Surman was fantastic in a defensive game. Shut down Torres on more than one occasion. Payne was great. So excited about LKH's ceiling, kid looked at home against one of the best attacks in the comp
Frankly I'll take an ugly draw against Mariners. They looked pretty toothless against us tbh which is great. I reckon given how we were trying to play crosses, if Zawada was fit it woulda been 3 points.
Frankly I'll take an ugly draw against Mariners. They looked pretty toothless against us tbh which is great. I reckon given how we were trying to play crosses, if Zawada was fit it woulda been 3 points.
We’ve got one more game against them iirc. If we can beat them at home we’ll be giving this thing a real run. And we’ll probably have Pennington and Salas by then!
My early,"impulsive" assessment is that CCM have excellent players but we have a better coach. Their threat came from very good individual performances but not especially great tactics. We seem to have done equally well from a disciplined teamplay and a bunch of kids led by the stalwarts. We would not have got a draw without the teamwork in defence. If Old was fully fit and OVH more awake we might have prevailed.
My early, impulsi e assessment is that CCM have excellent players but we have a better coach. Their threat came from very good individual performances but not especially great tactics. We seem to have done equally well from a disciplined teamplay and a bunch of kids led by the stalwarts. We would not have got a draw without the teamwork in defence. If Old was fully fit and OVH more awake we might have prevailed.
I wondered if Kraev and OVH might have alternated roles. Getting Kraev in the box a couple of times might have been a difference. On the other hand, he was part of a team that kept Torres quiet. And as I think KP observed Kraev did Pennington’s defensive and creative role, as well as much of what he usually does!
scared to make subs didnt want to lose or take risks today....thought it was a weak mentality from the staff. You're at home be brave....make changes and try win the game. I think Chiefy is in at any point will do now....
Today was a real good example of why waine got ahead and went overseas and OVH hasn't fired. Waine was sniffing around for everything and made those runs to the posts hoping for a sliding tap in every time. OVH on the hand was happy to sit deep and watch those great balls/sitters roll past. I'd be surprised if he has a future in the ALM as a striker.
Today was a real good example of why waine got ahead and went overseas and OVH hasn't fired. Waine was sniffing around for everything and made those runs to the posts hoping for a sliding tap in every time. OVH on the hand was happy to sit deep and watch those great balls/sitters roll past. I'd be surprised if he has a future in the ALM as a striker.
Well he clearly has to learn. But he still has plenty of time. If he's not making more of those opportunities by the time he's 25 then not good.
Players develop at different ages. Average Serie A debut... 26
Good cagey game at the top of the league. Think we were the best team for most of the game but unfortunately 3 games in the last week or so plus not many options on the bench meant we couldn't push forward and those 50/50 balls that we were first to for most of the game we couldn't get to as much in the last 20.
I thought Old was supposed to be injured? Was there any discussion about it in the commentary? Was he miss diagnosed?
The good news is we can go toe to toe with the best team in the league, and when reinforcements arrive in the form of Zawada, Sutton, Salas we can really push and win these sorts of games.
You guys can do come all with your tactics talk, the game was bad entertainment. 1st half nobody was running. Slow transitions, everyone was afraid to go forward. No team wanted to lose and I was boiling bored in the sun. The 12k deserved a bit of a show, the whole thing was a bit anti climax.
Today was a real good example of why waine got ahead and went overseas and OVH hasn't fired. Waine was sniffing around for everything and made those runs to the posts hoping for a sliding tap in every time. OVH on the hand was happy to sit deep and watch those great balls/sitters roll past. I'd be surprised if he has a future in the ALM as a striker.
I've long ago stopped wondering whether OVH is an ALM level striker or not. All that matters now is getting the best out of him during this period without Zawada. He did a decent job overall today; nothing flashy but did put himself about well, robbed their defenders a few times with good physical play, and did get our one good shot off to test Vukovic. Yes, he was too slow to those back post balls but that is where the instinct of a true striker comes in, and unfortunately that doesn't appear to be there in OVH.
