Phoenix v Heart in Dunedin

Will the effect of a new coach be an advantage to Wellington?

According to John Aloisi if there were to be such an effect then the Jets who played Wellington mid week would’ve felt it. Because we’ve had a look at them under new coach Chris Greenacre already Aloisi will be able to make any necessary adjustments. Aloisi believes this is just as much of an away game for Wellington as it is for Heart. Apart from a couple of games, Aloisi is sticking to his stance that we’re not that bad away from home. We just didn’t take chances, so the message to the players this week is to still work on creating opportunities and the results will follow.

 

I believe the next five games will be like finals, with each week becoming the “most important” game of the season. When asked if another away loss will affect team confidence, Aloisi used the example of the Mariners traveling away and losing to bottom team Perth a fortnight ago and how that hasn’t hindered theirs one bit.

 

In reference to our position on the ladder and some patchy form, Babalj came out this week and said: “That has to change, hopefully starting against Wellington. Every game is effectively a cup final for us now.” and “We have shown that on our day we are a team to be feared.”

 

Questions have been raised in relation to where Fred was at, given he has spent time on the bench, while Nick Kalmar enjoys more game time. Aloisi said Fred was up and about and in good spirits and: “we’re a good family club and we’re all in it together and want to win”. He also mentioned this makes for a good side when players coming back from injury have to work extra hard to regain their spot.

 

With Kalmar and Germano in red hot form they could be the difference between winning and losing this week. Phoenix’s Corey Gameiro has also seemingly popped up from nowhere giving their side the slimmest of hope this season.

 

Patrick Gerhardt, Jason Hoffman and Ben Geruccio have all flown over to Dunedin but I expect the only change to the side to be Gerhardt in for David Vrankovic. Even though Wellington lost midweek to the Jets, their caretaker coach Chris Greenacre has decided not to make any changes against Heart.

 

If Heart were ever going to break their away hoodoo, this is the week. We can strike an opponent while they are clearly struggling, and prove that we deserve a shot at finals.

 

Prediction: Wellington 1 – Heart 2 – and finally a win away!

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