So looking to continue the unbeaten run by beating Victory in Melbourne in the heat. We see Rufer and Mandi back for the game so doubt we will see Nichols in the lineup for this one.
Awesome to have Rufer and Mandi back and fantastic that we won both games without that combination available.
Luckily the Nix should miss the mini heatwave - 33 today, but seems like it will drop down for the rest of the week to the mid 20s.
I would like to see Rufer/Mandi in the middle of the park, with Kopy going to LCB and perhaps doyle going to LWB. Harsh on Cacace, but I actually think he's struggled a bit the last two games. WB is a really tough job, and if we can give him a break, I think we should do it.
a.haak
With Rufer and Mandi back, I think we can snag 3 points or hold out for another draw. But we must not start like we did against Mariners. Victory aren't going to be as wasteful as they were and ultimately they will destroy us if we replicate that half. We need to be strong in the first and carry it through to the 2nd half, otherwise we won't pick up any points here.
Luckily the Nix should miss the mini heatwave - 33 today, but seems like it will drop down for the rest of the week to the mid 20s.
I would like to see Rufer/Mandi in the middle of the park, with Kopy going to LCB and perhaps doyle going to LWB. Harsh on Cacace, but I actually think he's struggled a bit the last two games. WB is a really tough job, and if we can give him a break, I think we should do it.
Funny, I thought that too until I watched the replay the other night and realised that Cacace actually had a storming 2nd half. Even made the A League team of the week. The kid is a fantastic talent. But it does slightly worry me the workrate being demanded from him and Singh. It's a fine line with such young players between not mollycoddling them yet not overworking them to the point they end up with a serious injury. Obviously Rudan is best placed to determine that but maybe a bit of squad rotation wouldn't go amiss.
Luckily the Nix should miss the mini heatwave - 33 today, but seems like it will drop down for the rest of the week to the mid 20s.
I would like to see Rufer/Mandi in the middle of the park, with Kopy going to LCB and perhaps doyle going to LWB. Harsh on Cacace, but I actually think he's struggled a bit the last two games. WB is a really tough job, and if we can give him a break, I think we should do it.
Funny, I thought that too until I watched the replay the other night and realised that Cacace actually had a storming 2nd half. Even made the A League team of the week. The kid is a fantastic talent. But it does slightly worry me the workrate being demanded from him and Singh. It's a fine line with such young players between not mollycoddling them yet not overworking them to the point they end up with a serious injury. Obviously Rudan is best placed to determine that but maybe a bit of squad rotation wouldn't go amiss.
pretty sure if you asked Libby or Sarpreet if they wanted to be rested they'd both say they'd rather be playing. Reckon they might say they are a bit sore after game day and maybe tired but come kick-off they are more than ready.
Queenslander 3x a year.
We played on Saturday 12 January, why are we needing to rest players on Sunday 20 January???
If they have a knock or something that is still a concern on the day, then sure, but they are young & fit and should be at 100% for it.
Great news that Victory are playing tonight. 3 extra days for us.
Luckily the Nix should miss the mini heatwave - 33 today, but seems like it will drop down for the rest of the week to the mid 20s.
I would like to see Rufer/Mandi in the middle of the park, with Kopy going to LCB and perhaps doyle going to LWB. Harsh on Cacace, but I actually think he's struggled a bit the last two games. WB is a really tough job, and if we can give him a break, I think we should do it.
Funny, I thought that too until I watched the replay the other night and realised that Cacace actually had a storming 2nd half. Even made the A League team of the week. The kid is a fantastic talent. But it does slightly worry me the workrate being demanded from him and Singh. It's a fine line with such young players between not mollycoddling them yet not overworking them to the point they end up with a serious injury. Obviously Rudan is best placed to determine that but maybe a bit of squad rotation wouldn't go amiss.
Cacace got dominated by Miller for the entire first half, with 90% of their attacks going that way. Against WSW, they also targeted him. I think he's been struggling a little, honestly - it's a tough job as a WB and he's giving it a great crack; I just think he looks tired.
a.haak
Luckily the Nix should miss the mini heatwave - 33 today, but seems like it will drop down for the rest of the week to the mid 20s.