Someone said he had a tantrum when he was subbed off. I didn't see that, just a guy who felt he had failed to make a real impact for his team, coach and fans. Still a good effort though.
So pedestrian. Looks like they're playing in 40 degrees.
Nix played on Friday. Mariners on Saturday. Both teams lose basically another day after their games, travelling over the Tasman. Not surprising not an electric high energy game. Will be different you suspect if they meet in the finals.
You guys can do come all with your tactics talk, the game was bad entertainment. 1st half nobody was running. Slow transitions, everyone was afraid to go forward. No team wanted to lose and I was boiling bored in the sun. The 12k deserved a bit of a show, the whole thing was a bit anti climax.
There's a number of home games coming up against teams which aren't as solid at the back as the Mariners, plenty of chances for spectacles. But I think for large periods of the game, especially at the start of the second half that there was a lot of attacking intent.
You guys can do come all with your tactics talk, the game was bad entertainment. 1st half nobody was running. Slow transitions, everyone was afraid to go forward. No team wanted to lose and I was boiling bored in the sun. The 12k deserved a bit of a show, the whole thing was a bit anti climax.
Well yes. It depends what you want. Spurs always tried to be the entertaining London team. While Arsenal were the team that wanted to Nick the points. Spurs won the FA Cup in 1981, but that was about it.
If we're going to win the league and the Championship, it will be all about tactics and often won't be super entertaining.
If we win on Saturday then we'll have averaged 2ppg for the 4 games starting at Newcastle. Those stats work. 2ppg and we'll probably win the league. Add a returning Zawada and we'll get more points towards the end of the season.
1. Why was OVH pulled? He looked somewhat threatening throughout. I think if you're going to make a relatively early 2nd half attacking sub, it should be Ball coming off.
2. How is Ball consistently starting? I like the guy, but he's not looking dangerous at all this season.
3. What is the point in bringing on Supyk with 2 minutes to go? If you're going to bring him on, give him 15-20 mins.
4. LKH had a rough game, Old looked tired/nursing a minor injury.
5. Rufer dependable. Kraev looked dangerous in spurts.
6. Stoked with the crowd.
7. A draw is better than nothing. Still top of the league.
Think point 2 is depth. Normally he would be on the bench with Pennington in midfield, Kraev further forward, etc. Point 3, Chief might have wanted him to experience the pressure / atmosphere of a top of the table clash with a big crowd at home.
Words can't describe that rubbish. Atrocious. I'm over watching that.
maybe consider that football is not your sport. There are plenty of premier league games that have the same arm wrestle so you'll always get one of these now and again.
Personally I was enthralled by the competition while watching at home. But then again I also love test cricket. Maybe thats says more about me than it does you lol
Good cagey game at the top of the league. Think we were the best team for most of the game but unfortunately 3 games in the last week or so plus not many options on the bench meant we couldn't push forward and those 50/50 balls that we were first to for most of the game we couldn't get to as much in the last 20.
I thought Old was supposed to be injured? Was there any discussion about it in the commentary? Was he miss diagnosed?
The good news is we can go toe to toe with the best team in the league, and when reinforcements arrive in the form of Zawada, Sutton, Salas we can really push and win these sorts of games.
Yep. No Zawada. No Al Taay. No Pennington. No Salas yet. Just kids to sub. And Old still looks to be playing with an injury.
Perfect to hold off the form team of the comp and maintain the lead on the table. Torres looked like a football God their last game and we gave him nothing.
Happy to drink beer instead of champagne and if we can get players back we'll be better when we need to be.
However, he was relatively chuffed with the result.
“We basically just cancelled each other out,” Italiano conceded.
“It’s a weird game and a weird feeling. Did we play our best? Probably not. Did the fact that we played a couple of days earlier effect the quality? Yes, but they also went through it.
