WPM R13 vs Macarthur FC | Sun 6th Feb | 6:05pm | SS7

Another cracking save.

Is Waine our 5th choice striker? Should have gone to Coventry

Royz, what did you think of the game?

That's a brilliant win. Honestly thought we would get overrun in the 2nd half.

Very solid 2nd half!! which is uncommon for the Nix, well done lads! Brilliant win!

Mistake aside I'm very impressed with Surman at the back, seems a very cool customer and hopefully he sticks around for a good few years.

I enjoyed that Uli just straight out said we played a great game, didnt beat around the bush, complain or blame their own bad game. 

We did play well, our passing was mostly good. We didnt have hooper but we played to our strengths on the day. Ufuk got the tactics right and deserves credit for that.

Tough choice between Sail or Sutton for my MotM. 

Both have been fantastic. Sutton wins the pen and assists for Sotirio's 2nd, he could've assisted at least one more if Sotirio had headed that chance down. Solid at the back too, kept opposition quiet and some good interventions.

Sail, welcome back. Great saves. Had about 6/7 saves and you can see the lift he gives to the backline, you'd be confident as a defender if you had him behind ya. Great game.

Thought we might've dropped our heads on conceding a poor turnover goal, but we responded well. Good start to our run of 5 matches in 2 1/2 weeks.

Nice anti-jinx on Sotirio Royz! Keep up the good work!

Great game, terrible commentary. Aussie commentators called the entire Women's Squad in the stands "Phoenix Supporters" and at the end said "Piscopo's been great, shame he's not on the scoresheet"

Piscopo and Sail. Men of the Match 👍 

Should really mention Sotirio.. He did well..

Friar Tuck

Great game, terrible commentary. Aussie commentators called the entire Women's Squad in the stands "Phoenix Supporters" and at the end said "Piscopo's been great, shame he's not on the scoresheet"

They weren't great moments, other than that I thought they were good though compared to what we have often had in the past.

Friar Tuck

Great game, terrible commentary. Aussie commentators called the entire Women's Squad in the stands "Phoenix Supporters" and at the end said "Piscopo's been great, shame he's not on the scoresheet"

Commentators gave Sotirio MoM!
🤪
Sutton was solid all game, so were Piscopo & Sail. 

A deserved result I think, although Macarthur had more shots I think our chances were way more solid and unlucky to hit the woodwork too 

Oli Sail : 8
Made 6 good saves and showed great judgement to charge out of his box when required, didn't put a foot wrong on his return 

Tim Payne: 7 
Solid game defensively, Danny Hay will be happy to see him playing at RB again. Didn't offer much offensively but his link up-play was good 

Finn Surman: 4
Was solid until terrible decision making gifted the Bulls a goal and could have lost the game for us 

Joshua Laws: 6.5 
Didn't have a lot to do but covered the basics well 

Sam Sutton: 8.5 (MOTM)
Solid defensively and lively in attack, exciting to watch and earned the penalty for our first goal and the assist for the third.

Gael Sandoval: 6.5
Didn't really get up to much but still looks like a slick player

Alex Rufer: 7
Great to see him playing with some positivity and his passing was on point

Clayton Lewis: 7
Also looked sharp in attack and defense, drew some good fouls and also passed very well

Reno Piscopo: 7.5
Probably the most energy we've seen from him this season and his best game, good taking on his man, getting into good position and got a few shots on target including dispatching the penalty

David Ball: 7
Didn't manage a shot on target but his workrate is always first class and he got bundled around a fair bit 
 
Jaushua Sotirio: 8
Redeemed his poor finishing in the first by scoring two goals in the second - although a little bit lucky they all count

Talay to Hooper: "There are good news and bad news. The good news is that you have recovered from your niggly injury....."

Enjoyed what I saw of that (all of the first half and most of the second (apart from their equaliser and Sotirio's first).  How we weren't out of sight by half time is beyond me, but fair play, they picked themselves up after the inevitable goal.  Sutton was immense I thought. Surman doesn't let his head drop, which is great as he is going to make mistakes, but he's learning from them (hopefully). All in all, a good day at the office!
Tactics were spot on, well done team!

Loved that result. What a Sotirio game!
Love seeing these players come through and give good performances and the competition for places. 
Fenton was immense in our cup run and last game and on the bench here. Ditto for Paulsen. 
Start the streak!

Satisfying win. Great job lads! Crazy how fast you can shoot up the table with a couple results.

