Nix vs NZ U23

It will be if my shirt comes off!!!

Every chance this is incorrect, but it's as good as I have.

Phoenix First Half:
--------------------------Moss
The Shanesaw, Durante, Sigmund, Lochhead
-------Hearfield, Ferrante, Cheriton, Gao
---------------McBreen, Smeltz

Phoenix Second Half:
------------Paston
Lia, McKain, Plodder, O'Sullivan
-----------Dodd
-Hearfield, Daniel, Gao
 -----Covs, McBreen

Bertos for Hearfield, Auckland youngster for Gao, Cheriton for McBreen.

No Dodd was the Randy Hickey look-a-like.  McKain was the curly haired centre back.

U-20/23s

Spoonley (superb saves)
Scott, Old, Finn Milne, Hogg
Brockie, Eager, Peverly, van Rooyen
Jenkins, Messam

Formation may be wrong.

Came on:
John Niyonsaba (looked good)
Sammy 'Khalid' Peters
Joel Matthews
Sammy Blackburn.

Hone Fowler may have played the first half as well.

howd messam play? whos the shanesaw?

Shane Medland.  Messam wasn't entirely convincing.  Niyonsaba looked a better bet to me.

news, your line ups for the nix look completely on the mark

How did Lei Lei Gao look?

(and I don't mean literally)

Angry, he and Cole Peverly went toe to toe and had players rushing in from everywhere.  Had a bit of the Red Mist after that.

He looked very upset with the abuse he was getting, and he was involved in a scrap.

But I was impressed with his pace, control and his crosses....that was until he fired up with a few forehead wrestles with Peverly.

He kinda went off the boil after that.

Spoonley was my man of the match.....

McBreen.....get your coat!

Was Messam the beast up front in the first half?

some very nice touches, Oi Oi certainly skilful enough to force defenders to commit

Agreed on McBreen, another Brownlie in the making

Looks like Coxey has done the trial with McBreen. Thanks son, we'll call you....

Brownlie was better, certainly quicker.  If signing McBreen is an option we need to examine we'd be better calling Brownlie back from Queensland.

Yeah I was more refering to their size. He definately seemed to be out hussled a lot tonight. Didn't really seem that strong on the ball for a big guy.

to be fair to mcBreen he may not be fit - but even so must of us there tonight seemed to have our doubts

bloody hell, I told him to get a haircut

Not that suprising. Gao struggled with the ol' English when at the Knights, Ricki said he used to communicate with him in trainings via pointing and hand signals Apparently Ricky would say pass it here, and sometimes he'd cross it or dribble it there. Oh the inflamed budget of the Knights.

Nix much more professional, interpreter

Old flew back to Wellington from Sydney??

No Michael Eager for the u23s?  Is he a chance or out of the picture?

and to be fair karl dodd an ben sig look like they've put on the beef as well, ben seemed to struggle at times in the first half

and lei lei went awol a lot at left mid,seemed to drift into the middle a bit, but he still is quality and it is a training game

i thought the u23's kept their shape pretty well for most of the first half and periods of the second and they made some really good chances throughout the game plus were denied a goal by the crossbar, i just don't know how sucessful a 4-1-4-1 formation will be at the olympics,though the striker that came on at half time for them will cause some problems, he had some pace and almost scored from a attempted bicycle kick
was it sam blackburn whose free kick hit the to r/h corner of the box ?? well taken anyway and gee he has some pace and skills

Thought the U23 looked really good. And got the feeling the Riki was trying out a lot of new stuff, formation wise etc, hence why the Nix at times looked a little odd. Lia had real passion tho, he went for everything 100%, even landing pretty hard from an attempted header, almost looked like assuie rules with the big jumps those guys do.

transfer rumours???!!

The Shanesaw: Mirimar -> Phoenix

??!

Who won?

Nobody won, no goals.

Gao managed NOT to hit the ball straight into the first defender with a cross from out wide. Already surpassed El**ch for talent.

Thought McBreen looked a few yards off the pace. Was well contained by the U23's back 4. 
Would rather have the U23 bicycle-kicker.

Need to keep shopping around for a striker and for all his commitment and willingness Lia does not look a natural right-back.

Good turnout last night considering the weather!

Isn't POL still the right age for the next U-20's ? Seeing as it's every two years so the next one is next year ?

I think Niyonsaba (George with talent) is as well. 

And Sam "Teen Woolf" Peters.

the reference was to the lyrics of  great song and simply a good excuse to remind anyone who's intereted of the genius of Mr Drury, and i stopped at that point precisely because I was not trying to make a point about any place

not convinced about Lia at right back

its not for a lack of trying by the sounds of it poor ricki got solve the right back dilema

No.

really, i thought he wasn't to bad, imo.He was almost a rwb, getting forward much like locy does down the left,just maybe not as far forward as locy  though.

p.s were you trying to convince SurgeQld  that it was still summer or something with the shorts?,I was freezing just looking at you or was i shuddering umm...