12k crowd on a day like today, superb. Did I expect us to be in? Absolutely, but is a draw their end of the world? No. It was loud and fudge on another day we would have won. We deserved more but depth killed us today imo.
That was a pretty damn exciting draw. I've been at the Nix for some boring ass draws and that wasn't one of them. Both teams made chances but got shark down regularly from top defence. Some of those Mariners defenders were fudgeing fast man.
The only complaint is it was so stupid to have an away team play in yellow at our home game. I'm less annoyed about us playing in black than some people, but the away team shouldn't be in yellow. Surely the kit coordination crew could have made that a yellow day and switch a different one to be black.
Our complete inability to create anything resembling a decent chance that isn't from a counter attack strikes again. We really need to improve there if we want to achieve anything come finals time. All a team needs to do is sit deep and we're no threat.
Makes the Brisbane game an even bigger missed opportunity tbh.
Missing your star import striker and having one of your next two best attacking players covering for the absence of two normally influential mids does that to you, I reckon.
Hopefully with players back we'll create more again. And Zawada gives us that option B.
Agree with others that it is so concerning to see we have no chance at all of scoring from anything other than a counter attack. we aren't even any sort of threat from set pieces.
Also another damning performance for OVH. Before this season he had done absolutely nothing to show he belonged. This season he did get us briefly back into the Sydney game with an assist and won that pen vs Melbourne (however fortuitously), but was found wanting today again. He must be running out of chances at this level.
Would have been a frustrating day for Kosta, he was making things happen but Ball and OVH just could not help make them count. We need to see Old and Kraev closer to Kosta. I have no idea why Ball isn't tried in midfield, I think he'd do well there, but Chiefy is always putting Kraev back there. He can do a job there but it's such a waste.
So good to Rufer and Payne refreshed and right back into it, they were very good today.
I'd also make the point that CCM had one less day's rest than us by playing Saturday, they were away from home to the league leaders, and as a result I think they were not ambitious at all. I fear that if both teams were rested and we were playing in Gosford the game would go completely differently, we were perhaps lucky to get a form team with such tired legs, and we need to make the most of it when playing lesser sides in the coming weeks.
Would have been good for the panel (even if it would be a bit cheeky) to ask Kraev how keen he would be to stay. Chiefy didn't sound super motivated to keep him when asked in a press conference, but I'd love to see him stay.
There will be a lot of burnt, pasty white men in town tomorrow.
This isnt our greatest phoenix squad ever, but man the coach has got the D humming. Lots of intercepts and winning the 50/50 ball.
We slowed CCM down and so many times they were just walking unsure what to do to get it near our goal. They went a long time with no real chance early in the 2nd half.
I haven't read any comments, but for me Kraev live looked so slick! Rufer was a boss in the middle and LKH was immense too.
Happy with the draw, would have preferred 3 points at home.
Stadium staff were clearly not prepared for the biggest crowd of our season. 3 minutes before kick off, massive queues just to get through the gate. They only opened one section to scan between the aisle 19 to 36 entrance. Plenty of people who wanted to sit in the shade were denied because those areas were cordoned off.
Ok, in summary, we held CCM to a draw. A team that has not lost in their last 11 games. They have one player - Torres who's scored 5 goals in 4 games and the Nix kept him out of it. Their midfielder Dynamo - Nisbet, was also kept out of the game as he is the one whom usually dictates all their play. A difficult chess game that at times was frustrating to watch but we did not lose and gained a valuable point. I hope they recover in time for Saturday.
Happy with the draw, would have preferred 3 points at home.
Stadium staff were clearly not prepared for the biggest crowd of our season. 3 minutes before kick off, massive queues just to get through the gate. They only opened one section to scan between the aisle 19 to 36 entrance. Plenty of people who wanted to sit in the shade were denied because those areas were cordoned off.
hopefully at least 9 of those 12k return to see us thrash Western United and we really lock in a few of those irregular attendeesOceanic6
Happy with the draw, would have preferred 3 points at home.