Sotirio with an epic second half redemption and so good to see Rufer lift his performance in the last couple games! 

nufc_nz

Royz, what did you think of the game?

3 fluke goals and terrible back passing, the better team lost. Hate to see what happens next game 🤞.

That result showed character and resolve. Let's beat the Victory!

Sutton's most enjoyable performance to watch  since that "who the fudge are you? I'm Sam Sutton" escapade against Berisha last season. And Piscopo too had some real consistent energy about him today.

I think the key thing was after that FFA cup run the boys finally look like they are enjoying their football again. And that's gonna go a long way if we can maintain this. 

COYN!

Sail - terrific. Sutton - he's looking so confident, a la Cacace. Lewis and Rufer very solid in the midfield. Sotirio, well many players would have to be subbed off after stuffing up those opportunities early in the game, or would have faded away, but not our Jaush. Piscopo some good work, stayed in the game instead of fading or being petulant. Well done Uffie on the tactics and the line up.

Uffie's dodged a bullet there. Selecting Surman instead of Payne at centre back was a poor decision. He was an accident waiting to happen; several times McArthur swarmed him and attempted to do what they eventually succeeded in doing for the goal.

 Agree with the above plaudits for Sutton. He's a real attacking weapon and is steadily improving his defensive game too.

Thought basically everyone was excellent across the park but Sutton, Piscopo and Lewis stood out for me. Plus it's great to have Sail back. Genuinely think he's one of the best 3 or 4 keepers in the league. 

reg22

Uffie's dodged a bullet there. Selecting Surman instead of Payne at centre back was a poor decision. He was an accident waiting to happen; several times McArthur swarmed him and attempted to do what they eventually succeeded in doing for the goal.

He’s probably trying to blood Surman for when Payne heads to the OFC tourney - especially if Wootton is still unfit

Friar Tuck

reg22

Uffie's dodged a bullet there. Selecting Surman instead of Payne at centre back was a poor decision. He was an accident waiting to happen; several times McArthur swarmed him and attempted to do what they eventually succeeded in doing for the goal.

He’s probably trying to blood Surman for when Payne heads to the OFC tourney - especially if Wootton is still unfit

That’s what I was thinking, especially now Rufer has found his form. We know he can slot into CB but he’s more than earned his right atm. We need cover at CB and if Surman can cut those mistakes out or learn quickly, we should be ok. Still buzzing after that. Dons let me down this morning, but Scotland and nix more than made up for that 👍

There's definitely room to point the finger at Surman but he's young and he will learn, at the end of the day it didn't cost us too much compared to what he would have gained from that experience on the pitch. And I gotta say I for one absolutely loved seeing Tim Payne get amongst it in the attacking build up play down the right wing this evening. He seemed to have a whole new lease on life out there and was very keen to show off other elements not usually seen in his repertoire. Some nice moments of great vision and great distribution.

Also that Rufer has made a couple of nice moves driving forward at the top of the box. One lead to a goal and the other almost did. He whacked an excellent left foot shot just wide today, with dare I say it, more venom than I’ve seen from Piscopo or others. I think he’s still growing into his role and maybe we’re going to see a bit more from him there.

Rufer and Sail definitely responded well to the competition within the squad.

It's a good young team. Bodes well for the future. With the exception of Ball, the best players are all under 27.

Outpost

 Agree with the above plaudits for Sutton. He's a real attacking weapon and is steadily improving his defensive game too.

Thought basically everyone was excellent across the park but Sutton, Piscopo and Lewis stood out for me. Plus it's great to have Sail back. Genuinely think he's one of the best 3 or 4 keepers in the league. 

Yep, Sutton is clearly a more rounded footballer than McGarry. Will get better and better with more game time.

I thought Rufer had his best game in years.

Not sure about Sandoval, looks like he's not completely fit - saw him with ice on his knee at the end of the game.

Smeltz4PM

Mistake aside I'm very impressed with Surman at the back, seems a very cool customer and hopefully he sticks around for a good few years.

We will also remember that Laws had a similar mistake earlier in the season that led to a goal against us. He has learned and improved since then.  So will Surman.

Mainland FC

Smeltz4PM

Mistake aside I'm very impressed with Surman at the back, seems a very cool customer and hopefully he sticks around for a good few years.

We will also remember that Laws had a similar mistake earlier in the season that led to a goal against us. He has learned and improved since then.  So will Surman.

