Speaker 1: Football Fever, the podcast keeping you up to date with
Speaker 1: the beautiful game with the voice of football Jason Paine
Speaker 1: and Insid heralds Michael Burgess, powered by News Talks hebby.
Speaker 2: Welcome and a very merry Christmas to you. The Fest
Speaker 2: of season is, I guess you'd say, upon us, and
Speaker 2: a pretty festive weekend and a successful weekend for the
Speaker 2: three New Zealand sides involved in the A League's competitions.
Speaker 2: I'm Jason Pine, Michael Burgess is here. Win win, win,
Speaker 2: three WS three up, three down. Bird's not bad for
Speaker 2: the three teams and the A leagues across the weekend
Speaker 2: from New Zealand.
Speaker 3: Triple treaty was perfect. Wasn't it a great way to
Speaker 3: start the fest of season? And I don't imagine it's
Speaker 3: happened all that often since Auckland came into the league
Speaker 3: that we've had all three teams went on the same weekend,
Speaker 3: so pretty special.
Speaker 2: Absolutely. I don't know that the Wellington Phoenix men and
Speaker 2: women have won very often on the same weekend. I'll
Speaker 2: get my statisticians onto it, but you're right, please do
Speaker 2: It was a very very rare thing, but a very
Speaker 2: pleasing thing as far as football on this side of
Speaker 2: the Tasman is concerned. We might jump straight to Saturday
Speaker 2: afternoon where we had a record breaking game at Pottydoor
Speaker 2: Park the Wellington Phoenix Women's seven Sydney FC nil at
Speaker 2: Pottydoor Park, most goals scored in a game ever by
Speaker 2: the Phoenix women, biggest winning margin in Phoenix club history
Speaker 2: by the men's or the women's team, and Sydney FC's
Speaker 2: biggest ever A League women's defeat. BF Priestman said during
Speaker 2: the week that someone's going to get a hiding from us.
Speaker 2: Surely she couldn't have expected that it would be that
Speaker 2: emphatic though, seven nil.
Speaker 3: You hear coaches say that quite a bit, that we're
Speaker 3: do a big game, and often you think, oh, they're
Speaker 3: just saying it to sort of to sort of make
Speaker 3: things sound good or to give everyone confidence. But sometimes
Speaker 3: they're saying it because they can see it coming, they
Speaker 3: can see something in the inside and you know they
Speaker 3: had been playing well. But that was that was what
Speaker 3: you dream about, wasn't it. That's what you dream about
Speaker 3: when you set up this woman's team, and especially with
Speaker 3: the investment this season, to win like that, but to
Speaker 3: win like that against the big team like Sydney there,
Speaker 3: one of the biggest clubs in Australia.
Speaker 2: Yeah, incredible really, and for so many reasons. It was
Speaker 2: an important game, the fact that that had those two
Speaker 2: games on the road and hadn't got a goal or
Speaker 2: a point in either of them. I also heard birds
Speaker 2: that before the weekend, off the back of last weekend's
Speaker 2: results for the men's and the women's teams, that Rob
Speaker 2: Morrison was absolutely apoplectic when he spoke with the club's
Speaker 2: football department. They've invested a lot of money in the
Speaker 2: women's team, as we know, the men you know, losing
Speaker 2: at home to the bottom team. Rob Morrison was most displeased,
Speaker 2: I understand, so he would have had a brighter smile,
Speaker 2: I'm sure after the weekend. Certainly, Bev said to me
Speaker 2: on the radio yesterday, I put a smile on the
Speaker 2: chairman's face.
Speaker 4: We certainly did.
Speaker 2: It just looked good from the start though getting an
Speaker 2: early goal I think is always a thing to do,
Speaker 2: isn't it. It sounds so obvious, but having not scored in
Speaker 2: the previous two for Mania Elliott to score in the
Speaker 2: third minute, it kind of takes that pressure off and
Speaker 2: and just you know, allows you to breathe a bit
Speaker 2: easier from the start.
Speaker 4: It's the here we go moment, isn't it.
