WPM R15 vs Macarthur | Mon 20th Jan | 9:00pm | SkySport 3

I've been pretty quiet on the forum this year. 

Great to see AKH making every post a winner. Keep up the great work lad.

This season is far from done. Looking forward to the January transfer window.

In Chiefy we trust.

COYN.

AucklandPhoenix

So do we think we were lucky to get that win?

Not lucky, but it definitely had the feel of the 1-0 win with no shots game from last season.
MacArthur would have been in their changing room feeling very unlucky to have not been 3 or 4 up at half time.

Has Josh been signed on loan or is he on a contract? And if so, for how many seasons? I'm more than happy for us to keep playing AKH. He looks as good, if not better.

I would say we were lucky to get away with just one goal down at halftime.
I would also say we marginally deserved a draw, on the strength of that magic Ishige Nagasawa flick and shot, and on putting up good defensive work in the second half.
Macarthur should have scored again, including in the second half, and they should have adjusted their game plan to the way we played in the second half.  To that I would also say that they were unlucky: a couple of shots late in the game went straight at Alby.  They had more chances but did not take them.  And Brattan is a cod.

InsulinMachine

Has Josh been signed on loan or is he on a contract? And if so, for how many seasons? I'm more than happy for us to keep playing AKH. He looks as good, if not better.

Josh is on a long term contract. Chiefy said a week ago they are investing into his development and see his potential.  Alby had more time with the squad so appears a bit more calm and collected, and not dropping the ball.

We scored the best goal of the night and our keeper stopped all their shots on target, bar one, which he nearly deflected. And the closest they came otherwise was hitting the post, which we've done for fun more than once in a significant number of games when it going in instead would have mattered. Other than that they muffed it or we scrambled.

That's not particularly lucky. That's just what goes around comes around.  If we denied that result to luck there would be a whole lot of games we should have won that we didn't. And I can tell ya, no matter what we do we won't be getting any points for those.

Taking those three points and with zero hesitation or ifs or buts about that.

Very, very pleased Conchie is back fit and played so well and improved the balance of the team so much. He made a huge difference.  Give me Payne, give me a new 10. Give me top six and beyond. And fer crikey sake give me no more injuries.  Now that's been UNlucky.

AucklandPhoenix

So do we think we were lucky to get that win?

I dont know if luck is anything to do with it but having a first half of conceding chance after chance after chance and relaying on a 19 year old keeper and some poor finishing is exactly a tactic that the coaches drew up pre game. We had many games in the pasr few season where we could not finish or lacked composure and got caught out in the counter punch and people here moaned how lucky the opponent got. Nix took their chances well in the second half & on that basis deserved to win. Having said that, chances are they wont get away with it like yesterday too often, and they need to be more on the front foot, especially vs ccm and roar at home. Nix got the chocolates playing like this time around, but it would be foolish to think this will be the case each time. We all collectively moaned when we played like this vs city and questioned everyone from the coaches to the kitchen staff. Yesterdays game plan in first hakf was similar but in the end was a good result so now they look like geniuses, football is funny like that 

Nixieboys222

AucklandPhoenix

So do we think we were lucky to get that win?

I dont know if luck is anything to do with it but having a first half of conceding chance after chance after chance and relaying on a 19 year old keeper and some poor finishing is exactly a tactic that the coaches drew up pre game. We had many games in the pasr few season where we could not finish or lacked composure and got caught out in the counter punch and people here moaned how lucky the opponent got. Nix took their chances well in the second half & on that basis deserved to win. Having said that, chances are they wont get away with it like yesterday too often, and they need to be more on the front foot, especially vs ccm and roar at home. Nix got the chocolates playing like this time around, but it would be foolish to think this will be the case each time. We all collectively moaned when we played like this vs city and questioned everyone from the coaches to the kitchen staff. Yesterdays game plan in first hakf was similar but in the end was a good result so now they look like geniuses, football is funny like that 

I don't think we'll be playing like last night's first half again. The new benchmark is how we fixed those problems and won the game in the second half.

certainly hope so, but judging on our last couple of away games, i wouldnt hold my breath. 

mjp2

Nixieboys222

AucklandPhoenix

So do we think we were lucky to get that win?

