The Nix Fix: First home victory sends Wellington Phoenix into fourth
The Wellington Phoenix have moved up to fourth on the A-League ladder following an emphatic 4-1 win over the Newcastle Jets at Westpac Stadium. It’s the second win in a row for the Nix and their first victory at the “Ring of Fire” for season 2013/14.
Despite the match being played in what has become familiar Wellington conditions, with wind and rain swirling around the stadium, it was great to see a decent crowd of just under 8,000 turn up to watch the boys. Much has been made this week over the future of the Phoenix in the A-League and how much crowd figures will play a part in that uncertain future, however when the weather is as bad as it was on Sunday you’re never going to get a huge crowd. You would assume now that the team has a couple of wins under their belt and occupies a top four position, the next home match should provide a larger crowd figure. Let’s hope the weather cooperates.
It was great to see Burns and McGlinchey continue their goal scoring antics with McGlinchey becoming the first Phoenix player to score in his first three games for the club.
The match also provided the first home opportunity for the Yellow Fever to partake in the traditional shirts off at 80 minutes when we’re leading. Despite being around 6 degrees it was a pretty sight to see the shirts coming off and being waved triumphantly in the air.
Three of the best
Winning at home: Last season the Nix only managed to win three home games out of a total 13 and didn’t pick up their first home victory until round 11. So winning their second home match of the season is already a huge improvement on last season. If the Nix want to be a threat this season they’ll need to keep winning at home and make Wellington a tough place for visiting teams to travel to.
Roly Bonevacia: The new midfield signing had his best game for the Phoenix despite playing most of the match with heavy bandaging to his head following a nasty head clash in the first half. He provided quality ball for the attacking trio of Burns, McGlinchey and Brockie and broke down a number of Jets attacking plays with some outstanding defensive work.
Andrew Durante: The Nix captain had another solid match in defence, highlighted by his goal saving tackle on Jeronimo as he was in on goal. But Dura’s best moment of the match came right before full-time as he got his head on the end of a free kick to score against his old club.
The bad news (NB: It’s hard to find much to complain about this week)
Alex Rodriguez: Don’t get me wrong, Rodriguez didn’t have a bad game. He just isn’t showing the form that made him such a hit during the Football United Tour where he tore apart West Ham with his attacking plays and superb vision. He did make some nice angled passes but also gave up possession a bit too easily on occasions.
Missed hat-trick: No player has ever scored a hat-trick for the Phoenix in their seven seasons in the A-League. However with Burns on the scoresheet twice before halftime it looked like this could be the match. He did get through into a one on one situation with the keeper however a great tackle from behind put an end to Nix supporter’s hat-trick dreams.
Round four has the Nix travelling to Melbourne to face off agains the Victory on Monday night. Given that Melbourne has never been a happy place for the Phoenix over the years, this will be a real test for Ernie Merrick’s new look team.
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