Speaker 3: They had been unlucky, like I don't want to be
Speaker 3: sound like a hindsight hero like Mike Costing likes to
Speaker 3: talk about. But the previous the previous two matches, we've
Speaker 3: been saying, Piney, they had played well, you know, they
Speaker 3: had played well. They were desperate and lucky against Perth
Speaker 3: to lose that match, and they had way more opportunities
Speaker 3: against Melbourne City. So they had been playing well, but
Speaker 3: it just hadn't hadn't happened for them, and there must
Speaker 3: have been doubts. So to start so well and to
Speaker 3: go on with it in the first half must have
Speaker 3: been such a lift and they're thinking, Okay, this is
Speaker 3: what this is what's supposed to happen, this is what
Speaker 3: we've been doing in training and it's finally coming off.
Speaker 4: Maybe or that that.
Speaker 3: Shooting and finishing practice you suggested as well was definitely
Speaker 3: helpful because it was spot.
Speaker 4: On, wasn't it. It took the goals.
Speaker 2: Yeah. The other thing you said last week, which which
Speaker 2: has sort of resonated with me and I've been thinking about,
Speaker 2: is that you said that you thought this would be
Speaker 2: a team that was better in the second half of
Speaker 2: the season than they have been in the first half,
Speaker 2: or will be in the first half. Look, here we
Speaker 2: are about six or seven games in, and I think
Speaker 2: that's that's starting to look, you know, like a very
Speaker 2: accurate prediction. Maybe it just does just take a bit
Speaker 2: of time for a new coach, a new bunch of players,
Speaker 2: a few injuries, just you know, lots of factors.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: It wasn't like they've been playing poorly either, they just
Speaker 2: hadn't been getting the results. I don't think that their
Speaker 2: performance has perhaps deserved. Look this, this feels like a
Speaker 2: watershed moment. Will we look back at the end of
Speaker 2: the season and say, look, that was it the seven
Speaker 2: mill against Sydney FC. Is where this season actually began?
Speaker 3: Possibly? Yeah, Like it's the old turning point, isn't it.
Speaker 3: They had to win. But to win like that and
Speaker 3: to have the clean sheet, I mean, that's a pretty
Speaker 3: good foundation for what's coming.
Speaker 4: And they've they've got good players, They've got a good squad.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 3: I'd started to hear over the last week a bit
Speaker 3: of criticism of Samba and saying that, oh, it's great,
Speaker 3: she's got all the support and you know, it's amazing
Speaker 3: that the Nepalese that had come out everywhere they play.
Speaker 4: But she's got to start producing.
Speaker 3: But my argument was, well, she has actually looked quite good,
Speaker 3: so someone like her, what a boost. And also think
Speaker 3: of the young players in that team ay that like,
Speaker 3: imagine how they'll be feeling.
Speaker 2: Yeah, incredible. It must just be such a boost to
Speaker 2: have a result like that and to know, okay, we
Speaker 2: are actually a team that can score goals. Samba's first
Speaker 2: two goals for the club. Grace Charlie got a couple
Speaker 2: as well, the early one from a Nia Aliat those
Speaker 2: two late own goals. Incidentally, the third goal was Wellington
Speaker 2: Phoenix's one hundredth A League women's goal. But what I
Speaker 2: really liked Birde was they didn't sit back at three
Speaker 2: nil or four nil or five nil even you know,
Speaker 2: they kept going, but also retain that defensive base because
Speaker 2: when you're five nil up, it's easy to let one
Speaker 2: in because it doesn't matter, right, five nil, five to one,
Speaker 2: you still get the three points. But it seemed as
Speaker 2: though they were still very very keen on that clean
Speaker 2: sheet even though the points were well and truly secure
Speaker 2: by that stage.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a good point, mate, Like the hunger was there,
Speaker 3: wasn't it. You see other games real ends up, you
Speaker 3: know six two or six three even, you know, because
Speaker 3: everything gets a bit loose and you just start going
Speaker 3: for things and forget about defending. But it wasn't the case.
Speaker 3: You know, they stayed on their assignments but still wanted more.
Speaker 3: So very positive signs. I mean, they know they've dropped points,
Speaker 3: that's the thing. Though. They know they've dropped points. We
Speaker 3: talked about it last week. There should be another four
Speaker 3: or five points up the table. But now the chance
Speaker 3: comes to make those points up in the coming weeks.
Speaker 2: And it actually doesn't matter too much because the table
Speaker 2: is so tight. Yes, of course, they would have loved
Speaker 2: to have had those points, and they'd be probably well,
Speaker 2: they would be in a better position than they are.
