Match 10 vs Perth Glory | Sun 7th Mar | 6:05pm | SS7

‘Anything less than a 3-0 defeat will be a success’

Youre a bit quiet Royz!

Good commentary tonight. Hard to identify any anti Phoenix sentiment

MetalLegNZ

Hemed is A League quality - we just expect him to be better than that.

 Not sure he is A league quality from what I’ve seen so far. It’s early days tho. 

The golf cart boys parked up well in this game 10/10 to both.

Lady luck has finally swung Nix's way. Keogh was only just offside. Glory score then and could have been a very different game. Rufer very fortunate to escape without a yellow in the 2nd half. He had a real good game after a scratchy start. Payne & Sail also top drawer. McGarry & Fenton got forward plenty. 7 Kiwis in that starting lineup.

Well done Ben Waine. I questioned whether he was yet up to the A League, but 2 goals in 2 weeks, and he's doing the job asked of him really well. Credit to him. McGing quality as well, last few weeks.

The tracksuit worked its charm! LOL!

Sail has done well with the defense organization and kept another clean sheet. Things are looking even better. 

On this point - Sail, you have been proven correct. Before the other fella was bought and Kurto had left, I thought Sail would have been given the chance. Well, now he has and he is making the most of it.

Alf Tupper

‘Anything less than a 3-0 defeat will be a success’

Youre a bit quiet Royz!

Good commentary tonight. Hard to identify any anti Phoenix sentiment

It was a anti jinx and pure prediction we would actually win 3-0.

I expect to see several players in red in the Team Of The Week this week.

With Waine scoring goals i cant see Hemed getting a start any time soon. Even todays game i wanted to see Ngoy on instead. Its also cool we only used 3 subs compared to the 5 Glory used,

I have been impressed with McGing. For a kid who hasnt played much at all - he has come in and held his own in the last 4 games!

Early on I thought we were gonna get thrashed as Perth looked dominant.

But it's the reverse of the start of the season where we looked better than other teams but lost. 

A 3-0 win over Perth.  We're gonna win the league. 

maynardf

I have been impressed with McGing. For a kid who hasnt played much at all - he has come in and held his own in the last 4 games!

I remember him stepping into an FFA Cup game we lost to some 2nd tier side in Brisbane - he looked good then too. I think he's definitely got a future.

Interesting that the TAB called it right, even if marginally. Even the great Aussie xenophobe that is Robbie Slater, who normally likes to slate the Phoenix, tipped us to win! 

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When you're at karaoke and dad has picked a duet song you know nothing about

Really enjoyed that game. We looked like a team with confidence in themselves and each other. Under the pump a bit and yes, a bit lucky, but fudge me, we were due some. Great goals, although I missed the waine trains. 

The red kit was also awesome. Rare to have two great kits, and neither of them the home one 😂

Looking forward to seeing how uffie pushes the team on from this. Hemed continues to be a massive disappointment, but maybe now we have a few more points (and goals) it might take the pressure off him. No way is he a starter though.

Was Perth affected by turnaround from their midweek game against CCM?  Yes they were unlucky with quite a few close calls against us, but it looked to me that even if luck went their way last night, it might have ended up with a draw at best (for them). They looked listless at the back.

I always thought we should win but not in this way. I thought we would be a bit more dominant in the midfield. But we defended very well and took our chances. Good to see that we fixed everything that costs us games in the past. Our makeshift defence was very impressive. Well done.

Have to credit Talay for turning things around. Lets hope this builds more belief and momentum.

Was thinking before the game after watching Mel City and seeing Metcalfe get a double, that if Piscopo and Devlin want to make that Olyroo squad they need to start scoring goals.
Then Piscopo goes and does that. What a scorcher of a goal. Game changer.

I'm going to be a little harsh on Piscopo, only because of his talent there is a little bit higher expectations, but quite a few times this season he hasn't delivered with big moments. Yes, very nice goal last night but at the same time his shot when basically one-on-one with Tando wasn't great and miss placed his pass that could have put Davilla through on goal. Reminds me of his poor control which reduced a goal scoring opportunity a few games ago. I'm sure he has goals of playing in Europe, and I'm sure the club wouldn't mind picking up a big transfer fee, but those are the moments he needs to deliver with more consistently. 

