A-League – Match Preview – Wellington Phoenix vs Perth Glory

A-League – Match Preview – Wellington Phoenix vs Perth Glory

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Wellington Phoenix host a resurgent Perth Glory outfit at Westpac Stadium, in a match between seventh and eighth that is by some distance the most important of the season for both sides.

A loss for the Nix will extinguish any chance they have of making something of the 2015-16 season.

The Yellow Fever and Phoenix fans will be wondering if it can get much worse as the club battles to secure a win after the losses have piled up in recent weeks, with their play-off hopes diminishing.

Things are progressing nicely for Perth, however, as they secured impressive back-to-back wins in rounds 16 and 17 respectively. A 6-1 thumping of the lacklustre Newcastle Jets was followed up by a stunning yet controversial 3-2 triumph over Melbourne Victory, as Andy Keogh and Diego Castro fired them to a surprise win. That ensured their first consecutive wins of the season and that their season is well and truly back on track.

Despite Ernie Merrick’s assurances the Phoenix would make no signings in the January window, they have made a move. The underwhelming Jeffrey Sarpong has departed the club, his contract terminated by mutual consent. In his place steps a relatively unknown on-loan striker, 21-year-old Alex Jones, whose parent club is Championship side Birmingham City.

Sarpong failed to deliver on any of his pedigree, with one assist and no goals in 13 games for the Nix. Whether his replacement, an untried English youngster who has only played reserve and Championship football for Birmingham, can do more for the Phoenix, is another thing entirely.

In the meantime, the Glory have signed their talismanic force from last season in Andy Keogh, a proven A-League talent with bags of experience. Guyon Fernandez was of course the one to depart, with his contract terminated by mutual consent to free up a visa spot. 

Key Battle – Andrew Durante vs Andy Keogh

The classic clash of striker and centre-back, this promises to be a feisty contest of the wily A League veteran, Aussie-Kiwi defender Durante, and the returning Irish striker Keogh. Both are class acts, and they each can make the difference in this encounter.


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If the Phoenix legend, and the defence he marshals, contains Keogh, then the New Zealand side could finally end its barren run of no victories with a clean sheet and a single strike. However, if Perth’s Irishman is given time and space by the skipper and the rear-guard he commands, expect the goals to pile up and the Nix’s wretched run to continue.

Team News

Once again, suspensions play their part in this game for the Phoenix, with Albert Riera out because of yellow cards accumulated as Durante returns from a mandatory one-match ban. With Sarpong gone and Jones in, a big question will be whether the youngster is handed an immediate start, with the Nix desperate for goals.

Meanwhile, the Glory have also re-signed Socceroo Adam Taggart, who endured a frustrating 18 months at championship side Fulham However, he will not feature this season due to FIFA rules.

PERvWEL

Head-to-Head

Wellington and Perth have played one another 27 times with the Phoenix just shading the wins 12 to 10 over the Glory. That leaves five matches drawn, with the last of those coming in the two sides’ final match-up of the 2013-14 season.

Previous Meeting

When these two sides played each other in Perth in week two, the Phoenix came away the victors in a hard-fought 2-1 match. Sandor scored the first goal of the game for the home side before Roy Krishna went up the other end to equalise two minutes later. Vince Lia then scored an unlikely winner in the 89th minute, sealing Wellington’s only away victory so far this season. 

Prediction

Another home loss for the Phoenix will mean that this season is a bust. And with an agreement still not reached about a licence extension, the Wellington Phoenix as a club could finish with a whimper. They simply have to win this game, and the emotion of the players and fans will be at a premium. Will they crumble, or will they rise to the occasion?

Wellington Phoenix 2 Perth Glory 1

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