A ball has yet to be kicked, but all the talk leading up to this Matchday 4 A-League match will be focused on anything but this game or the Melbourne Victory, despite their progression to the FFA Cup final on Wednesday night.
The Wellington Phoenix is the focus of the A-League, as the FFA turned down the recent request for a 10-year extension to the club’s license.
If Melbourne were not already favourites to win this match they certainly are now, as this tough away trip to last seasons double trophy winners becomes even more significant for a Phoenix organisation that has plenty of off-field drama to distract them, despite a two-match win streak. Wellington’s highly-controversial build-up to this match sees their A-league status threatened to expire at the end of the season and the FFA continue to refuse giving them an extension, denying them a 10-year license this week, despite granting all of the Australian club’s futures until 2034.
It seems that if you are in any way affiliated with the Wellington Phoenix club, the only thing on your mind this week will be the club’s very survival, rather than an impending game of football for three points against a side highly fancied to take home the title this season. Especially if that game is taking place in a competition you may not be a part of next time around. It is perhaps fortunate then that this fixture is being played on a Monday night, away from home and all of the scrutiny of the New Zealand media – and incensed fans.
The all-conquering Victory, champions last season, suffered a shock loss to the Newcastle Jets in the A-League last Friday, their first defeat in any competition since April. That result, coupled with the Phoenix’s impressive victory at Westpac meant that all of last week’s home teams won their matches and currently Ernie Merrick’s men sit three places above the Victory, who are in the unfamiliar position of sixth on the table.
The Victory also took part in a bruising FFA Cup semi-final encounter on Wednesday night against underdogs and Victoria National Premier League side Hume City. Coach Kevin Muscat picked his best team against the side from the Victorian NPL and the A-League premiers narrowly defeated their lowly opposition after benefiting from some questionable refereeing decisions. The visitors received a penalty that Besart Berisha buried, following a highly controversial hand-ball by Victory right-back Jason Geria that was waved away by the referee in the sixth minute. Kosta Barbarouses then all-but sealed the match in the 89th, before Geria had the final say with his first senior goal in injury time.
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The question is, will this match have sapped the Victory’s strength in time for their match with the Phoenix? Or will it provide them with the motivation they need to keep on winning? Their run of home wins and excellent previous record against the New Zealand side, combined with the off-field drama going on with the ‘Nix, means that the result should be routine for Melbourne, even if a few key players are rested by Muscat following their FFA cup clash. That win should prove the perfect tonic to a disappointing Newcastle defeat, however, and should spur on a Melbourne side with nothing but football on their minds. Their club is stable, and their A-League license is safe until 2034.
After all the controversy of this week, as fans let us hope that Monday’s game showcases some quality football between two attacking and technically-proficient sides, and that the politics of the last week do not interfere in the game.
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