R13 vs Western Sydney Wed 9.00pm SS4

Bring back Ricki !

They're a unit.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying we were bad at all.

At the half, the general consensus was that we had more possession (I think 54-46) but they had the better chances. They weren't chances that were stretching us but we had none and looked a bit toothless. When they scored, everyone said 'well that was coming'. More than a few said 'Ridenton coming on has made us look worse' until he made that pass for the 3rd goal. (its all there in the match thread)

I tend to view that first 60 as being relatively evenish but slightly in their favour when you take into account that we had more possession but they did more with what they had. I even mentioned that we played with a flat back 7. In the last 30, we smashed them no doubt at all.

I do think we took them out of their pattern a lot. They have been firing lately and whatever we did to get them out of their playing pattern worked.

Great victory and fucking stoked about it, but I have not forgotten what I watched as well as what others posted on what they saw as well. Mjp2 and Junior82 acknowledge as much in their posts.

Just read the RBB forum. Only 7 pages on the game and 6.5 of them are about them....
The usual 'how the fuck do you break your wrist eating a zinger meal' directed at Carlos (which they may have pinched from here)

The feeling on their forum is that

• they were incredibly flat (more than a few posted this),
  
• Hersi had a stinker (more than a few posted this),
  
• Juric and Bridge got dragged out of position,
  
• Manny did a number on Hersi,
  
• Mooy and Dapuzzo can get the fuck out, 
• how dare fans leave before the end of the game (a general theme of talking about them rather than the football), 
• our form was against piss weak sides,
  
• the 1st and 3rd goals are the kind of goals that they are used to stopping
• they are a side that struggle to score more than 1 goal a game (a frequent line)
• how dare anyone leave the terrace early
• the RBB sounded great
  
• etc etc.......
  
  They seemed to think that they lost the game by not turning up rather than we won it but this is just a blip on the radar as long as everything is ok for the Sydney derby. In other words, they really don't give a shit about us (other than a couple of complementary posts)
  

So really, a lot like us after we lose a match then.

Gareth could go to work with some analysis on the refs, foul consistency etc- cos after all when we get the suspensions after cheap yellows it's costing him money. 

There were a few mentioning about eating humble pie on Stein so here goes- this is the best I've seen him play and the fastest I've seen him run. Also think that everyone in the league is going to have schooled up soon on how he is going to always look to get on his left- but also Smeltzy had a fairly common little jink to the right before shooting on that favoured foot, so as long as it keeps working...

Stoked for Ernie- great sub that had us scratching our heads, but Ridenton seems to be able to break up the defence in the final third a bit better than Hicks, though once again I really enjoyed Hicks' play. I think though Dura and Ernie need to have a word to our refs about protecting Boyd, Ridenton, Riera, Rufer and Hicks- cos the nasty challenges are only going to get worse. 

Best feeling of all was thinking when we got to 86 minutes 3-1 up -just get the ball and control the possession for 5 minutes and knowing that we were quite capable of that. We pressed high really well.

Boyd and Husegems seem to have a good combo. I think this is going to release a bit of pressure on Brockie and we may get a bit more out of him. Think Brockie/Leo/Kenny may be all trying for the same place.

Also we had the benefit of surprise today. They are going to see us coming now, so we just have to keep doing it. 

Thanks Gareth and Ernie that was damn good....

Back from the game, Still struggling to believe what happened! Awesome atmosphere in the away zone hopefully we could be heard on  TV. Hanging out to watch the replay and take it all in

Bumped into Pavlovic after the game at the train station, good of him to come support us! 

good stuff Pav...these away games seem almost like the equivalent of the All Blacks winning South Africa...

You see, you have to be careful in this prediction lark. You need a measure of introspection, compassion and humility. For example, had  nufc_nz said yesterday;

"Burns red carded, LOL" we would all have said "Great erudition, almost Haiku-esque economy, what a clever turn of phrase" and he would have shown himself to be a rounded and balanced commentator, worthy of attention and universal acclaim.

However, what he said (in the above thread) instead was;

"Fenton LOL". This has the reverse effect, and clearly demonstrates utter wankerness.

Hicks not injured. It was a tactical sub.

I reckon Stienie hugged the physio because he worked his magic to get his hamstring right

Well done that man

I love the smell of three points in the morning.

I had a dream last night that we beat wsw 3-1

oh yes ... 

:)

https://twitter.com/aleaguefunnies/status/418320003146866688

Not sure if it's been mentioned but I was relatively impressed with the Box at RB.

Got done a bit when he first came on but then really got into the game, got forward a lot and made some crucial tackles in the lead up to our goals.

Also not sure if it's been mentioned but holy shit 3-1.

Be happy! You beat a top two team 3-1 away with an injury-depleted squad and some youngsters. A fine achievement and well done Phoenix. I'm particularly pleased for Merrick.There are way too many moaners in NZ football circles, not matter what is dished up.

Bet you guys can't wait for the next home game against the Mariners. The team deserves a 10,000+ crowd. Lets hope Brockie can finally find where he mislaid last year's shooting boots.

Once he settled he looked very good there. Perhaps him there and Fenton back as an AM might be the idea although Fenton does have some pace.

