The Nix Fix: Merry Nixmas

Merry Nixmas to all!

The Nix head into the Christmas period holding onto sixth spot, where they’ve been squatting for the last few rounds. The lads had a great chance to climb as high as fourth last weekend when they hosted Sydney FC at home but unfortunately their performance was well below their best. In the end the Nix settled for a 1-1 draw courtesy of a late Roy Krishna penalty to avoid back to back losses. Earlier in the match Glen Moss managed to save a Sydney penalty to keep the scores at 0-0. The Nix keeper was right up there with the best on the field that night.

Farewell Siggy

This week club stalwart Ben Sigmund announced that this season will be his last. The 34-year-old central defender has decided to retire putting an end to his eight years with the Phoenix along with numerous All Whites appearances.

It would be fair to say there wouldn’t be many players who have worn the Phoenix jersey who are more admired than Siggy who has become a real fan favourite. Every match he gives one hundred percent for his team, throwing his body on the line to prevent the opposition from creating scoring opportunities. But now it’s his body that is telling him it’s time to end it and spend time with his young family.

There’s no doubt Siggy will be missed but like anytime a player leaves a club it does create an opportunity for someone to stand up and take advantage of the gap left behind. I just hope we get to see just one more classic Sigmund header into the net before the season’s end.

Broken Rufer

Young midfielder Alex Rufer is out for the season after breaking his leg playing for the Phoenix Reserves on Sunday afternoon. Rufer has been playing some good football this season which was rewarded last week with his first ever start in an A-League match when the Nix faced Brisbane in Cairns.

Rufer’s injury adds to list of players now unavailable presenting coach Ernie Merrick with a few problems heading into the next round.

Away Days

On Christmas Day the Nix travel to Adelaide to play the first of two away matches (the second coming against the Mariners on New Year’s Eve). Both teams sit below the Nix on the A-League ladder therefore presenting the lads with a great opportunity to put some distance between themselves and the chasers. While two wins and six points would be ideal, the bare minimum should be four points against the two lowest teams in the league.

The Nix have won the last two encounters with Adelaide, although both have come at home in Wellington. Their record over in Adelaide is not as good having only won three out of 15 matches at Coopers Stadium.

Of big concern will be the Nix defensive makeup with Tom Doyle and Louis Fenton both out for the Boxing Day encounter with Adelaide. I’d expect to see Troy Danaskos get a start in the left-back position with Muscat likely to be paired with Durante in the middle while Siggy still recovers from his hamstring injury. That will leave the right back spot to be filled in by either Fox or Ridenton.

The rest of the team should be much more straightforward with Krishna again being the go-to man up front. Krishna has six goals to his name so far this season with only Berisha (MVC) and Fornaroli (MCY) having scored more than the Fijian.

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