Speaker 2: But as this win has taken them to eight points,
Speaker 2: they're in eighth position. But they're you know, there are
Speaker 2: only two points behind the third placed Central Coast Mariners,
Speaker 2: and they've got a game in hand because of the
Speaker 2: uneven nature of the competition where there's a bye, so
Speaker 2: you know they're they're there or thereabouts. Can we talk
Speaker 2: about the away form because they go away next to
Speaker 2: second bottom Western Sydney on Tuesday night. Huge chants this
Speaker 2: to claim a first away win of the season and
Speaker 2: jump into the top six. But I don't know what
Speaker 2: you think whether the whether the the away day blues
Speaker 2: of previous teams can be you know, automatically assigned to
Speaker 2: this team because they have played well, haven't they away
Speaker 2: from home against Melbourne City against Perth could have easily
Speaker 2: got something out of both of those games. So maybe
Speaker 2: the away day blues are something from seasons past. I
Speaker 2: don't know what you think.
Speaker 3: I think so yeah, I think it's unfair to tarnish
Speaker 3: them with that the club has struggled away. We all
Speaker 3: know that the clubs women's teams struggled away, but this
Speaker 3: team feels different. It felt different just in those two performances,
Speaker 3: like to do what they did against City restrict their
Speaker 3: chances have so many of their own chances, Perth played
Speaker 3: them off the park. This is it's definitely a new
Speaker 3: beginning and let's hope that starts to show through away
Speaker 3: from home. They're much more professional, They've got much more
Speaker 3: resources behind them, so you think that would pay off
Speaker 3: and it has to, doesn't it, because if they're going
Speaker 3: to be contenders, they can't just rely on their home form.
Speaker 2: No, exactly right, they do have to win their away
Speaker 2: games or certainly get points away from home, and like
Speaker 2: I say, it feels as though away at second bottom
Speaker 2: Western Sydney on Tuesday night is a massive chance to
Speaker 2: capitalize on the momentum that they would have gained from
Speaker 2: the winover over Sydney FC. Just a word on Grace
Speaker 2: jarla second goal as well her tenth for the club.
Speaker 2: She is now the equal top scorer in the club's
Speaker 2: women's history with ten, alongside Maddy Ana Spekma. So you'd
Speaker 2: have to think that she will at some stage take
Speaker 2: that mental interesting and we've talked a bit about Grace
Speaker 2: Jarlay and where her best position is just sitting a
Speaker 2: bit deeper with you know, c J. Bott, I guess
Speaker 2: the deepest of the midfielder. Is Grace still able to
Speaker 2: sort of you know, play a bit further forward but
Speaker 2: make her impact in central positions. Maybe that is the
Speaker 2: place for her. Maybe we've finally landed on Grace Charlie's
Speaker 2: best position, Birch.
Speaker 3: It's taking a while and we've discussed this, you know,
Speaker 3: whenever we were catching up around the Ferns and Woman's
Speaker 3: World Cup and everything. I just I think you felt
Speaker 3: the same. Just always felt she was wasted out wide.
Speaker 3: So as long as she's central, whether it's further forward
Speaker 3: or striker or a bit deeper, but as long as
Speaker 3: she's central, I think she can make an impact. And
Speaker 3: by the way, I love that story about Rob because
Speaker 3: he's such a busy guy. You know, he doesn't get
Speaker 3: involved that much. But when he's coming down and banging
Speaker 3: his fists on the table, you know that, you know
Speaker 3: that something's happened. I don't know something to change. You know,
Speaker 3: he's a pretty how would you describe him. He's a
Speaker 3: pretty understanding and patient guy. You know, he's not one
Speaker 3: of those owners that flies off the handle that you
Speaker 3: see in Europe. But they're obviously there had come a time.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not sure i'd want to be on the
Speaker 2: end of a displeased Rob Morrison. But look it's obviously
Speaker 2: worked because both teams pulled their socks up and got
Speaker 2: the results they were after. So the Wellington Phoenix Woman,
Speaker 2: as I say, next away against the Western Sydney Wanderers
Speaker 2: on the thirtieth of December.
Speaker 1: The Football Fever Podcast with Jason Vine and Michael Burgess.
Speaker 2: Let's jump back to Friday night, Western Sydney Wanderer's nil
Speaker 2: Auckland f C two at Combank a third straight win
Speaker 2: for Auckland f C. They reclaimed top spot for the
Speaker 2: first time since round four. This felt like a quintessential
Speaker 2: game of two halves to me, birds not particularly inspiring
Speaker 2: in the first half, a reset at halftime. I'm second
Speaker 2: half very good, a functional Auckland FC two nil win
Speaker 2: away from home.
