FTS A-League Round 10 Preview: Wellington Phoenix vs Central Coast Mariners
Round ten will see A-League football return to Auckland as the Phoenix host the Mariners at Eden Park. Often referred to in New Zealand as the home of rugby, Eden Park last witnessed A-League action back in February this year when the Nix were victorious over Adelaide.
Of course Auckland was the home of the failed Knights and Kingz football sides which struggled with poor results and even poorer crowd statistics. However the Phoenix have always attracted healthy crowds in Auckland and this weekend should be no different with early ticket sales looking promising.
The Mariners travel across the ditch on the back of a 3-0 loss at the hands of Melbourne Victory. The Mariners sit eighth on the ladder with just the one win from the opening nine rounds of the season. The club is going through a real struggle at the moment with club owner Mike Charlesworth looking at the possibility of taking several home matches to North Sydney Oval. The decision has caused a massive stir amongst Mariners fans with many feeling the club is turning their back on the home supporters base.
Meanwhile the Phoenix are flying high with eight goals in their last two matches. They sit fifth on the table which is considerably high for a club that has struggled over the past few seasons. Last week they overcame a slow start to beat the Jets 3-1 after trailing 1-0 at halftime. Coach Ernie Merrick will be hoping the team’s good form continues this week but will be focusing on the start which is becoming an unwanted problem this season.
Head to head:
Played 22. Wellington 7, Central Coast 11, Draws 4.
Last meeting: 18 October, 2014 (Central Coast Stadium). Mariners 1-2 Phoenix.
Wellington Phoenix (Probable):
Moss; Muscat, Sigmund, Durante, Doyle; Riera, Bonevacia, Gorrin; Burns, McGlinchey, Krishna.
Central Coast Mariners (Probable):
Reddy; Roux, Rose, Anderson, Neill; Hutchinson, Montgomery; Vernes, Caceres, Fitzgerald; Simon.
Eyes on:
Roly Bonevacia
The Phoenix central midfielder was outstanding last week in Newcastle, helping the Nix to a 3-1 victory. He provided a perfect through ball for the first goal of the match then one minute later he smashed a shot off the crossbar which McGlinchey tapped in for Wellington’s second goal. Nathan Burns owes a lot to Bonevacia for his goals this season and I’d expect to see him setting up a couple more this coming Saturday at Eden Park.
Prediction:
Wellington 3-0 Central Coast
The Phoenix are on a hot streak at the moment and I can’t see it coming to an end against a struggling Mariners side. With a large crowd behind them in Auckland the Phoenix should be good enough to win by at least two goals.
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