WPM R11 vs Western United | Fri 21st January | 9:45pm | SS7

Laws for a MOM?

Gutted I missed the half with the 2 goals, bit was glad to see the team not park the bus at 2 nil up.

They looked fudgeing hungry for more.  Let's see more of the Nix energy.

Much better organisation 2nd half than the 1st despite that late goal. Was heartening to see some of that patient, accurate passing game that we've become used to the last couple of seasons.

The front four and Paulson do the bizz. 

Everything in-between, some good moments and, agreed, a better second half. Hope they can keep improving and that Woots speeds that up. 

Both sides missed a lot of football, so it is amazing that in the end both sides looked hungry for goals.  All in all it was actually a good even contest (over 90 minutes) and I am very proud how the team bounced back from 4 straight losses and from a bout of COVID for most of the squad.

Isuzu crew gave the MoM to Hooper. He graciously acknowledges Gael Sandoval for his game tonight and does not puff himself up... what a guy.

Mainland FC

Laws for a MOM?

Went to Hooper in the end, which I can't argue with. Was impressed with how heavily involved he was in the game right to the last whistle. Not coasting at all.

Best game of league footie I've seen in ages from the Nix and what a mean tattoo Fenton has on his back.  Pity about the consolation goal.

I really hope Payne pulls out of the AW gig and plays in the FFA Cup.  We have enough decent defenders in that Dubai squad to keep him in 'Straya.

Really needed that win. Good effort from the boys, and well to be fair, both sides really came to the party for this one. It's been a long while out of football for both clubs. 

Good to get back out on the park and start moving up that ladder. Exciting to see Gael come into the squad and do well, I'm sure he was happy to be off the mark within 15 minutes at his new club. Hooper was solid up top for us as well. Special mention goes out to Fenton too - the lad put in a shift and put his body on the line for the cause. I'm sure he'll feel a bit sore in the morning 🤕

Roll on next weekend against Victree. Spot in the final up for grabs. I reckon the boys will be geared up for that one.

Marto

Best game of league footie I've seen in ages from the Nix and what a mean tattoo Fenton has on his back.  Pity about the consolation goal.

I really hope Payne pulls out of the AW gig and plays in the FFA Cup.  We have enough decent defenders in that Dubai squad to keep him in 'Straya.

I do not begrudge WU the consolation goal - no less than they deserved on the whole. It was a couple of really good saves by Paulsen, and a bad miss by Diamante early in the second half, that separated us from them in the end. On the other hand, it was barely an inch of an offside by Hooper that denied us the third goal, .

Have been really impressed by Josh Laws the last couple of games. Keeps his head down, gets on with his job with full commitment, quietly and without any fuss. Demonstrated seniority in the defensive line against WU. After some torrid moments earlier on in the season he seems to be learning from his mistakes and refining his game. Something I don't really think any of the other younger fellas in the squad have done as of yet. 

I thought Rufer was immense, broke up a lot of play and was far better at retaining the ball. He dominates the midfield aerially as well. 

If he can add that ability to turn his defender and run at the backline to his game he'll be a far more dangerous player. He did it once in preseason that I saw, I think vs Wests, and it was good to see it in the A-League.

Great to see Hooper back and among the goals, Sandoval looks like a proper player (and there must be some joke about Wellington blowing a Gael?) - when Waine and Sotirio are the attacking bench options I think our attack is in a good place. These COVID game postponements could really have been a blessing, allowing us to play our strongest team in more games.

Which CB drops out for Wootton? Payne would've been the favourite to partner him at the start of the season but Laws has been good the last few games and has the advantage of being a left footed CB where Wootton and Payne are both right sided. Payne could also push out to right back I guess but seems rough on Louis after a great showing - some big calls for Uffie to make and some genuinely good options which is encouraging.

Great win. Just what we needed. Combination of quality from our imports and hard graft by the younger players.
Fenton and Sutton now preferred fullbacks for me after that showing. Also remembering It was those two that were part of our good streak last season. 
Best game this season so far from Piscopo. He looked much happier with Sandaval out there.
Would have liked to see more of Pennington, but guess we will see him next week with Lewis away on NZ duty. 
Onwards and upwards from here. 
Edit. Great to see Hoopper and Ball play 90min. Sandaval with a solid 60min.

Great goals and build up play. Concerned me how deep we sat at times but we generally broke well and echo the thoughts of others who said it was great to see our imports doing the business. Fenton was great and put 100% effort in and special mention to rufer. That was a superb turn and ball for hoops. Best performance from him in midfield for a long while. Think they were overly harsh on hoops’ second.

As I said, think my only criticism would be the sitting back and inviting pressure. Another team would have punished us. 

Still great to get the three points and hopefully let’s the team gain some momentum. Happy fudgeing days!

Just want to say, I’m usually a Fenton critic but he did a bloody great job last night. Put his body on the line every challenge and gave it his best. Bravo.

The good news is we scored goals and created chances against one of the best defences in the league. With reinforcements coming to our own defence.
Not only is it good to see Sandoval perform it showed how much we missed Hooper. 

Told you all!

Fenton needs the "Lucky" Head Bandage that Tim Brown used to wear!!

