R11 v WSW | Sat 17 Dec | 7.35pm | Mt Smart / The Oaks Tavern

At 2-0 down that game could have easily gone down the sink

Didn't feel like bad calls just went against us, saw some exciting stuff in there and we got a point.  I'm happy.

Not boring, that's for sure! A bit of luck went our way tonight but I think we deserved a point. Good to see some ticker from the lads in that last 20 minutes.

Thought both Guy and Lia had superb games. 

I must have watched a different game.

if we got 2 more pens, it could have been fair

You probably were. I thought Finkler's workrate was superb and even if not everything he did came off a lot of his passing and general work was top notch. Nice to see him actually play the full 90 minutes too.

Did they announce the attendance?

I agree with kwlap, Rogerson should've been given at least 10 minutes imo, or else, why not keep him in the SS Prem if he's barely given a chance here? Barbarouses a bit disappointing, at times killing our counter-attacks, but apart from that happy with the comeback and the one point.

I think you did.

That was fudgeing entertaining. Enjoyed it, despite the score. 

Some thoughts:

* Parkhouse worth his extension if he keeps improving the way he has been. 

* Good to see the coaches fixing what wasn't working with Watson. Though odd that there were some tired players and more subs weren't used.

* Not sure how Dimas didn't get a yellow card otherwise the officials were alright for a-league standards.

* Still not sure Kosta is being used correctly. He's our marquee player but is playing pretty average, barely able to beat a man and not making great decisions. If the Nix figure it out with Kosta, I think they are definately a finals team - time for the coaches to earn their keep.

* Great determination for the comeback - its been a while since the Nix have shown such fight

5700 or something, was in teh background when interviewing Durante.

At one point with about 10 minutes to go he ran 65+ metres tracking a WSW run and won the ball back near the byline. Can't fault the work rate.

I was actually talking about Lia

A good result as WSW are a decent side.

I don't want another battling type season, scraping for a few wins. Can we please have a coach appointed quick, and with some decisive action, assert where we want to be as a club.

Lia made some good interceptions, but was wasteful with his passing... always seems to have one part missing from his game. Durant too gave away a lot of ball.

I thought we did well tonight and dominated in parts - Kosta is a concern, but far better than he was 3 weeks ago. He's dropping into space and looking to run with the ball but lacks ball control and a final pass.

Gui is getting better and better, wins a lot of free kicks and retains possession well.

Rossi is class and Krishna is playing well - I think he is enjoying the added space Watson's inclusion provides him.

I think we'd all like permanence, but I dont have  problem with Greenacres sides, I think based on the few games hes been in charge we have always played with purpose and shape. I cant say that for Ernie, whos teams were often unwatchable

Is Greenacre going to seize the opportunity that is available, if he did get the gig? I don't know, but I'm unsure if any of the players would really know what to expect, or what they could anticipate from him, when in charge.
Very much a 'see as it goes' situation

Quite surprised if the crowd was only 5700. Must have been cos they jammed us all in one side of the field. Felt like more than that by quite a bit

Nice little turnaround in today's game, definitely felt like a point gained rather than two points lost. Saw some very odd things this game, Krishna scoring a header, Gui tracking back 60 yards odd. If the players are willing to show the same spirit for the rest of the season under Greenie & Des I can't complain too much, despite entering the game wanting a new permanent manager ASAP. Slightly disappointed to hear about the attendance being under 6000. Adelaide and Perth away, and four home games coming up in January, looks like we can possibly pick up some momentum. The ship has steadied considerably. 

would've thought there were more than 5700 there. Was a lot of fun regardless. 

Not sure what the logic is with buying beers in a can and then having to pour them out yourself in to plastic cups at the till. Was a bit of a cluster. 

Seemed more like 8 or 9 k to me, but it's hard to tell with everyone on one side and not being able to see the top stand.

It's had a lot of criticism but I really like watching football at Mt Smart; and it brings back some (mainly) good memories of watching the Kingz there. 

Positives:

Showed fight after going down 2-0, considering how it could of gone from that point it ended up being a really entertaining game.