I would like to see Rufer/Mandi in the middle of the park, with Kopy going to LCB and perhaps doyle going to LWB. Harsh on Cacace, but I actually think he's struggled a bit the last two games. WB is a really tough job, and if we can give him a break, I think we should do it.
Funny, I thought that too until I watched the replay the other night and realised that Cacace actually had a storming 2nd half. Even made the A League team of the week. The kid is a fantastic talent. But it does slightly worry me the workrate being demanded from him and Singh. It's a fine line with such young players between not mollycoddling them yet not overworking them to the point they end up with a serious injury. Obviously Rudan is best placed to determine that but maybe a bit of squad rotation wouldn't go amiss.
pretty sure if you asked Libby or Sarpreet if they wanted to be rested they'd both say they'd rather be playing. Reckon they might say they are a bit sore after game day and maybe tired but come kick-off they are more than ready.
Valley FC til I die?
Luckily the Nix should miss the mini heatwave - 33 today, but seems like it will drop down for the rest of the week to the mid 20s.
I would like to see Rufer/Mandi in the middle of the park, with Kopy going to LCB and perhaps doyle going to LWB. Harsh on Cacace, but I actually think he's struggled a bit the last two games. WB is a really tough job, and if we can give him a break, I think we should do it.
Funny, I thought that too until I watched the replay the other night and realised that Cacace actually had a storming 2nd half. Even made the A League team of the week. The kid is a fantastic talent. But it does slightly worry me the workrate being demanded from him and Singh. It's a fine line with such young players between not mollycoddling them yet not overworking them to the point they end up with a serious injury. Obviously Rudan is best placed to determine that but maybe a bit of squad rotation wouldn't go amiss.
Cacace got dominated by Miller for the entire first half, with 90% of their attacks going that way. Against WSW, they also targeted him. I think he's been struggling a little, honestly - it's a tough job as a WB and he's giving it a great crack; I just think he looks tired.
Rudan said after last game that players were tired because of 3 games in 1 week. Wing backs cover alot of ground per game. We have another 3 games in 1 week coming up. I can see him rotating Doyle, Kopa and Cacace.
Fenton is another that looked exhausted, but we don't have as good options at RWB.
Woah. I didn't realise our next 4 games were so tough. Victory away, Sydney Home, City home and Perth away. Even with new signings, that is a rough stretch of games. Hope we can everyone fit and card free.
Durante, Fenton and Singh all on 4 yellow cards. Hopefully they can keep their noses clean for these 4 upcoming tough games!
Durante, Fenton and Singh all on 4 yellow cards. Hopefully they can keep their noses clean for these 4 upcoming tough games!
Hope springs eternal.
A small town in Europe........looking to bounce straight back up....well that aint going to happen
Singh a chance the other two I'm pretty sure will have a week off in the next 4 games.
Not only do we have 3 extra days on the Victory, Mandi and Rufer have had a week and a half to re-energise. Hopefully they can run riot on a tiring Victory midfield especially in the second half
Great news that Victory are playing tonight. 3 extra days for us.
Until you realise we've got Victory, Sydney and City next week in the space of 6 days ?
Would Victory be likely to rotate their side against us? Considering we traditionally aren't brilliant away in Victoria. Think the 1-1 draw the other week might have put that issue to bed though...
Great news that Victory are playing tonight. 3 extra days for us.
Until you realise we've got Victory, Sydney and City next week in the space of 6 days ?
Would Victory be likely to rotate their side against us? Considering we traditionally aren't brilliant away in Victoria. Think the 1-1 draw the other week might have put that issue to bed though...
Victory have 5 days from this match & playing us which isn't an unusually short turnaround and plenty of time to recover, then their next game after that is 6 days away, so they don't have any pressing need to rest a bunch of players against us.
Great news that Victory are playing tonight. 3 extra days for us.
