signed or close to signing for January.

MetalLegNZ

Why do people keep saying Rufer is a red card magnet.

He's only ever had 2, and one was arguably the worst refereeing decision of the year that even the A League bosses admitted to stuffing up.

Whose our 2022 scapegoat... you got it!

BRING BACK LOCHHEAD

Mainland FC

Degenerate

I'm amazed at all the negativity.

First game of the season, in horrible conditions with a very inexperienced and young squad - yeah the performance was average but they ground out a point with a couple of decent chances.

The squad will progress as the season goes, so I think this is a decent first up result.

Don't know about "negativity".  We just do not want to settle for mediocrity.  
Also, consider that the team was not "very inexperienced".  All the players we had on the park played last season and are not new to the team. It was more to do with the loss of key players in the offseason (Davila, Hemed, Devlin, Taylor). Taylor's 'retirement' case aside, our inability to retain such good players, COVID or not, is going to take some fixing, and it will not be a one-off problem.

 This. How many years have we been making excuses? We want to win the league. Playing like that will not do it. Demand better.

nufc_nz

Mainland FC

Degenerate

I'm amazed at all the negativity.

First game of the season, in horrible conditions with a very inexperienced and young squad - yeah the performance was average but they ground out a point with a couple of decent chances.

The squad will progress as the season goes, so I think this is a decent first up result.

Don't know about "negativity".  We just do not want to settle for mediocrity.  
Also, consider that the team was not "very inexperienced".  All the players we had on the park played last season and are not new to the team. It was more to do with the loss of key players in the offseason (Davila, Hemed, Devlin, Taylor). Taylor's 'retirement' case aside, our inability to retain such good players, COVID or not, is going to take some fixing, and it will not be a one-off problem.

 This. How many years have we been making excuses? We want to win the league. Playing like that will not do it. Demand better.

Okay- because I’m too lazy to do the math, what’s our points target by the transfer window and final window? What are we measuring as success? 
Uffie’s said he wants a better start than previous years.

nufc_nz

Mainland FC

Degenerate

I'm amazed at all the negativity.

First game of the season, in horrible conditions with a very inexperienced and young squad - yeah the performance was average but they ground out a point with a couple of decent chances.

The squad will progress as the season goes, so I think this is a decent first up result.

Don't know about "negativity".  We just do not want to settle for mediocrity.  
Also, consider that the team was not "very inexperienced".  All the players we had on the park played last season and are not new to the team. It was more to do with the loss of key players in the offseason (Davila, Hemed, Devlin, Taylor). Taylor's 'retirement' case aside, our inability to retain such good players, COVID or not, is going to take some fixing, and it will not be a one-off problem.

 This. How many years have we been making excuses? We want to win the league. Playing like that will not do it. Demand better.

Sure, demand better but there needs to be some realism. Great commitment from the guys, some decent football for a the first game of a season, and fitter than I expected, but on paper, compared to most other teams in the comp it's undeniably a pretty mediocre lineup, especially once Hooper and Piscopo have gone off. 

And that's not a criticism cos I love a bunch of battlers, especially when so many of them are homegrown. But without a couple more quality imports the top six will be a real stretch.