Speaker 4: Good performance, really.
Speaker 3: Good performance and really good result. I mean you're right
Speaker 3: about the first half. But Western Sydney were playing well.
Speaker 3: They looked like the team that they can be and
Speaker 3: that you were hoping them to be when we did
Speaker 3: our pre season predictions. I mean, they're a good side.
Speaker 3: They were playing well and Auckland just were very sloppy.
Speaker 3: They couldn't keep the ball. They were killing themselves with
Speaker 3: some bad passing and it looked like the Wondrous press
Speaker 3: is really good, didn't it. So they were pressing, putting pressure.
Speaker 3: Auckland couldn't put their own pressure on but as we've seen,
Speaker 3: it gets repetitive. But they found a way to stay
Speaker 3: in the contest rather than be too kneel down. You know,
Speaker 3: they defended pretty well and then it was still game
Speaker 3: on at halftime.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Boja cry hitting the post in the first half
Speaker 2: would have been the closest that Western Sydney came to
Speaker 2: opening the scoring and year they just haven't haven't found
Speaker 2: what they're after in the first eight or nine games
Speaker 2: of the season. They've got the talent, there's absolutely no doubt,
Speaker 2: they've got the roster to be a lot better off
Speaker 2: than they are. And the tables so tight and I'm
Speaker 2: sure they will climb into the upper echelons, you know,
Speaker 2: perhaps in the early part of the new year. But
Speaker 2: I just the all Auckland FC again just controlled the
Speaker 2: game so well in the second half. They scored after
Speaker 2: fifty seven minutes. Now on that goal that's been given
Speaker 2: to Jesse Randall, that goal officially by the A League.
Speaker 2: How has Jesse Randall been credited with that goal? If
Speaker 2: I'm Sam Cosgrove, I'm writing a very very stern letter
Speaker 2: and I'm sure he won't because he's not that kind
Speaker 2: of guy to the questionable goals panel if such a
Speaker 2: thing exists, and asking them how on earth it's been
Speaker 2: credited to Jesse Randall.
Speaker 4: I mean Jesse was lying on the ground. He could
Speaker 4: have been asleep.
Speaker 3: It could have been asleep, and it just sort of
Speaker 3: hits his ankle, Like in what universe does that become
Speaker 3: his goal? I just this kind of thing really bugs
Speaker 3: me because it must really bug the players even though
Speaker 3: they never say it. And I'd just love to know
Speaker 3: who makes this decision. Have they ever played football? Do
Speaker 3: they understand, you know, what what what a vital deflection
Speaker 3: is and what's not. I just i'd like to see
Speaker 3: I don't know, maybe a sort of media briefing. They
Speaker 3: can do it occasionally, like the NRL do where they
Speaker 3: came out on Monday and they explain the different things,
Speaker 3: because it's just nuts.
Speaker 2: We'll put it this way. If that's a defender on
Speaker 2: the ground and Sam Cosgrove takes the shot and it
Speaker 2: flicks up off the ankle of the defender and into
Speaker 2: the net, a shot that's already on target. You've seen
Speaker 2: it from behind. He's shot, it's on target. It's obviously
Speaker 2: taking the deflection and gone up into the into the
Speaker 2: upper part of the goal. But if it's a if
Speaker 2: it's an opposition player, is that an own goal? Is
Speaker 2: that called an own goal?
Speaker 4: Not normally?
Speaker 3: Not normally, like I think we all we're all overthinking
Speaker 3: things in this sage and we sent to find things
Speaker 3: that aren't there. I mean, even the way they gave
Speaker 3: Cosgrove the goal in Wellington. Maybe he'd touched it just
Speaker 3: before the line. I don't know, I haven't seen the footage.
Speaker 3: That kind of makes sense, but it's still blood annoying.
Speaker 3: But this one was just just nuts.
