R1 vs Newcastle Jets | Sun 21st Oct | 5:00pm | Westpac Stadium

We're coming for you, we're coming for you Kevin Muscat, we're coming for you !

Fantastic- snuck a look at my phone and we'd won, led all the way and seemed to have done it despite being denied other calls. It sounds like the coach backed our young players who showed they are capable. We have strengthened at the back.

Not an opinion on here, but a mate watched a bit and said Dura was a liability? No sign of Fox?

Gotta find a way to see this game!

Have a couple for me, off the booze and can't get near the Garage Project currently in any case

Really enjoyed the game - great to see Rufer playing well and hopefully he can kick on and have a great season like Ridenton did last season. Kurto oozes class and I have a feeling he will be in with a shout for our Player of the Season by the end of it.

Durante was fine

He just watched first part of first half and glad to hear it.

Here are my five take aways from this match:

• Rufer, if given the time, can indeed be just as good as Ridenton and a very competent A-League player. Sure he didn't dominate today but he certainly didn't look out of place as a starter. Maybe started out a little nervy, but got stuck in with his defensive duties and made solid, sensible decisions on the ball. Also love his passion, celebrates like mad every time we score (did it last season too).
• Kurto is well worthy of that import spot. Really quality performance from him, it's great to not feel sheer panic every time the opposition has a chance like last season. Nothing really he could have done about that Petratos goal either, what a rocket that was.
• Krishna and Taylor are invaluable to the team. Taylor was great and Krishna, while overall having a bit of an off day by his standards, was hugely influential.
• The young wingbacks did a solid job. Strangely Fenton was very good on defense but at times dire on attack, whereas Cacace was more effective in the final third but a bit lacking in defence - would have imagined it would be the other way around. Either way, promising signs - both will improve over the season.
• Lastly, and for me the biggest thing I noticed is that passion the boys showed - the emotion-filled goal celebrations, contesting every ball, Roy sprinting half the field to cut down a Jets counter attack - showed the fans what we have been calling out for, bit of passion and commitment to the cause. The fan's reciprocated too, 9,100 turning up of the back of last season's shambolic displays was a fantastic effort. Ka Pai to everyone for today

Nice positive bit of writing but if the stadium management don't get their act together re catering we will lose a lot of fans  particularly those with young  families,absolutely shocking having to queue for 30 min plus for some fish and chips or a drink!
So yeah Ka Pai to almost everyone!

My takes from today

Positive

We have the solid goalkeeper we have craved for a couple of years. 

Considering he has not been here long, lacking the cliched match fitness and general unfamiliarity, very impressed with Mandi today. We also have to remember that this was his first proper game after a very serious injury and surgery. I reckon he will end up having as much impact, if not more, as Albert Reira as a holding midfielder.

Steven Taylor is the solid centre back that Marco Rossi could have been. Utterly the opposite of Rossi in terms of attitude, passion and committment.. You could see it in his reactions with the zone after the final whistle and the way he ran to celebrate the two goals (as they thought) in the second half. 

We looked fit and hungry. The front runners may not be the best combination in the league but they worked their absolute socks off the likes of which we have not seen in really since Greenie's time.

 The likes of Burns and Nicholls on the bench, we have options to make changes and genuine competition for places. 

Negative

I hate begging referees, it tends to stink of sour grapes, but I kept thinking that today's was on the brink of totally losing control. He tried bringing control back with yellow cards some of which were totally ridiculous. Newcastle got away with murder no more so than Boogaard who was constantly in the face of the referee. He even demanded to look at his watch at the final whistle.

The concept of music during play was dreadful. Can that immediately.

Trying to get refreshments was a nightmare. I have been going since 2007 and today was the worst I have seen at the stadium. In fact the worse I have seen at any NZ stadium. After standing in the queue for over 20 minutes from 4.30 I gave up. Why were so few booths open?

Finally, why do some us take very young children to the game who have little or no interest in watching and then let them run around treating the isles and empty seats as a playground? Might sound petty to some but really annoying, and yyes I have children and grand children

The FBTL ratings for the Nix

Nix would be top of the league if they didn't concede the late goal!

Ok, My 2 cents worth....

Thanks to over 9k showing up. You people really helped with the atmosphere. This team played with more heart and passion that they did last season. Hard work got them through. Sure it looked a little rusty but people tend to forget, this was a Jets side that won it last year. Our guys have just had their fiirst proper run out. The communication was there to see. Not just celebrating goals, including the one ruled out but the reaction when Fenton cleared off the line - The team, stuck together. Some nice passages through the game. In Kurto we trust. His performance is a real confidence booster for the guys in front of him. The defence was pretty good for most of it. No comedy screw ups, no losing heart. Good to see some real passion on the side line from our coach too. After the goal was disallowed said it all to me. He hates losing and he hates the Nix being ripped. If it is good enough for him to get in there, it is good enough for us fans. Time for shirts off this season me thinks. Time to refresh that lost spirit and hope.

Now the bad: Westpac Stadium Trust have to take this one on the chin, they decide it but the frigging footd outlets. Disgusting. Big lines taking far too long to process, which considering the new ultra rip off prices, you wankers. $5 for a 400mil Coke - you are taking the piss! We used to pay $4.00 for a 600mil Coke before you got greedy. Food prices up. Glad I  had subway before the game. I will not buy any food from that stadium again, they can get fudgeed. Disappointed with Fritz too. their sausages have gone up from originally being $7 to $9.00. They are good but not that good.