One more thing, noticed in the last few weeks we have moved away from pressing often, which never seemed to be very organised, to dropping to mid-to-low block. Means we aren't seeing the ball as much but haven't conceded counter attacking movements as much. 

Fair comment. 
Piscopo could still do better, but he did miss the first half dozen games though. So hopefully he is now finding a bit more fitness and form. He is the kind of player that draws in defenders, which should open up more space for Davilla.

just stoked to get the win and move further from the bottom of the table, now the jest are between us and victory, and we have played one less than the Jets.Gonna be tough to pass the teams above us in the table though as they have only played 8. Things are looking up, Uffie's tactics are working well, we defended well last night and wth Taylor back it should make us even harder to break down.

Disappointed to see that Prime TV have suddenly completely discontinued their coverage of the A-League - no more half hour highlights package of each Phoenix game nor one hour weekly "A-League Highlights" show.
I can't see highlights of last night's Nix game scheduled tonight and last week there was no "A-League Highlights Show".
They will probably claim "poor ratings blah, blah, blah" so the more people that contact them to complain the better just to show people are interested.
Contact Prime TV here:
https://skytv.custhelp.com/app/contactus/emailus
(Under "Category" choose 'Programming" and then "Prime")

Sail appreciation post incoming... 
I think he has been tremendous since coming in. His organisational skills.. the man doesn't stop talking. His ability to play with his feet and command his box, both of which I felt Marinovic was very shakey with. Just watching the game last night the backline feels a lot more assured with him behind them barking out orders. I hate to say it but at this point in time and the way Sail is playing I can't really see Marinovic sticking round past seasons end. 

Was unable to watch yesterday, tried seeing if the game had been uploaded today but no such luck so I watched the highlights... Hard to tell how we went really but hey it's a 3-0 win so can't have been tha bad!
Stoked for all three goal scorers, they all work incredibly hard and for Sail! Also McGarry who got a lovely assist 

I was surprised that the highlights did not include Keogh's disallowed goal.  Not shown much in a way of Perth dangerous moves in the first half.  Effectively we saw three Nix goals and the excellent triple-dip save by Sail and that was it.

Mainland FC

I was surprised that the highlights did not include Keogh's disallowed goal.  Not shown much in a way of Perth dangerous moves in the first half.  Effectively we saw three Nix goals and the excellent triple-dip save by Sail and that was it.

Sail made quite a few other quality saves too. Great team display but for me he was MoM.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/124466215/wellington-phoenix-midfielder-scores-stunning-goal-after-pep-talk-from-coach

Mainland FC

I was surprised that the highlights did not include Keogh's disallowed goal.  Not shown much in a way of Perth dangerous moves in the first half.  Effectively we saw three Nix goals and the excellent triple-dip save by Sail and that was it.

This link shows the off side goal by Keogh it was off side a hair.
Wellington Phoenix v Perth Glory - A-League Match Centre (a-league.com.au)

Got to say, I think Alex Rufer is incredibly undervalued. Yes he is more prone to giving the ball away which he showed in the first half hour of the game before Reno scored (which he assisted), but after that he was fantastic. His passing has been brilliant and his long balls have really improved, and he seems to be shutting down attacks with more regularity too. The two biggest improvements seem to be mental though. He seems incredibly calm on the ball - this was shown when he was being closed down on either side by Perth attackers and deftly turned and stormed up the pitch leaving them in the dust. He didn't panic, just trusted his ability and saw the opportunity to start an attack from such a defensive situation, instead of passing back to Sail. That's just one example but he seems to be a lot more in control and getting his head up. The other is how direct he is. He seems much more inclined to play long balls and through balls to attackers, and they are working. The man has 3 assists to his name already and I don't think it's a coincidence. Top Stuff

Bullion

I'm going to be a little harsh on Piscopo, only because of his talent there is a little bit higher expectations, but quite a few times this season he hasn't delivered with big moments. Yes, very nice goal last night but at the same time his shot when basically one-on-one with Tando wasn't great and miss placed his pass that could have put Davilla through on goal. Reminds me of his poor control which reduced a goal scoring opportunity a few games ago. I'm sure he has goals of playing in Europe, and I'm sure the club wouldn't mind picking up a big transfer fee, but those are the moments he needs to deliver with more consistently. 