Until you realise we've got Victory, Sydney and City next week in the space of 6 days ?
Would Victory be likely to rotate their side against us? Considering we traditionally aren't brilliant away in Victoria. Think the 1-1 draw the other week might have put that issue to bed though...
Victory have 5 days from this match & playing us which isn't an unusually short turnaround and plenty of time to recover, then their next game after that is 6 days away, so they don't have any pressing need to rest a bunch of players against us.
Was more wishful thinking than anything.
Great news that Victory are playing tonight. 3 extra days for us.
Until you realise we've got Victory, Sydney and City next week in the space of 6 days ?
Would Victory be likely to rotate their side against us? Considering we traditionally aren't brilliant away in Victoria. Think the 1-1 draw the other week might have put that issue to bed though...
Victory have 5 days from this match & playing us which isn't an unusually short turnaround and plenty of time to recover, then their next game after that is 6 days away, so they don't have any pressing need to rest a bunch of players against us.
Was more wishful thinking than anything.
It's a shame we don't totally suck this season or they may!
Can't believe how well Victory are still playing with their best and most important imports injured.
a.haak
Can't believe how well Victory are still playing with their best and most important imports injured.
Indeed, some superlative football in the early stages. However they do look vulnerable to long balls played in behind the defence. The key is shutting down Antonis, Valeri and Troisi and watching Costa on the break. Toivinan is class as well. As of now I think a draw would be a brilliant outcome for the Nix.
I think their defence is vulnerable, as usual - Muscat likes to go cheap on his fullbacks/wing backs and spend elsewhere. I think Deng is a good defender but prone to a major error or two as well.
I think we need to be aiming for a win. It'll be tough, but they don't have Honda - this is our best chance to beat them. I also think Sydney and City will be tough games because of the short turnaround - we have the advantage here of having a full rest.
a.haak
I think their defence is vulnerable, as usual - Muscat likes to go cheap on his fullbacks/wing backs and spend elsewhere. I think Deng is a good defender but prone to a major error or two as well.
I think we need to be aiming for a win. It'll be tough, but they don't have Honda - this is our best chance to beat them. I also think Sydney and City will be tough games because of the short turnaround - we have the advantage here of having a full rest.
Our midfield Rufer and Mandi will be fresh compared to Troisi, Antonis and Valerie. So we should have the edge to control the middle of the park, then we can take it to them.
I think their defence is vulnerable, as usual - Muscat likes to go cheap on his fullbacks/wing backs and spend elsewhere. I think Deng is a good defender but prone to a major error or two as well.
I think we need to be aiming for a win. It'll be tough, but they don't have Honda - this is our best chance to beat them. I also think Sydney and City will be tough games because of the short turnaround - we have the advantage here of having a full rest.
The next three games are possibly the three most important played in recent years. Could have a major bearing on the clubs long term future. Get through these with a couple of wins and there ought to be little doubt that the Phoenix are a real force in the A league.
I think their defence is vulnerable, as usual - Muscat likes to go cheap on his fullbacks/wing backs and spend elsewhere. I think Deng is a good defender but prone to a major error or two as well.
I think we need to be aiming for a win. It'll be tough, but they don't have Honda - this is our best chance to beat them. I also think Sydney and City will be tough games because of the short turnaround - we have the advantage here of having a full rest.
Our midfield Rufer and Mandi will be fresh compared to Troisi, Antonis and Valerie. So we should have the edge to control the middle of the park, then we can take it to them.
Hate to disagree; Rufer and Mandi have done well recently but this lot are a different class and 6 days rest will be enough. Victory are the best team in this league, but fingers crossed, they are not unbeatable.
Will the game be shown on YouTube if I happen to be outside of the country to watch it?
Will the game be shown on YouTube if I happen to be outside of the country to watch it?
I think their defence is vulnerable, as usual - Muscat likes to go cheap on his fullbacks/wing backs and spend elsewhere. I think Deng is a good defender but prone to a major error or two as well.
