Outisde90’s Breanna Holden takes a look at the crucial aspects of this afternoon’s meeting between Wellington Phoenix and Sydney FC.
Sydney’s ‘bad luck’
Unfortunately for Sydney FC, refereeing complaints and ‘bad luck’ have plighted their season of late, with coach Graham Arnold refusing to take part in press conferences and recently copping another sanction from the FFA for post-match antics. While Arnold may feel he is executing his right to freedom of speech, undoubtedly his frustration and negative approach is affecting both the player’s and official’s attitudes towards Sky Blue games. Back on the road this weekend at a notoriously difficult ground, it will be interesting to see if the club’s off field actions will again reflect, and effect, their results on the field.
Can we expected another physical, stop-start encounter?
In the last meeting between these two sides Allianz Stadium was treated to a bullish 0-0 draw, thanks in part to poor refereeing, but largely due to a lack of creativity and execution. With both sides needing to buck recent struggles and pick up an important three points we may see Arnold or Ernie Merrick adopt a different approach to Saturday afternoon’s encounter. Should the Sky Blues put to better use their plethora of attacking midfielders, and the Nix look to do more than simply settle for an occasional counter=attack, fans should be in for a much more entertaining 90 minutes.
The Alex Brosque effect
Alex Brosque has long been a hard working, somewhat silent achiever at Sydney FC and since taking on the captain’s armband he has thrived under his heightened responsibility – particularly this season. With the departure of Marc Janko, Terry Antonis and Bernie Ibini, combined with a poor goal return from Shane Smeltz, the Sky Blue’s attack has become significantly dependant on the veteran forward both for guidance, goals, and inspiration. With his absence last week certainly being felt in a crushing 2-1 loss to Adelaide, it will be interesting to see how affective the side are up front should he again fail to enter the fray.
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