Speaker 2: Imagine if you had money on Sam Cosgrove as the
Speaker 2: first goal scorer, and I'm sure people would have, you know,
Speaker 2: how does that get explained? I mean, I know that's
Speaker 2: not the main thing here, but anyway, we're probably dwelling
Speaker 2: on it a bit much. And as you say, maybe
Speaker 2: justice for Jesse Randall after Costrove kind of did steal
Speaker 2: that goal off him in Wellington. If it had been
Speaker 2: given to Cosgrove, he'd be top of the Golden Boot
Speaker 2: now with five. As it stands, he's on four with
Speaker 2: about five or six other players. But yeah, look, I
Speaker 2: think the most important thing is that the ball went
Speaker 2: in and Auckland had their one nill lead, and from
Speaker 2: there it felt very much like the previous weekend that
Speaker 2: they were in control of the game, weren't going to
Speaker 2: lose it just a matter of whether they score another goal,
Speaker 2: which they did. Lockey Brook play broken up by the
Speaker 2: excellent Louis via Strata. In midfield, Brook cuts inside scores
Speaker 2: against his former club. Gee. I like the way he's
Speaker 2: playing at the moment Burge. I know it's early, but
Speaker 2: he is starting to creep into Johnny Warren Metal consideration.
Speaker 4: Lachland Brook.
Speaker 2: I just love the way that he has adjusted the
Speaker 2: life at Auckland FC in a couple of different positions
Speaker 2: and impacts every game of football that he plays.
Speaker 4: He does.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's he came back with something to prove, didn't
Speaker 3: he because the MLS hadn't really worked. But everyone knew
Speaker 3: he's a good player. That's what makes it such a
Speaker 3: such a smart signing. And it's obvious he has adjusted
Speaker 3: so well to Croaker's system, which probably isn't easy for
Speaker 3: someone like him because he's an attacking player who wants
Speaker 3: to He's more focused on stuff in the final third,
Speaker 3: adjusted well, gets on well with the group and as
Speaker 3: you say, I mean it's quite it's quite unusual to
Speaker 3: be able to play two positions so well, isn't it
Speaker 3: the way he has?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 2: And he may have to as well revert to where
Speaker 2: he was because we had really good bench impacted from Kazuma,
Speaker 2: Mai and Felipe Guy Goss who came on ten minutes
Speaker 2: after the break. Hiroki Sarki joined them in the sixty
Speaker 2: third minute. Rogerson, Brummer, Elliott are all replaced. How will
Speaker 2: Steve Corriker manage this burge? Because much as all the
Speaker 2: players will say, we want what's best for the team,
Speaker 2: and whatever's best for the team, those players all want
Speaker 2: to play. They all want to play, and they can't
Speaker 2: all play. You can't play Cosgrove, Randall, Brook, Rogerson and Mai.
Speaker 2: Let alone start thinking about Francois and Gillian. You can't
Speaker 2: really play both Sarki and Elliott. You can't really play Verstrata,
Speaker 2: Brummer and guy Goss. How is he going to do this?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 3: I think it's one of his biggest challenges because one
Speaker 3: of the best things about auckland see last year was
Speaker 3: that Okay used He used his player as well, and
Speaker 3: he gave them more time when he could. But people
Speaker 3: accepted their roles on or off the you know, on
Speaker 3: the field, or on the bench really kicking stones. The
Speaker 3: culture was good and you don't always see that, you know,
Speaker 3: So his challenge in the second season will be can
Speaker 3: he keep everyone happy or is there going to start
Speaker 3: to be a bit of dissatisfaction because, as you say,
Speaker 3: all those players would expect and be entitled to think
Speaker 3: they're good enough to start My will be a will
Speaker 3: be an ongoing one, and that they're not going to
Speaker 3: risk anything because he's so important. So he might continue
Speaker 3: to be an impact player with his knee. But the
Speaker 3: other two, I mean, Felipe was a regular last season,
Speaker 3: wasn't he was? He was one of the first pick.
Speaker 3: Broom has been going well, but I don't know, does
Speaker 3: it Does it become a thing where you replace the
Speaker 3: midfielder after sixty five seventy minutes for the extra energy?
Speaker 4: I don't know.
Speaker 3: I personally don't like it, but maybe it's the way
Speaker 3: the game. The game's going, especially the A League because
Speaker 3: it's so fast, so transitional.
Speaker 2: What about Sarkai? He comes back, doesn't he when he's fit.
Speaker 2: Elliott's been good, very very good, good player. But if Hiroarki,
Speaker 2: Sarki can play ninety minutes or certainly if he can
Speaker 2: start a game. He starts the game, doesn't he's club captain, he.
Speaker 4: Does, he does, He can't leave him out.
Speaker 3: And Callum was really good on that last week in
Speaker 3: the media session, he said, you know, look, Hierroki's a
Speaker 3: club cap, then he's a legend.
