The Wellington Phoenix host the Newcastle Jets in the final game of round 1 of the 2015/16 A-League season, at Westpac Stadium on Sunday 11th October, 7pm, Westpac Stadium, Wellington.
This match-up should be a closely fought encounter, as both teams look to shake the off-season rust and open their respective seasons with a win.
After holding onto most of their regular first team players in the offseason, with the notable exceptions of Nathan Burns and Kenny Cunningham, the Phoenix team come into this match off the back of a promising pre-season, which saw them record impressive 3-1 wins over Western Sydney Wanderers and the highly fancied Sydney FC. The team and manager have had ample time to adjust to each other across two solid seasons of the Ernie Merrick era.
Completely in contrast to the stability of the Phoenix’s offseason, the Jets have offloaded a large amount of players and picked up a few fair as well. Since receiving the 2014/15 wooden spoon there have been a raft of changes in the staff department for the Jets as well, with former owner Nathan Tinkler set to be replaced by a new consortium led by Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson. The poor season also lead to head coach Phil Stubbins being sacked and replaced by Scott Miller, who has previous managerial experience in England, first as a fitness coach, and then as an assistant coach with the Fulham first team in the Premier League. Most recently Miller was in charge of the Fulham Under 21 side in the 2014/15 season.
It will be a battle of the known against the unknown, experience against the new blood, and should make for a fascinating and absorbing contest.
Key Battle
Nigel Boogard vs Jeffrey Sarpong
The duel between former Adelaide United central defender and now Jets club captain Nigel Boogard and new Phoenix signing Jeffrey Sarpong will be an absorbing watch. A-League fans know all about the fiery defender who holds a league record for red cards. If Sarpong can get the better of the former-Red, it will be interesting to see how the Jets’ new skipper deals with the technically gifted former Eredivisie player.
Team News and Expected Line-ups
The Phoenix should have a full squad of 23 to pick from going into the game as Ben Sigmund and Alex Rodriguez make their return from long-term injuries. Expect the stability of a 4-2-3-1.
Meanwhile, the Jets line-up as unknowns this season, with a new manager and over half a new squad. They could go with a 3-4-3 as they did for parts of last season but largely, expect the unexpected.
Head-to-head
In the 25 matches between the two teams the Wellington Phoenix have won 15, with Newcastle winning 6, there have been 4 draws. This underlines the status of the Phoenix as a bogey team of sorts for the Jets.
Previous meeting
Last seasons home encounter for Wellington against Newcastle ended in a 2-2 draw at the Hutt Recreation Ground with goals from set pieces dictating the game. The Jets scored two corners in the first twenty minutes to stun the Nix, but a Jason Hicks free kick in the dying minutes, following a Roy Krishna goal in the 68th and Ben Kantarovski’s red card in the 87th handed the Phoenix a share of the points and provided a fitting end to a pulsating match in which the Phoenix had 21 shots to the Jets’ seven.
Prediction
The Wellington Phoenix have won eight of their last twelve home matches against the Jets, with three draws and one loss, with the Phoenix looking to be challenging for a spot in the playoffs at the very least, and the Jets looking to rebuild after losing over half a squad, expect the Phoenix’s winning trend against this opposition to continue.
Wellington Phoenix 3 Newcastle Jets 1
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