One more thing, noticed in the last few weeks we have moved away from pressing often, which never seemed to be very organised, to dropping to mid-to-low block. Means we aren't seeing the ball as much but haven't conceded counter attacking movements as much. 

We don't press as much cuz Devlin isn't starting, that is his strength. Lewis sits deeper & doesn't get pulled out of position as much.

I love Devlin's energy but the Lewis/Rufer midfield is the way forward.

Jazzy Jeff

Got to say, I think Alex Rufer is incredibly undervalued. Yes he is more prone to giving the ball away which he showed in the first half hour of the game before Reno scored (which he assisted), but after that he was fantastic. His passing has been brilliant and his long balls have really improved, and he seems to be shutting down attacks with more regularity too. The two biggest improvements seem to be mental though. He seems incredibly calm on the ball - this was shown when he was being closed down on either side by Perth attackers and deftly turned and stormed up the pitch leaving them in the dust. He didn't panic, just trusted his ability and saw the opportunity to start an attack from such a defensive situation, instead of passing back to Sail. That's just one example but he seems to be a lot more in control and getting his head up. The other is how direct he is. He seems much more inclined to play long balls and through balls to attackers, and they are working. The man has 3 assists to his name already and I don't think it's a coincidence. Top Stuff

Very much agree. He had a scratchy start, but after that some of his decision making in tight spots was great. Definitely playing with his head up, and looking for the opportunity to go forward even when squeezed in.

Also like an extra CB when defending and crosses are played in, and without DeVere is not the biggest CB pairing at the moment. Rufer's height is useful. Think it was the prior Newcastle game when he came off, was getting some big backslaps from Talay.

For moment is Lewis and Devlin playing to be his midfield partner, Rufer locking in a starting role.

But since Uffie has started mixing up his selections the last few weeks (some forced through injury/suspension), there is now genuine competition for almost every spot in the 11. Only say Davila, could get away with 2-3 bad games and not expect to get demoted back to the bench for a game. 

I think we are seeing an evolution in Uffies tactics here. Last year we were a high pressing, short passing team who looked to dictate play. But since the post lockdown period at the end of last season up until 2weeks ago, we haven't been able to play that football. but we kept trying to anyway. What we've seen recently is a change in how we setup and to better utilise our current capability. We are now a sitting deep, counter-attacking side. It will be interesting to see how Uffie refines this as we are still a bit rusty at it, and while it may suit our midfielders and defensive players, it does make our attackers jobs difficult as they aren't natural counter-attacking players(Bar Sotiro). 

I thought Rufer had a good game. Always got in between Castro and Fornaroli and cut the passing lane, not allowing them to link up.

If Marinovich stays number 2 I expect him to leave at the end of the year. Sail to become #1 and the Weenix keeper whose name escapes me, but looks class to come in as the back up.

Would save plenty of coin wages wise going down this track.

MetalLegNZ

If Marinovich stays number 2 I expect him to leave at the end of the year. Sail to become #1 and the Weenix keeper whose name escapes me, but looks class to come in as the back up.

Would save plenty of coin wages wise going down this track.

Maybe even an early release to head back to Europe?
I had the same thought. Oli Sail is definitely an A-League level keeper.
And Alex Paulsen has had some very classy moments for the Weenix

I reckon we dump both Marinovich and Hemed now by mutual agreement as there pants and bring Paulsen over for the rest of the season.  I wanna see more of Ngoy so Hemeds departure is safely covered.

billyspleen75

MetalLegNZ

If Marinovich stays number 2 I expect him to leave at the end of the year. Sail to become #1 and the Weenix keeper whose name escapes me, but looks class to come in as the back up.

Would save plenty of coin wages wise going down this track.

Maybe even an early release to head back to Europe?
I had the same thought. Oli Sail is definitely an A-League level keeper.
And Alex Paulsen has had some very classy moments for the Weenix

huge call. I think we need to see a lot more from Sail before Marinovic goes anywhere. Sail has played ok-to-good in a couple of games, but  Marinovic has much more experience and was class all last season. It doesn't make any sense shipping out an experienced and top quality squad member in a time when experience is lacking in the squad. 
I like Sail and think he will be a top pro sooner rather than later, he is still pretty raw and having  Marinovic around will help him as much as the competition will help  Marinovic get better.