This was majestic, guys. 

Huge congratulations. Finals bound, surely.

I think he went up to give Ernie a hug who playfully eluded him (but smiled in a marginal Ernie way) and Stein went for the physio instead

I remember Box making his debut for the All Whites a couple years ago against China at RB.

Thought he was very solid, remember being very impressed.

has the away from home curse now been broken? have to say that the nix have looked just as good away this season as they have at home, a good sign. Great result .

I would agree with this, JV. By extension, this line of reasoning can be taken further to show that it would be very hard to get an A-League club running in Auckland, with its multitude of lifestyle distractions, especially now that the Nix are a successful Welington fixture competing for football dollar.

I did mention somewhere else on this forum that WSW allows the locals a sense of identity, from Penrith to Liverpool to Parramatta. In contrast, Aucklanders would lack that factor. Any potential supporters would not be buying into a unifying football identity, they would be buying entertainment, which is far harder to maintain long-term (ie it drops off when your team is losing).

I am not claiming any particular wisdom on this, so feel free to argue - I am more interested in exploring the factors surrounding success of otherwise of good quality football clubs in New Zealand long term. It could be a new thread if anybody has the energy to make one.

(My random morning after comments)

their fans all seemed to be good buggers. Had a yarn with quite a few and a fair few commented well done. Their drummers were good lads and couldn't beleive we didn't have drummers. 

After we chanted 'is that all you get at home' when the attendance was read out, one lady yelled out 'go back to the shire' which was well played.

One guy commented that Sydney FC (who they strongly dislike) stuffed up when they didn't make their ground more central (Homebush?).

RBB did a rendition of the Logical Song which was pretty cool.

Replay on sky now

As a separate issue (worth a thread???) what are our chances of getting a quiet word with FFA about protecting young players. That tackle on Boyd was criminal last night, IMHO, even if many thought it was fair.

I am not a fan of retribution in general, or of Kevin Muscat in particular, but one thing stands in my memory, and that is a debut for MV by Robbie Kruse. He was brutally tackled twice or three times by Pantelidis (I think it was a GCU game some seasons ago). Next thing, Pantelidis was simply floored in an excessive tackle by Kevin Muscat  and my feeling was the ref lost the control of the game. Sure, Muscat was often a brute on the park. But he was a team captain and must have felt that a young, talented and speedy player had to be protected against thugs if the ref does not do that. Muscat got a yellow card where perhaps he merited a red; but then Pantelidis only got a yellow eventually too.

Huysegems up there with the best in the A-League

That Wellington Phoenix is one of the five is not in itself a proclamation of title-winning credentials. After all, topsy-turvy Sydney FC is one of the three teams that have won four in a row.

The way Phoenix brought up its three, with a rousing trouncing of Western Sydney Wanderers at its home fortress of Pirtek Stadium, and doing so from having been a goal down, is more of an indicator that the men from New Zealand are starting to thrive under Ernie Merrick.

With the down-on-numbers Red and Black Bloc doing its best to yell away a collective New Year’s Eve hangover, the atmosphere at Parramatta was as impressively intimidating as ever when the home side went a goal up.

Enter Phoenix’s Belgian star Stein Huysegems, who single-handedly wrested back control of the game with an assist and two goals after being moved into a deeper-lying 'number 10' position by Merrick when he substituted Kenny Cunningham for Tyler Boyd.

The collection of letters comprising this bloke’s name may give commentators a headache worthy of the festive season, but that’s nothing on what he’s capable of doing to opposition defences, as the Wanderers will attest.

Given he’s played for Belgium at every age level and spent five years representing the senior team next to the likes of Vincent Kompany, Thomas Vermaelen and Moussa Dembele, Huysegems’s pedigree puts him up there with the likes of Alessandro Del Piero, Besart Berisha and William Gallas in the A-League.

He backs it up on the field. Against the Wanderers Huysegems tracked back and played an influential role in setting up attacking plays alongside exciting young prospects Boyd and Matthew Ridenton.

His vision came to the fore with a cute assist for Boyd’s first goal, before chipping in with two attractive finishes of his own to kill off the Wanderers. His second goal marked his fourth in three games. 

Whether or not Wanderers coach Tony Popovic’s over-hyped rotation of players had a role in the home side’s flat performance should not come into the debate about the quality of Phoenix’s enterprising attacking play, which will go some way to addressing attitudes towards Merrick's coaching.

If Phoenix’s preceding two wins over Melbourne Heart and Sydney FC were tentative, cautious, affairs this was a statement of intent against a lethargic team that may have been guilty of banking the cheque before it had arrived.

More fool the opponent that takes Phoenix lightly after this performance of high quality attack. Scarily so, given the normally reliable Jeremy Brockie had a rare off night.

The limelight that glares over the likes of Berisha and Del Piero may not quite reach across the ditch to Huysegems, but any doubts that the fleet-footed Belgian deserves to be considered among the best strikers in the A-League, were swiftly put to rest in the Wanderers game.

If Huysegems can stay fit, and Carlos Hernandez and Paul Ifill can get fit, Phoenix may just become the first team to post five wins on the trot.