I dont know if luck is anything to do with it but having a first half of conceding chance after chance after chance and relaying on a 19 year old keeper and some poor finishing is exactly a tactic that the coaches drew up pre game. We had many games in the pasr few season where we could not finish or lacked composure and got caught out in the counter punch and people here moaned how lucky the opponent got. Nix took their chances well in the second half & on that basis deserved to win. Having said that, chances are they wont get away with it like yesterday too often, and they need to be more on the front foot, especially vs ccm and roar at home. Nix got the chocolates playing like this time around, but it would be foolish to think this will be the case each time. We all collectively moaned when we played like this vs city and questioned everyone from the coaches to the kitchen staff. Yesterdays game plan in first hakf was similar but in the end was a good result so now they look like geniuses, football is funny like that 

I don't think we'll be playing like last night's first half again. The new benchmark is how we fixed those problems and won the game in the second half.

Chiefy must have seen something in training, or with the video analysis to start Supyk. But it didn't work, and taking him off for Conchie at HT was a game changer.

I'd expect Conchie to start alongside Retre and Nagasawa from now on, until the new visa 10 is ready to go. Reason enough to believe we won't have a 1st half that poor against the Mariners.

Has anyone posted yet about the Aussie commentator saying something along the likes of: "Wellington has no desire. It's like taking candy from a baby"

20 mins later and we're leading - There were plenty "get that up ya's" from my boys after that hahah, great stuff

 

HattyCW

For anyone feeling negative about our performance, just remember there was a period under Talay where even with a much more experienced squad than last night, we were never able to equalise after conceding first, let alone go on to grab the three points.

Last night, we came back and grabbed the three points with an injury-ridden and consisting of a number of still up and coming academy players team.

This is definitely not me saying there aren't problems that we need to work on/resolve, it's just something to be mindful of.

I still am absolutely convinced that if we had half decent players with more than 2 games experience out there, we'd be fine. 

coochiee

Chiefy must have seen something in training, or with the video analysis to start Supyk. But it didn't work, and taking him off for Conchie at HT was a game changer.

I'd expect Conchie to start alongside Retre and Nagasawa from now on, until the new visa 10 is ready to go. Reason enough to believe we won't have a 1st half that poor against the Mariners.

I thought Conchie was really good at the start of the season and I never rated him prior -  generally these young players need a year in the pro environment to settle, which is half the reason we're struggling now. These guys don't have any time to settle in, they're being chucked straight in. 

Also - there's no way we weren't lucky this game, but you make your own luck. We still pushed enough to get 2 goals. Macarthur had some of the most woeful finishing I've ever seen though, on another day that's easily 5.

karlpetersson

Has anyone posted yet about the Aussie commentator saying something along the likes of: "Wellington has no desire. It's like taking candy from a baby"

20 mins later and we're leading - There were plenty "get that up ya's" from my boys after that hahah, great stuff

 

Didn't hear that, but I stopped watching** as Andy Harper (especially) was quite obviously revelling in our difficulties. The narrative was ad nauseum "Nix suck" which was a bit overcooked especially for a team missing so many key players and relying on aademy kids. 

After a few seasons of Nix being contenders you could tell he was just loving the chance to put the boot in.

** Once I heard we'd equalised and then took the lead I chose not to tune in and watch live - jinxes are real.

Enjoy watching the highlights on YouTube.  Can't jinx those. And they look damn good showing our good highlights (there were more than i thought there would be).

I heard it, Harper was going on and on about how passive our defence was being when in our own half - he wasnt wrong! Boils down to we created and took our chances and MacArthur didnt.

Thought we were very fortunate to get away with three points on the weekend. Although the second half was better, we are still putting in such lackluster first halves, so boring to watch at times. Yes, we took our chances, but that won't happen every week.

LT01

Fenix

LT01

Fenix

I won't entertain any criticism of any of our players for tonight's performance. 

It was a simply massive shift by all of them, very proud indeed of the way they stood up and went about it.

Bloody marvelous.

We're all elated about somehow winning this game but let's not paper over the cracks.

It's not about perfection,prettiness, or what the spectators think. 

And how i loathe all these useless stats, possession, completed passes,expected goals - who assembles all that nonsense,and why???

And even if the stats are of use to a teams manager,why does TV force this meaningless rubbish on us?

We got more goals, and deserved to win. That's all I care about.

Yeah, all those so-called useless stats and data are so meaningless that they've revolutionised football globally in the last decade or so...

Give us a shout when we are top of the "Expected Goals" league and I will share a beer with you.

