WPM Semi Final Leg 1 vs Melbourne Victory | Sun 12th May | 6:00pm | Sky Sport 3

kwlap

theaucklandphoenixfan

Can Fornaroli stop diving? He’s like a floppy fish!

 
Fair few nix players diving tonight as well. 

Yeah, but he jumps around like he’s just been shot every time!

And breathe. Not a flash half but we have restricted them to long shots. Something isn’t work between Ball and Payne and going forward. I wonder if we will see Salas for Ball at some point to get better control of the midfield.  

YoungHeartHM

Piss off Fornarolly. ✌️
Barely touched ya. 

Should have been booked for simulation there. Shocking dive.

InsulinMachine

Hate to say it but we're shark imo. Misplaced passes, poor touches and poor in 1v1's

Gotta hang on until half time but a lot of our guys aren't offering much.

Disagree. Lacking a little composure with the ball, but we have been good without it. Good intensity. Playing away in Melbourne in front of a big crowd isn't easy.

InsulinMachine

Pennington and Payne are piss poor today

Pennington has saved us at the back a couple of times but his poor passing is letting us down again. He's had enough chances for us to be winning now.

Outpost

InsulinMachine

Pennington and Payne are piss poor today

Proving two people have two different perspectives I think Pennington has been very good! 

At the back yes, he's been gold, but has been very wasteful in their half.

Definately coulda been a lot worse. They're getting a lot of shots on target but they're nothing truly threatening to Paulson. Hope they stop passing it back into our own box though, really frustrating

Marto

Outpost

InsulinMachine

Pennington and Payne are piss poor today

Proving two people have two different perspectives I think Pennington has been very good! 

At the back yes, he's been gold, but has been very waste full in their half.

for me Pennington has been best on the park today. Kungfu Panda would be seriously creaming himself right now. Not sure how anyone could think he's had a bad game - I reckon that's just Pennington bias

siac

InsulinMachine

Hate to say it but we're shark imo. Misplaced passes, poor touches and poor in 1v1's

Gotta hang on until half time but a lot of our guys aren't offering much.

Disagree. Lacking a little composure with the ball, but we have been good without it. Good intensity. Playing away in Melbourne in front of a big crowd isn't easy.

True. Apart from maybe a few more giveaways in our own half than normal that was a pretty much a standard Nix performance. But they do need to tighten up because eventually MV will capitalise on one of those mistakes. They've got some pretty good attacking weapons to bring on against our tiring legs later.

To many mistakes, Chief will fix this in the halftime talk and we will trash them in the 2nd

I know it's a tense, high stakes game, but when we're on the counter and we've broken with good numbers, it'd be excellent to not turn around and have it end up back with our CB's.

There's having a crack, and then there's having a laugh. We're more than capable enough - Just need to back ourselves.

Solid enough defensively that first half, with not a lot going forward from us (not entirely unexpected to be fair).

Ball & Payne need to lift their game. Very average first half from the pair of them - Thought that was one of the poorer performances Payne has put in so far this season tbh. 

All to play for still lads. 
COYN!

It still hurts seeing Bonevacia playing for anyone else.

Ball will likely come off with a card to his name , COYN!

Bananas

It still hurts seeing Bonevacia playing for anyone else.

Enjoying watching the Roly v Rufer battle. Very even so far.

Does NZ have a space programe? because the nix keep sending the ball to the moon whenever shooting it

anaveragestem

Marto

Outpost

InsulinMachine

Pennington and Payne are piss poor today

Proving two people have two different perspectives I think Pennington has been very good! 

At the back yes, he's been gold, but has been very waste full in their half.

for me Pennington has been best on the park today. Kungfu Panda would be seriously creaming himself right now. Not sure how anyone could think he's had a bad game - I reckon that's just Pennington bias

Roly beasting Nico today. 

A midfield of Rufs and Roly on current form would be unstoppable.

Told ya so, another Pennington horror show. Gives it away and then hastily scrambles to get it back copping a yellow. I honestly don't understand what people see in him. He puts us under so much pressure with these cheap turn overs. although others are guilty there as well.

putting ourselves under so much pressure at the back

Sutton looks like a possum in the headlights at the moment. Sense something bad will happen that side soon if he keeps it up

Sutton looking wobbly 

Overall, I think we are very rusty, while Victory are buzzing with confidence after last weekend 

Melbourne are knocking and it feels like just a matter of time. Italiano might need to bring a few of the boys off.

triple sub for victory have to be carefull the next 10 minutes

I'm still hoping/expecting Old to do something special but so far he's been frustratingly off the boil tonight.

InsulinMachine

Told ya so, another Pennington horror show. Gives it away and then hastily scrambles to get it back copping a yellow. I honestly don't understand what people see in him. He puts us under so much pressure with these cheap turn overs. although others are guilty there as well.

He's an average Aussie import, no more. There are reasons he failed to make it in Italy.

He does some very good things and some very poor things. No more then a squaddie. Talay sussed that last season. Made a great tackle on Bruno to save us but often plays poor passes that puts us under pressure.

OVH on for Ball. Wasn’t expecting that change. Hope he can cause some chaos for them and not us. 

Outpost

I'm still hoping/expecting Old to do something special but so far he's been frustratingly off the boil tonight.

He needs another season or two in the A League realistically. That much is clear by how anonymous he is for the AWs.

WTF? How is that a foul?! Shark the Kersey Curse starting to creep in now.

kwlap

OVH on for Ball. Wasn’t expecting that change. Hope he can cause some chaos for them and not us. 

it is the obvious change. Ball is not a 90 min player 

Get zawada on, we need some sort of outlet here 

AucklandPhoenix

Get zawada on, we need some sort of outlet here 

Wouldn't mind seeing Salas. He's so fast and we need that now.

Zawada will get no service if he comes on so a double change with Salas as well could be the way to go.

AucklandPhoenix

Get zawada on, we need some sort of outlet here 

Not with Victory in charge (as the are now, in terms of pressure).

They’re staring to look fairly frustrated tbh. 

Absorb the pressure lads, make them angry

a long 15, 20 or so minutes coming up

loyalgunner

Zawada will get no service if he comes on so a double change with Salas as well could be the way to go.

Well picked!

Who did Zawada come on for? 

Rufer is in beast mode 

The ref is a bit of a shark in terms of evenhandedness 

Steph1000

Who did Zawada come on for? 

Rufer is in beast mode 

Kraev

Rufer immense tonight 

Almost a brilliant ball from Old.