Neither should really be starters at this stage, but it's positive that a guy like Surman is getting a shot.

Royz

nufc_nz

Royz, what did you think of the game?

3 fluke goals and terrible back passing, the better team lost. Hate to see what happens next game 🤞.

You really are a miserable buggar for the life of me dont get why you are even here.

ballane

Royz

nufc_nz

Royz, what did you think of the game?

3 fluke goals and terrible back passing, the better team lost. Hate to see what happens next game 🤞.

You really are a miserable buggar for the life of me dont get why you are even here.

Because whenever Royz decides to disappear to spare us his typical pessimistic bullshark the Nix end up losing. I don't know what to make of that.

Friar Tuck

reg22

Uffie's dodged a bullet there. Selecting Surman instead of Payne at centre back was a poor decision. He was an accident waiting to happen; several times McArthur swarmed him and attempted to do what they eventually succeeded in doing for the goal.

He’s probably trying to blood Surman for when Payne heads to the OFC tourney - especially if Wootton is still unfit

Exactly, and as disheartening as it may have been that his mistake lead to their goal, I don't think he was terrible and did some good things. Notable block on LA Rose at the backend of that first half to deflect behind for a corner.

Definite work on's include being more decisive on the ball and quicker decision making to be able to make it at this level. 

I'm sure the boys rallied around him too afterwards. After all he is an 18 y/o CB making his ALM starting debut. Hopefully he's got the mental side of things in check to be able to work on the technical side of his game.

djtim3000

ballane

Royz

nufc_nz

Royz, what did you think of the game?

3 fluke goals and terrible back passing, the better team lost. Hate to see what happens next game 🤞.

You really are a miserable buggar for the life of me dont get why you are even here.

Because whenever Royz decides to disappear to spare us his typical pessimistic bullshark the Nix end up losing. I don't know what to make of that.

There is no such thing as a Jinx or anti jinx or whatever. I doubt any pattern whatsoever exists. So, just ignore him and hope he goes away. The forum will be a much better place.

YoungHeart

Friar Tuck

reg22

Uffie's dodged a bullet there. Selecting Surman instead of Payne at centre back was a poor decision. He was an accident waiting to happen; several times McArthur swarmed him and attempted to do what they eventually succeeded in doing for the goal.

He’s probably trying to blood Surman for when Payne heads to the OFC tourney - especially if Wootton is still unfit

Exactly, and as disheartening as it may have been that his mistake lead to their goal, I don't think he was terrible and did some good things. Notable block on LA Rose at the backend of that first half to deflect behind for a corner.

Definite work on's include being more decisive on the ball and quicker decision making to be able to make it at this level. 

I'm sure the boys rallied around him too afterwards. After all he is an 18 y/o CB making his ALM starting debut. Hopefully he's got the mental side of things in check to be able to work on the technical side of his game.

We've got five games in under two weeks so we're going to have to give players game time anyway. It worked out that it was a good thing that we didn't have Wooton and Hooper because it kind of forced Ufuks hand on rotation.

The thing that worries me in a situation like this is how he hates using subs and also likes to field the same squad consistently.

The midfield is still a question in my opinion. Clayton Lewis is probably the best player in the squad yet his performance yesterday barely deserves a mention, other than to say that he was "Solid". Against Melbourne City in the Cup, the debate was- who was MOTM, Lewis or Pennington. Lewis had 82 successful actions and Pennington 83 according to Wyscout. 165 between the two defensive midfielders, to anyone who looks at Stats, that was incredible. Those two worked together, one- twos, covering each other etc, it was like a well oiled machine. Add to that, Rufer was CB moving the ball forward to these two in midfield.
The other solutions have not worked this well. Yesterday you had two defensive midfielders making reasonable individual performances. 

kungfu panda

The midfield is still a question in my opinion. Clayton Lewis is probably the best player in the squad yet his performance yesterday barely deserves a mention, other than to say that he was "Solid". Against Melbourne City in the Cup, the debate was- who was MOTM, Lewis or Pennington. Lewis had 82 successful actions and Pennington 83 according to Wyscout. 165 between the two defensive midfielders, to anyone who looks at Stats, that was incredible. Those two worked together, one- twos, covering each other etc, it was like a well oiled machine. Add to that, Rufer was CB moving the ball forward to these two in midfield.
The other solutions have not worked this well. Yesterday you had two defensive midfielders making reasonable individual performances. 

Lewis and Rufer were both very good last night I thought. What were their successful actions last night?