Speaker 4: I still think I'm good enough to.
Speaker 3: Play, and i still want to play, but I'm also
Speaker 3: realistic with the situation. So I love that attitude. I mean,
Speaker 3: what Couraker can do is bring Callen on sometimes with
Speaker 3: tend to go if the game looks and also he's
Speaker 3: an option to bring on further forward as well, so
Speaker 3: there are ways to skin it. But yeah, Hiroki, he's
Speaker 3: got to be there because he brings so many other layers,
Speaker 3: doesn't he.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was just great to see him out there.
Speaker 2: And he made one run down the right hand side
Speaker 2: which almost suggested right on back my hamstrings fixed. You know.
Speaker 2: He set off down the right and you don't often
Speaker 2: really see it from haruky sark guy. He doesn't get
Speaker 2: forward as much as Devrees on the other side, but
Speaker 2: he just sort of it was almost like he was
Speaker 2: making a point. He carried on with the ball for
Speaker 2: about forty fifty meters all the way up to the
Speaker 2: attacking half, and so maybe he was saying to Steve Corrick,
Speaker 2: all right, I'm I'm ready, I'm And it would not
Speaker 2: be a surprise at all if he starts against Sydney
Speaker 2: FC on Saturday, massive game which will get to in
Speaker 2: a moment. But just even talking about the selection problems,
Speaker 2: wouldn't some other coaches love the problems that Steve Gorrick has.
Speaker 2: Wouldn't chief he love love some issues like this? So
Speaker 2: do I play? Do I play Guy Goss or Brummer?
Speaker 2: Do I play Elliott or Sarkai? Do I play my
Speaker 2: or Brook or Rogerson or Randall? It's I mean, these
Speaker 2: are wonderful problems to haven't they?
Speaker 4: Well? Is this the best bench in the league?
Speaker 2: Has to be, has to be, has to be?
Speaker 4: Yeah? I think so? Yeah.
Speaker 2: No, I mean you look at the well when you
Speaker 2: can have when you can have three imports on the bench,
Speaker 2: and often if you you know, we often talk about
Speaker 2: imports and think, okay, well that they need to be
Speaker 2: starting players, and when you can have three of them
Speaker 2: on the bench because of being kept out. You know, yes,
Speaker 2: there's been injuries and I know that, and players coming back,
Speaker 2: but when they can they can add impact off the bench.
Speaker 2: I mean imagine looking over and seeing my and Guy
Speaker 2: Goss and Sarki coming on for the last thirty minutes.
Speaker 2: You know, if you've held the Auckland FC to to
Speaker 2: a relatively close scoreline, look over and you see that
Speaker 2: is your impact. I mean that's got to be disheartening
Speaker 2: it itself, doesn't it.
Speaker 4: It's some mer till or is it?
Speaker 3: To look up and not see now they're coming on
Speaker 3: and I'm feeling tired already. Yeah, it's a great situation
Speaker 3: they've got themselves in.
Speaker 2: You've got a piece in the Herald this morning regarding
Speaker 2: Auckland f C's travels and I just want to read
Speaker 2: a bit from it which talks about the facts of
Speaker 2: the matter. The club as yet to taste defeat you
Speaker 2: right in New South Wales, Queensland or South Australia have
Speaker 2: only lost two of sixteen A League matches outside New Zealand.
Speaker 2: The first was in Perth in January. The second came
Speaker 2: against Western United and a dead rubber in May, a
Speaker 2: week after they'd wrapped up the Premier's plate, with the
Speaker 2: squad probably still in celebratory mode. Two losses in sixteen
Speaker 2: away matches. That is no one would have a record
Speaker 2: like that. Why have they been so good on the road.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's remarkable, especially you know for a
Speaker 3: trans Tasman team. I mean there's probably a few elements.
Speaker 3: They've got the recipe right, they have tweaked things over
Speaker 3: time and they now fly two days before, which is
Speaker 3: a luxury. What would that cost them an extra ten
Speaker 3: grand to stay an extra night, I'd say something like that.
Speaker 3: So that's a luxury. That's what resources can do for you.
Speaker 3: But more than that, it's definitely a mindset thing. You
Speaker 3: know that they had some tricky games away in the
Speaker 3: early part in their first season and they got through them,
Speaker 3: you know, and I think it's just just built from there.