Next: Ban that frigging music - It's annoying, pissing people off and is not wanted or required. BIN it NOW! I noted the DJ whom usually likes to be seen in his booth, retreated to the back of the room after the Zone started giving him stick - and good on them too on this occasion. A must get rid of idea. Oh and the smoke bombs? I've had bigger farts than that pathetic display. Quite embarrassing really (Not the fart, the smoke or lack of). Another idea that can go into the rubbish bin.

Lastly, I'd like to give a special mention to something that really impressed me and gave me and hopefully you all something to think about. Just along from the Zone where the Wheel Chair people sit. There was a little fella about 7 in his wheel chair alongside his dad. The boy had something like Cerebal pausey (Spelling?) or something like that. Anyway, he was cheering the team on as much as he could but in about the 83rd minute after shirts off, we did that stand up for the Phoenix call. The little fella with help from his dad, tried to stand up and succeeded. He gave it his best. To me, this is what it is all about. Fans, family, football. I was really proud of that kid, He "gave" for the the team. Let us all do the same at every game. It helped make the atmosphere for me.

Also, while Burgess did screw up an opportunity, I thought he looked really good in his cameo. Some fast feet and a few neat wee combinations. I think he is going to be a good 'un.

Finally, I think Steve Taylor showed PRESENCE (although was guilty of a few long ball indiscretions). He will be the the rock upon which this team is built.

Re the smoke bombs. Appears there were some difficulties on the day so they couldn't be used. The smoke machine ha were in the entrance were different.

Re the music. We were specifically told that wouldn't happen in our preseason meeting. So we'll definitely be seeking some answers.

Awesome Dale, I was actually quite proud of the zone giving the music heaps. I remember that they tried it in the distant past and it was an epic fail back then too. Let us make the noise and if we are quiet, it is usually a reflection of what is happening on the field.

Awesome day out, thought we actually played fairly average football BUT displayed a really strong mentality and played as unit, and if course came away with the 3 points which in the past we would have somehow mucked up.

A couple extra points from me:
- Agree with the music during breaks being shark. I though we'd said no to that?
- Those giving Fenton 5/10 need to go to Specsavers today! The man hasn't played A league for a year, he saved goal off the line, tried playing actual football on the deck and was unbeatable during 1 on 1 situations.
- Why were Red Badge blocking off parking spots along the Quays before the game? From the steps to the concourse
all the way to Wellington Beds or thereabouts...

Imagine the planning session when someone decided that the reason more people don't go to games is there isn't enough pop music being played during the match 

Or that more people would go to games just to listen to the music, don't worry about the football.

those cones mucked us up ended up not knowing where to park so forked out $35.00 to park at stadium, from out of wellington so had no idea where free parking might be and no time to drive round looking for it.

You got an ST holeinone? $20 if you have. That's another gripe about the Westpac Stadium Trust. They used to let ST holders park for $10. At Forsyth down in Dunedin - $10, even in Albany at QBE - $10, but at Westpac $35. ripoff pricks.

top effort from a team that has really only been fully formed for a month or so, did exactly what Rudan said theyd do. They were tough to break down, defended well and put pressure on the finalists. Clearly the stadium didnt read the survey about the music - I'm pretty sure most on here said no, hopefully they change it. The catering clearly weren't prepared, how they can run out of food things first game of the nix season and not have anything ready pre-half time - shambles

Pretty idiotic on behalf of the club. It's awesome to have kids running around the park and all but why not let them park up inside the stadium so they're nice and close and don't take away much needed parking.
It's not the club's fault that trains weren't running yesterday but the lack of car parks certainly didn't help! We were lucky we got there early and found a spot nearby but I can tell a lot of people missed out.

Re music - it's been said many times already, that just isn't in the fabric of the sport. Went to watch the NBA in NY City a few years ago and loved all that stuff given the context but it is well out of place here. On a lighter note I did enjoy the fire cannons and so did my wee man!

I left a serving at the Westpac trust on another thread and the city council too, both parties need to be held accountable for a lot of the shambles.

Agree with a lot of comments on here. The desire and commitment was several notches up, and there is clear evidence of coaching, ie both Fenton and Rufer looked more confident than in previous years and both did well. 

Taylor already looks to be a great signing - the word presence that someone else used summed up his display. And once the front 3 get used to each other, they could be very dangerous. Let's hope that Nichols' airswing is not a sign of things to come though :)

I tell you what, "If" Nichols had connected with it, it might have been a contender for goal of the season.

The council has started charging for parking on the weekend, you'd have to park by Parliament or in Thorndon in a coupon parking zone and then walked. There's no free street parking in the cbd on weekends anymore.

September 24th I think was when they started that.

That little fella was magificent last season too. Unfortunately he didn't get the 'shirts off' opportunity very often then. His absolute love of the Phoenix was written all over his face at ten minutes to go - just awesome. The spirit that he showed yesterday was a reflection of that on the park. An absolute determination to win - epitomised by Khrishna who just never gave up running and tackling back

Not that I want to burst any balloons, but we were all pretty happy after the R1 game last year too. :-/

Word is Ernie went into the game with a thinking of an easy win

I only saw the second half but this would jibe with my feelings of watching an extremely talented Jest team barely getting out of second gear, like they didn't want to strain anything.

"That's how you're gonna beat 'em, Butch. They keep underestimating you." - Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction

Regular Ground Announcer tweeted he was in crowd yesterday...

To point out that we all thought that DK was the goods at the beginning, too.

I don’t think that how Ernie ticks.

Great atmosphere in the crowd  well done yf and the drumming was great. Music rubbish. Flares good. Credit to Ernie for clapping the crowd as he came off.
Whole team performance. Singh, roy outstanding. Defence very good. Happy trip home!

Just watched the replay.  I see we still suck at taking penalties.