Actually, no I wont

Geez - of course what ultimately matters most is the scoreline, but stats help paint a picture of how that scoreline came to be.
Yes, you can cherry pick stats to fit a certain narrative, but they are helpful in highlighting the flow of the game, anything that needs to be worked on, what is being done well, how players are performing, etc. It can even provide some insight into how matches were officiated. They are useful when comparing the results of different matches and performances over time. It's really quite simple.

If you don't get any value from being shown stats and you'd rather watch the match and ride the vibes, that's all good. Just don't look at them?

In saying that, I do agree that "expected goals" is a rubbish stat.

Days later I'm still shocked we won this game...

Elemenop

Days later I'm still shocked we won this game...

yeah, we were poor

but that macarthur team has holes all over it. their better players are excellent, but there's a huge range from top to bottom.

re Brattan; i quite like him. he used to be first rate. he now has zero athleticism, just experience and fitness. even his technique is fading and he struggles with his long passes compared to in the past. but he manages to contribute, which i admire. 

the fascinating thing is that there's a huge degree of ethnocentricism surrounding him. he's characterised as a bit of an aussie character. the aussies love a good old battler and he seems to fit the bill.  

if he was an import, the refs and commentators would not be so in love with him

i think the technical term is "Matt Simon Syndrome"

The A League, is always more entertaining with a good villain. Muscat will never be topped.

Lol. I was just thinking with Karl Dodd, Siggie, Jon McKain and Manny Muscat we weren’t a team of retiring violets either…

Do we remember Manny broke Marco’s jaw blocking off a run? That was pretty terrible. As much as I get annoyed with the attention Kosta and David Ball got with forearms and getting kicked, it was always short of that kind of damage. We hope. 

coochiee

The A League, is always more entertaining with a good villain. Muscat will never be topped.

Rudan was definitely competing for the biggest villain title.

siac

coochiee

The A League, is always more entertaining with a good villain. Muscat will never be topped.

Rudan was definitely competing for the biggest villain title.

As a player he did not really stand out as an uncompromising defender, at least compared to Muscat. 
But Muscat was in a class of his own. He did not just hack opposition players, he even got into a funny larynx-choking stoush with (then) Adelaide coach John Kosmina during the infamous and memorable Grand Final way back when. 

coochiee

The A League, is always more entertaining with a good villain. Muscat will never be topped.

Closely followed by Berisha

Yeah, the Berisha Durante incident was pretty bad
 Not just because of the incident but because he lies and his lies were accepted despite all the video evidence.

coochiee

The A League, is always more entertaining with a good villain. Muscat will never be topped.

Might be a silly question, but did anyone manage to watch this moment when it was live? :)

HattyCW

coochiee

The A League, is always more entertaining with a good villain. Muscat will never be topped.

Might be a silly question, but did anyone manage to watch this moment when it was live? :)

Yes the game was broadcast here and it was good to watch :-).
I must have got confused with the occasion though, that was not in a GF.

Kosmina v Muscat was October 2006, so early in the 06/07 season. An ALM classic moment for sure.

At the time Kossie was a Socceroos assistant, and the cod Muscat still in the Socceroos. Reds verus VUC is the Original Rivalry. Folk from small brother Adelaide hate Melbourne, a bit like the rest of NZ hates on Auckland.

Berisha's biggest villain moment was his dive in the 2011/12 Grand Final for the Roar against the Glory, to earn the winning penalty. Lets remember Perth have still never won the toilet seat, and for biggest club going back to the NSL that must sting. I'm sure BB is still despised in WA.

I remember watching the game where Danny Allsop shoulder barged Kosmina over. 

There you are 👆

queenofthequail

In saying that, I do agree that "expected goals" is a rubbish stat.

In the last 30 A league games, XG agreed with the result 70% of the time.

Marginally better than a coin flip isn't exactly a ringing endorsement.

Ultimately, it's only as good as the data that is put into it. I'm personally skeptical that it compares goals with similar goals accurately enough to give any useful information, but it might help when put in context with other data.

Nelfoos

Marginally better than a coin flip isn't exactly a ringing endorsement.

Ultimately, it's only as good as the data that is put into it. I'm personally skeptical that it compares goals with similar goals accurately enough to give any useful information, but it might help when put in context with other data.

and also across various levels of ability. Playing FM the old clear cut chances and half chances are still a better metric, something Chiefy talks about with big chances metric. There's certainly some correlation in that big chances will likely have relatively higher xg but a whole bunch of low xg is not as consequential as 1 or 2 big chances - even if xg is lower for the team with the big chance(s).