Speaker 3: Obviously as well, they're defensively very solid. But man, it's
Speaker 3: not easy to travel and get results, really isn't. And
Speaker 3: the fact I've done it, I don't know, I just
Speaker 3: find it. I just find extraordinary. Really, it is extraordinary.
Speaker 2: And it's not an away game as a side based
Speaker 2: in New South Wales where Sydney FC go away to
Speaker 2: Central Coast, Marras is now up the road, Newcastle two
Speaker 2: hours up the road. Even if flying into State is
Speaker 2: an hour unless you're going across to Western Australia. This
Speaker 2: is major international travel every time they go. And look
Speaker 2: Wellington Phoenix, both the men's and the women's sides, as
Speaker 2: we've mentioned, have had real trouble, you know, putting together
Speaker 2: any sort of consistency on the road, but to only
Speaker 2: lose twice in sixteen games, one of which, as you say,
Speaker 2: was effectively a dead rubber after they won the Premier's plate.
Speaker 2: So one proper away loss and that was the Perth
Speaker 2: Glory who were bottom. I think at the time it
Speaker 2: was an absolute aberration. So look, it probably needs to
Speaker 2: be studied and other teams. I mean, certainly Wellington would
Speaker 2: love to have that sort of a way day form.
Speaker 2: They'd go again, don't they. So if they traveled two
Speaker 2: days before, does that mean awk see a traveling on
Speaker 2: Christmas Day to get to Sydney for the game on Saturday?
Speaker 4: They are?
Speaker 3: They are, So that's another little challenge. They'll travel in
Speaker 3: the afternoon, as I remember that, I think they've got
Speaker 3: a three pm flight something like that, so you don't
Speaker 3: got to be the airport one o'clock, so you have
Speaker 3: your family time in the morning and then boom, you're
Speaker 3: off to the airport on the plane.
Speaker 4: Not ideal, but they are a close knit group as well.
Speaker 3: They do enjoy spending time together and I guess they
Speaker 3: see these trips as well as a chance for team
Speaker 3: bonding and stuff. But it's certainly not your not your
Speaker 3: ideal Christmas day.
Speaker 2: No. But then, having said that, and you made this
Speaker 2: point last week, there aren't a lot of players in
Speaker 2: the team who have families. You know, a lot of
Speaker 2: them have partners, but they're you know Hiracki, Sarka's got kids.
Speaker 2: A couple of others may as well, but most of
Speaker 2: them I think you know a young girl on that
Speaker 2: so they haven't started their families yet. So so you know,
Speaker 2: it's not quite as bad, isn't it saying goodbye to
Speaker 2: your wife or your girlfriend. If it's just them, they
Speaker 2: can see their family. You know, that might be quite nice. Actually,
Speaker 2: you go and see your family. I'll go to Australia
Speaker 2: for a game of football. I'm not a castle aspersions
Speaker 2: on any of the partner's families, of course, with dangerous
Speaker 2: or very dangerous, very just but look, it's obviously worked
Speaker 2: for them and this is a massive game away at
Speaker 2: Sydney FC Saturday Night one v Two, first of three
Speaker 2: games between the two this season. It feels like these
Speaker 2: are the top two teams, not just on the table
Speaker 2: but in the A League. While other teams are taking
Speaker 2: points off one another and sort of scrapping and losing
Speaker 2: the odd game here and there. It feels like these
Speaker 2: are the top two. Having said that, Newcastle they have
Speaker 2: beaten Sydney FC. That was an impressive win. Have we
Speaker 2: been a bit harsh or Newcastle They've beaten Sydney FC.
Speaker 2: They've come to New Zealand and beaten both Auckland FC
Speaker 2: and the Wellington Phoenix. They're obviously a pretty good side.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I just thought maybe we look back we were because
Speaker 3: you know, they were bottom when they beat Auckland, then
Speaker 3: they were bottom when they beat the Phoenix. But maybe
Speaker 3: they're definitely not the worst team in the league, and
Speaker 3: they've got all these young players. But to beat Sydney
Speaker 3: they look like they did. That's pretty impressive because I
Speaker 3: like what I've seen from Sydney and I've got no
Speaker 3: doubt that ufuk Tale will be really up for this.
Speaker 3: He would love to beat, not just especially Steve Gyker's
Speaker 3: former clubmate but to beat Auckland. So this this will
Speaker 3: be absolute beauty.
