Melbourne City and Wellington Phoenix have played out a scoreless draw at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon.
Despite numerous chances for both sides – and a penalty for the Phoenix – neither was able to break the deadlock.
The Phoenix now sit on 43 points, along with Adelaide United, while Melbourne City remain firmly in the top six – aided by Perth’s removal from the finals series.
Great game for the goalkeepers
Both sides had some excellent chances to score but were denied by brilliant saves. Tando Velaphi, although he had less to do than his Phoenix counterpart, was able to save Nathan Burns’ penalty attempt in the 16th minute – a moment which could well have changed the whole complexion of the match.
Glen Moss was arguably man of the match for Wellington. He was able to withstand the early pressure from City, in which they had three shots on goal in the opening minutes, and kept his side in it for large portions of the game. Even after picking up what appeared to be a minor leg injury, he continued to deny City.
With goals hard to come by of late, and back to back 3-0 defeats prior to the match, this solid performance from Moss was vital for the Phoenix.
City’s forward movements
City had a staggering 20 shots at goal with nine on target but were unable to find the back of the net.
However, the home side’s attacking movement and build up play was creative and free flowing – some of the best it has been all season.
This had to do largely with how the forward line was structured. Rather than a front three of Josh Kennedy, Robi Koren and Harry Novillo, with the latter two as the wide players, Koren played behind a two-pronged strike force of Kennedy and Novillo, in his more natural position of central midfield, as opposed to out wide.
This created more space up forward and allowed City to find holes in the Wellington defence and attack the goal.
A more settled Phoenix midfield
Albert Riera’s return was evident in this match, with a more settled Wellington midfield. The transition between defence and attack was a lot smoother and the away side found it much easier to retain possession for small periods of time, compared with last week’s game against Melbourne Victory.
Riera has been marshalling the midfield incredibly well so far this season. He is the quiet achiever of this Phoenix lineup and is more important than some might expect. His absence is felt by the Phoenix with the team winning only twice out of the 11 games he has missed over the past two seasons he has been at the club.
Finals football confirmed thanks to Perth
Perth Glory’s punishment over the salary cap breaches has affected the other nine clubs in the league. Thanks to the Glory, Melbourne City have now been guaranteed finals football. They will finish either fifth or sixth, once the ladder is revised to accommodate Perth being relegated to seventh regardless of points accumulated, thus forcing them to travel for their elimination final.
The draw means the Phoenix are now guaranteed to finish in the top four and have therefore secured a home final. The thing that remains to be decided is whether that home match will be an elimination final or a semi-final.
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