Garage project beer was awesome, and considering I'm used to paying almost the same price for rubbish beer at sports games it's decently priced.

Moss (really good save in the first half and the penalty)

Parkhouse (first time I've seen him live, and he really impressed)

Had a team of kids behind me aged about 10 or so who knew all the players and were really into it; NZ needs a professional team and it's definitely not just kids in Wellington who it inspires.

Negatives:

30 minute wait for a beer at the start of the game meant I missed the first 5 minutes.

Gave the ball away a little too easily

Crowd figure is awful (if the 5k figure is true) considering what a great day it was, what the hell would of happened if it was rainy.

Finkler was pants in the first half and good in the second, IMHO. He was standing up to tackles and not getting bossed in midfield in the second spell.

Definitely bringing on Doyle and putting Parkhouse where he belonged seemed to spark the team up.

There were WAY more than 5702 people there. Something must have ballsed up in the ticketing. Our best guess would be 9k.

Lots of fun trolling Red Badge.

The wait times would of been fine if they had more than 1 place selling beer. It's done to stop people from throwing the cans as a weapon I assume. The bit I thought was stupid is my friend got a wine and a beer, they poured the beer into the plastic cups but kept the wine in the bottle that was probably harder and with better aerodynamics.

I was surprised with the crowd number. At the start I that they were lucky to have 5k but then it filled out on the lower tier to be quite full. Can others tell me what the top tier looked like?

It looked pretty good on TV.

It just shows you that 6k in a suitably shaped stadium is better than 8k at Westpac even though the capacity isn't much smaller at Mt Smart.

Mt Smart is a great stadium. Pity it's in an industrial wasteland.

Auckland isn't that bad....

Newcastle away is next up, it will be a good test. Would love to pick up a point or three next week to show we can string together some consistent performances. Perhaps could be the last game with Des and Greenie in charge according to the papers. (Or even the first match for a new manager) 

One thing that does seem different now is the players seems to be enjoying it a bit more and playing with more freedom. Especially Roly and Gui IMO

Fever Zone was awesome last night, thanks to all the locals who joined us and made it a good night.

Also, many thanks to the Stadium and security for helping relocate people who had unwittingly bought tickets right in the middle of the Fever Zone. Made for a much smoother night for all.

Last week people were saying that the numbers were inflated, this week they're saying that they are deflated. Could it be that different stadiums feel different at approxmately the same occupancy?

For the record it looked like more than 5k on TV. But the radio was apparently reporting that sales were disapointing before the game even started.

Uh yeah and emptied the red bull cans too.

I see what you did there ! Brilliant LMFAO

I liked the Flevoland flag in honour of Roly, though I just found out that that flag is actually of Lelystad, the capital of Flevoland.

This is Flevoland's flag:

See my post immediately above, NP. The "sailboat" flag is the flag of Wellington which used to fly from the Michael Fowler Centre!

You guys were on fire. From a local, thank you :D 

From the road to the railway station is a piece of piss to do, the issue is the rabbit warren one has to negotiate to get from the road to the gate near the stands. What a friggen mess. There were several things I picked up on. That rail link to Britomart from Penrose was excellent despite the complaining that one has seen in the media since day one. I could not fault it, the staff or the kiosks where you buy your tickets.

The next thing I noticed ws the lack of Lotto shops but I did find one hidden in a New World entrance in Queen Street. Another positive is that i managed to have a real burger at Carls Junior.I also had my firet encounter with IMAX and watched Rogue Squadron. The only complaints are that theatre looked like it has not had any maintenance work done on it since it first openned. And that the stairwell was the route in and out - only 4 floors. I went for a quick before before the film and the toilets were pokey little broom closets...bit like the front entrances. They looked more like a back entrance to an adult cinema. 

Petrol is heaps cheaper in Auckland - $1.83 per litre, Levin was $1.71 per litre and Wellington is $2.01.99 per litre. There is no friggen way those Petrol Companies can justify the differences, the are just a bunch if money grabbing cnuts and so too is the Government for not dealing to them. Petrol in Australia after conversion is $1.23 per litre.