The first game of a huge A-League triple-header on Saturday is set to pit an under-fire Sydney FC against an inconsistent Wellington Phoenix.
Anything short of three points and Graham Arnold’s men could kiss finals football goodbye.
This round 23 encounter is pressure football at its best. As a spectacle for the notoriously fickle Sydneysiders on an unusually steamy evening at Moore Park, the game itself will most likely be short of outstanding quality because the result for the hosts is absolutely paramount.
On Monday night, the coaches, players and board at Sydney FC would have been sitting at home watching Perth Glory stroll into a finals position at their expense. For a club that went public to announce they want to be the biggest club in Asia, this is an embarrassing turn of events which will set the tone for a night of high tension and anxiety heading into the sprint for finals.
The Asian Champions League fixture congestion is not the major headache it once was post the Urawa Reds defeat after overcoming Guangzhou Evergrande 2-1 in dramatic fashion last week. But the 3-0 capitulation to Bruno Fornaroli and his Melbourne City illustrated how dire the circumstances are that the Sky Blues find themselves in right now.
Wellington on the other hand are finding joys from the simple things. Nine points off sixth, the likelihood of making finals has taken a backseat since news broke that the FFA agreed to renew their license on a 4-3-3 year plan. Added to the outstanding signing of Victory star and returning Kiwi international Kosta Barbarouses coming back where it all began, the machinations of the 2015-16 season seem nothing more than circumstantial.
Then again, Ernie Merrick is not the type to let old dogs lie. He will be seething at the 4-0 rout at home to Adelaide and demand that his big guns in Roly Bonevacia and Michael McGlinchey pounce on the opportunities presented to them against a nervous Sydney outfit.
Key Battle – David Carney vs Blake Powell
The decision to sell Alex Gersbach to Europe for a reported fee between $3-500,000 gave the recently selected Socceroos full-back a chance to play in Europe, but it left a huge hole in Sydney’s stocks on the left side of the field. Carney’s controversial midseason switch from the Jets is a homecoming that must transition into a salvation job, with the veteran’s equaliser away to the Victory and assist to Dimitrijevic’s winner against Evergrande a sign that he still has the goods to create and score enough goals to get Sydney where they need to be.
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Contrast this with Blake Powell, whose incredible haul of four goals at Pirtek Stadium away to the Wanderers was not enough to maintain a starting berth last weekend in their humiliation to the Reds. Footballers love coming back to play against a club that deemed them surplus to requirements and even if he only contributes 25% of what he managed on his last visit to Sydney, Powell will be delighted.
Team News
Sydney’s barrage of suspensions suffered away to Melbourne Victory have elapsed and Arnold will be breathing a huge sigh of relief. Into the team come Seb Ryall, Carney, Jacques Faty and Rhyan Grant from suspension, pushing Zac Anderson and Riley Woodcock out of the squad altogether. The good news stops there though, with the news of skipper Alex Brosque having to sit out the next six weeks with a hamstring injury, a setback that could end his season.
CrownBet match odds at time of publishing
Meanwhile, Wellington are expected to bring Powell back into the starting XI to face his old club. The striker was only brought on as a substitute but after the trouncing to Adelaide and coming off a remarkable four-goal haul during his last visit to (Western) Sydney, Powell will likely come in for Matthew Ridenton who had an underwhelming performance. Coach Merrick also told the local NZ press that stalwart defender Ben Sigmund is raring to get stuck in and should provide some added experience and steal alongside skipper Andrew Durante, replacing Dylan Fox.
Head-to-Head
Sydney and Wellington have clashed on 28 occasions in the history of the A-League. The Australian team has a narrow advantage of 14 wins to Wellington’s 11, with only three draws between the pair. At Allianz Stadium, the Nix have lost nine, won four and drawn just the once. All in all at the venue, the Kiwis have scored 14 and conceded 30; not a great omen.
Previous Meeting
In a sign of things to come for Sydney FC, Faty’s idiotic challenge on Tom Doyle on the verge of injury time cancelled out Filip Holosko’s stunning solo goal that looked to have won the game. The 1-1 result back in November really did not help either side and neither have recovered since.
Prediction
The Cove should not expect a comfortable home victory, as season ticket holders and regular visitors to Allianz will know all too well in the 2015-16 campaign. The Kiwi visitors are really in a no-lose situation sitting three wins outside the top six and having had their immediate future as a club guaranteed for at least the next four years, the attacking verve the Nix have to break quickly on the Sky Blues will cause them troubles. But cheered on by home support against a team they should be beating, Sydney should have just enough to edge it in a nervy and unconvincing win. But a win nonetheless.
Sydney FC 2 Wellington Phoenix 1
*CrownBet odds correct at time of publishing and subject to change.
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