Stadium staff were clearly not prepared for the biggest crowd of our season. 3 minutes before kick off, massive queues just to get through the gate. They only opened one section to scan between the aisle 19 to 36 entrance. Plenty of people who wanted to sit in the shade were denied because those areas were cordoned off.
Happy with the draw, would have preferred 3 points at home.
Stadium staff were clearly not prepared for the biggest crowd of our season. 3 minutes before kick off, massive queues just to get through the gate. They only opened one section to scan between the aisle 19 to 36 entrance. Plenty of people who wanted to sit in the shade were denied because those areas were cordoned off.
Have to say, it was great to see the concourse humming pre match. Said to those who came with me that it looked busy and the 12k figure to me by pleasant surprise! We managed to sneak through the middle set of turn styles after being directed left or right. Wish they’d get the beer back from pre covid, it was definitely better back then.
There's a really cool photo of the 11 Nix academy products (players) who featured or were on the bench today. It's on the A League website game report. Amazing to have 11, what a credit to the club. Link.
There's a really cool photo of the 11 Nix academy products (players) who featured or were on the bench today. It's on the A League website game report. Amazing to have 11, what a credit to the club. Link.
Today's squad featured 1⃣1⃣ @WgtnPhoenixAcad graduates, with 7⃣ of those getting minutes in RD 1⃣2⃣'s 0⃣-0⃣ draw with the Mariners 👏
They posed for a photo with former academy director Steve Coleman before he leaves for his new adventure in the USA 🙌
Superb stuff. Steve Coleman has done some fantastic work for this club. A big loss, but the future remains bright with the young talent coming through.
Only two lads in that photo that aren't signed beyond this season as well (at least yet) - Gillion & Sloane-Rodrigues.
Our complete inability to create anything resembling a decent chance that isn't from a counter attack strikes again. We really need to improve there if we want to achieve anything come finals time. All a team needs to do is sit deep and we're no threat.
Makes the Brisbane game an even bigger missed opportunity tbh.
Missing your star import striker and having one of your next two best attacking players covering for the absence of two normally influential mids does that to you, I reckon.
Hopefully with players back we'll create more again. And Zawada gives us that option B.
I thought we created plenty, they just defended well.
A great pic. Man compared to LK-H & Surman fellow CB Hughes seems a midget. Nice to see 2 clubs that are heavily promoting young talent, 1st & 2nd. I wouldn't be upset to see the Nix hosting Mariners in the Grand Final.
Though I guess beating either of VUC (just unlikeable), WSW (Marko) or Sydney (Uffie) would be a bit sweeter.
A nice win & a few goals against Western U, would be handy to keep some of the casuals onboard, with Super Rugby not far off starting.
Huge thank you to all that turned out in the Wellington sunshine this afternoon! 1 point not 3, but that was an arm wrestle and a half worthy of 1 v 2. Western are up next and pre sales are strong again. Buy early, arrive early!!! https://t.co/hfkBarn6Vyhttps://t.co/vzsPlCtuE3
somehow I feel unlucky for OVH. The ball never balls goes his way when he takes the right option, but then he doesnt take the right option regularly enough.
He had a clear through on goal opportunity early in the second half but the ball carrier chose to pass it to the right wing where it was wasted. I got the feeling the other boys don't have enough faith in him (lets not forget his old man wasn't exactly prolific for a striker either).
I would have hooked Ball before him though. I really think A League is beyond Ball now.
Our complete inability to create anything resembling a decent chance that isn't from a counter attack strikes again. We really need to improve there if we want to achieve anything come finals time. All a team needs to do is sit deep and we're no threat.
Makes the Brisbane game an even bigger missed opportunity tbh.
We have struggled with that all season. I think that has cost us about 10 points at least so far this season.
I also think Kosta and Payne have gone off the boil again, past their purple patches.