Boys showed everything we missed in the last few games. Glad for Rufer took some of the critics to heart, he had a very good game and even a great assist, the magic of forward passing.
Sandoval was very good, looks like a classy player, he will get even better. Hooper, Sandoval, Piscopo and Ball is terrifying for every defense. Wayne and Sortiro’s energy for the last 20-30 min counterattack.
I always had a soft spot for Fenton, not a fan of his tattoo, but if this fires him up to fight like a lion, I’m OK with it :-)
Backline and midfield very solid and we have a bit of depth there, too.
Paulson? Geez that kid does not look a bit out of place. Some great saves, very confident, I can’t remember that he did anything wrong or looked shaky.
Hope we keep that quality up for the next games.
Side note…how shark is Diamanti? His stupid long distance shots, most player can do those. He is totally overrated. He ruined every attack.  

Nelfoos

I thought Rufer was immense, broke up a lot of play and was far better at retaining the ball. He dominates the midfield aerially as well. 

If he can add that ability to turn his defender and run at the backline to his game he'll be a far more dangerous player. He did it once in preseason that I saw, I think vs Wests, and it was good to see it in the A-League.

Great to see Hooper back and among the goals, Sandoval looks like a proper player (and there must be some joke about Wellington blowing a Gael?) - when Waine and Sotirio are the attacking bench options I think our attack is in a good place. These COVID game postponements could really have been a blessing, allowing us to play our strongest team in more games.

Which CB drops out for Wootton? Payne would've been the favourite to partner him at the start of the season but Laws has been good the last few games and has the advantage of being a left footed CB where Wootton and Payne are both right sided. Payne could also push out to right back I guess but seems rough on Louis after a great showing - some big calls for Uffie to make and some genuinely good options which is encouraging.

With Payne away with the AWs this will sort itself out, Laws and Wootton as CBs and Rufer with Pennington in midfield. Will be a bit thin on the bench while Payne and Lewis are away.

Mainland FC

Nelfoos

I thought Rufer was immense, broke up a lot of play and was far better at retaining the ball. He dominates the midfield aerially as well. 

If he can add that ability to turn his defender and run at the backline to his game he'll be a far more dangerous player. He did it once in preseason that I saw, I think vs Wests, and it was good to see it in the A-League.

Great to see Hooper back and among the goals, Sandoval looks like a proper player (and there must be some joke about Wellington blowing a Gael?) - when Waine and Sotirio are the attacking bench options I think our attack is in a good place. These COVID game postponements could really have been a blessing, allowing us to play our strongest team in more games.

Which CB drops out for Wootton? Payne would've been the favourite to partner him at the start of the season but Laws has been good the last few games and has the advantage of being a left footed CB where Wootton and Payne are both right sided. Payne could also push out to right back I guess but seems rough on Louis after a great showing - some big calls for Uffie to make and some genuinely good options which is encouraging.

With Payne away with the AWs this will sort itself out, Laws and Wootton as CBs and Rufer with Pennington in midfield. Will be a bit thin on the bench while Payne and Lewis are away.

I'm guessing Payne and Lewis will need to isolate 72hrs or something when they return to NSW so will probably miss two matches.

coochiee

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/127572920/new-wellington-phoenix-player-wants-to-be-his-own-man-not-the-next-ulises-davila

Other then Sandoval scoring a goal he did nothing most of the match and i was wondering why he wasn't subbed early.

Royz

coochiee

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/127572920/new-wellington-phoenix-player-wants-to-be-his-own-man-not-the-next-ulises-davila

Other then Sandoval scoring a goal he did nothing most of the match and i was wondering why he wasn't subbed early.

He did a fair bit and had a great first touch, not sure what more you expect out of a debut. Davila did fudge all his first 4-5 games and actually looked down right dreadful but turned out great. Id give him a bit more time - he would most likely get subbed for Sotirio who shouldnt be legally allowed near a football pitch. The more players ahead of Sotirio the better.

Joey Johns

Royz

coochiee

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/127572920/new-wellington-phoenix-player-wants-to-be-his-own-man-not-the-next-ulises-davila

Other then Sandoval scoring a goal he did nothing most of the match and i was wondering why he wasn't subbed early.

He did a fair bit and had a great first touch, not sure what more you expect out of a debut. Davila did fudge all his first 4-5 games and actually looked down right dreadful but turned out great. Id give him a bit more time - he would most likely get subbed for Sotirio who shouldnt be legally allowed near a football pitch. The more players ahead of Sotirio the better.

Oh dear Joey.
Don't feed the troll.

Royz

coochiee

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/a-league/127572920/new-wellington-phoenix-player-wants-to-be-his-own-man-not-the-next-ulises-davila

Other then Sandoval scoring a goal he did nothing most of the match and i was wondering why he wasn't subbed early.

 Stick to shark predictions

Crowd - 586, smallest crowd on AL record.

first factual thing that you've posted in years - also the fist non anti nix thing too - that must have been tough to do.

theprof

first factual thing that you've posted in years - also the fist non anti nix thing too - that must have been tough to do.

Royz is about negative comments... it is fitting with theme.

Also, it is kind of anti nix to point it out (even if factual) seeing as it was our 'home' game.