I think we need to be aiming for a win. It'll be tough, but they don't have Honda - this is our best chance to beat them. I also think Sydney and City will be tough games because of the short turnaround - we have the advantage here of having a full rest.
The next three games are possibly the three most important played in recent years. Could have a major bearing on the clubs long term future. Get through these with a couple of wins and there ought to be little doubt that the Phoenix are a real force in the A league.
If I was a betting man I would say a draw away against Victory is a good bet after a bit of rest and with Dura, Fenton and Singh playing, as well as Mandi and Rufer.
Sydney at home - will depend on who is suspended; but home advantage might help us too. They are a good team but are not the same under Corica as they were under Arnie. We should aim to win that one even if it costs us the following game with Glory.
Perth away is the toughest assignment for several reasons - long trip away, Glory are playing really well, and if we are unlucky we may have several key players suspended at once. It would be a tough call to play there without Dura, Fenton and Singh all at once.
Actually, getting outplayed quite a bit these days
Victory demolished the Roar 5-0 in Brizzie. Just when you hoped the Roar might upset the form book.
I think their defence is vulnerable, as usual - Muscat likes to go cheap on his fullbacks/wing backs and spend elsewhere. I think Deng is a good defender but prone to a major error or two as well.
I think we need to be aiming for a win. It'll be tough, but they don't have Honda - this is our best chance to beat them. I also think Sydney and City will be tough games because of the short turnaround - we have the advantage here of having a full rest.
The next three games are possibly the three most important played in recent years. Could have a major bearing on the clubs long term future. Get through these with a couple of wins and there ought to be little doubt that the Phoenix are a real force in the A league.
If I was a betting man I would say a draw away against Victory is a good bet after a bit of rest and with Dura, Fenton and Singh playing, as well as Mandi and Rufer.
Sydney at home - will depend on who is suspended; but home advantage might help us too. They are a good team but are not the same under Corica as they were under Arnie. We should aim to win that one even if it costs us the following game with Glory.
Perth away is the toughest assignment for several reasons - long trip away, Glory are playing really well, and if we are unlucky we may have several key players suspended at once. It would be a tough call to play there without Dura, Fenton and Singh all at once.
We play City before we play Glory.
I'm hoping for a draw, 2 wins and then whatever happens at Glory, happens. Don't think we'll get anything out of that one.
a.haak
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Assistant Referee 1: George Lakrindis
Assistant Referee 2: Daniel Ilievski
Fourth Official: Lachlan Keevers
VAR: Kurt Ams
Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Matt ACTON (GK), 2.Storm
ROUX, 3.Corey BROWN, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 7.Kenny ATHIU, 8.Terry ANTONIS,
9.Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10.James TROISI, 11.Ola TOIVONEN, 13.Birkan KIRDAR,
14.Tommy DENG, 15.Raul BAENA, 16.Josh HOPE, 19.Rahmat AKBARI,
20.Lawrence THOMAS (GK), 21.Carl VALERI (C), 24.Elvis KAMSOBA,
25.Anthony LESIOTIS **two to be omitted**
Wellington Phoenix Squad: 1.Filip KURTO (gk), 4.Mandi SOSA, 6.Dylan FOX, 7.Cillian SHERIDAN, 9.Nathan BURNS, 11.David WILLIAMS, 13.Liberato CACACE, 14.Alex Rufer, 15.Michal KOPZCYNSKI, 16.Louis FENTON, 18.Sarpreet SINGH, 19.Tom DOYLE, 20.Oliver SAIL (gk), 21.Roy KRISHNA, 22.Andrew DURANTE (c), 23.Max BURGESS, 27.Steven TAYLOR **two to be omitted**
Why is Rufer not in capitals... is there a hidden meaning?!
Oi Oi Edgecumbe... lets have a clean sheet
What's this referee like? Only getting to grips with ones I like /dislike.
What's this referee like? Only getting to grips with ones I like /dislike.
Gillett and Ams are both pretty bad. Honestly, the only good ref is Alex King.
a.haak
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