Speaker 2: Well, and Steve Coracker still gets a bit misty eyed
Speaker 2: when he talks about Sydney FC. You know, I noticed
Speaker 2: he was asked to, you know, and I don't mind
Speaker 2: it from him. I have to say, I've come to
Speaker 2: really enjoy Steve Coricker's media, you know, conferences. I just
Speaker 2: think he's he's so honest, like because it would be
Speaker 2: easy to say, no, Sydney, that's my past team. I've
Speaker 2: got no you know, I don't. I don't think about
Speaker 2: them anymore. He still gets He still gets a bit
Speaker 2: nostalgic and fair enough to he was ever ages. But
Speaker 2: I like that about him. I just like it, like
Speaker 2: that he sits there after a game and just tells
Speaker 2: the truth, you know, and it seems so obvious, but
Speaker 2: he you know, I'm really liking just the authenticity that
Speaker 2: he brings. He'll you know, it's like art, isn't it
Speaker 2: as well? So it's not it's be nice and you know,
Speaker 2: sort of condensed in there, but of a hostile atmosphere.
Speaker 2: Could be a cracking game, Birch.
Speaker 4: It could be beauty.
Speaker 3: I really think it could be one of the best
Speaker 3: games of the season so far, and I love your
Speaker 3: point about Croaker. Could also think the first game against Sydney,
Speaker 3: which was what round two last year, wasn't that Yeah,
Speaker 3: that was a big moment. But since then, actually I
Speaker 3: remember him saying last season every game has still felt
Speaker 3: a bit weird because he was he was part of
Speaker 3: the furniture.
Speaker 4: He's a Sydney icon.
Speaker 3: I mean, what was he at the club for sort
Speaker 3: of almost twenty years, So it's still going to be strange.
Speaker 4: But he is. He does manage to.
Speaker 3: Say what he thinks in press conferences. He's not maybe
Speaker 3: as careful as other coaches, and authentic is a good word.
Speaker 2: And also there's no doubt once the game starts, which
Speaker 2: you know which side he's on. He might be in
Speaker 2: his old stamping ground, his spiritual home, but there's no
Speaker 2: doubt at all that he is an Auckland FC coach
Speaker 2: through and through when the game starts. So you're looking
Speaker 2: forward to that one Saturday night, seven o'clock at Leichhardt
Speaker 2: as Auckland FC go back on the road to take
Speaker 2: on Sydney FC.
Speaker 1: Good balls either with Jason paid and.
Speaker 2: So let's go to Sunday afternoon in the Sunshine again
Speaker 2: at Sky Stadium in Wellington. Wellington Phoenix three the Central
Speaker 2: Coast Mariners. One great weekend for the Phoenix seven nil
Speaker 2: on Saturday, three to one on Sunday, much needed win
Speaker 2: for the Phoenix men. They were last going into the
Speaker 2: game because Melbourne Victory had won the night before, but
Speaker 2: they jumped from last to seventh and just one point
Speaker 2: behind the team that currently sits in fourth place.
Speaker 4: So it's so tight.
Speaker 2: But just how big a win in the overall scheme
Speaker 2: of things, the landscape of the points table going into
Speaker 2: the game, and just for the confidence of the team
Speaker 2: and its fans was this.
Speaker 4: It was massive. It was massive.
Speaker 3: We talked about it at length last week about the situation,
Speaker 3: and they couldn't afford anything less, especially against the Mariners
Speaker 3: who have been struggling so much themselves, especially when they've
Speaker 3: got the schedule they've got coming up away from home.
Speaker 3: But mainly just to show that they still believed in themselves,
Speaker 3: still believe than the coach, and to offer everyone else,
Speaker 3: everyone else some belief because it had been dwindling. So really,
Speaker 3: really really big result. It's only one game, but it
Speaker 3: feels a bit more important than that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree, as far as as a boost at
Speaker 2: the right time is concerned, and it came with a
Speaker 2: bit of adversity as well. Josh olaway Amy, who's been excellent,
Speaker 2: you know, one of the best goalkeepers in the league
Speaker 2: in the first couple of months of the season, injured
Speaker 2: in just the eleventh minute making a save. Actually he
Speaker 2: came off with what looked to be an ankle injury.
Speaker 2: He was in a moon boot, so I haven't heard
Speaker 2: any update yet as to how long he might be
Speaker 2: out for. Almost certainly going to miss the next game.
Speaker 2: But whether it's just a bad twist or a bad spray,
Speaker 2: or whether there's something worse than that, I guess we'll
Speaker 2: find out. But what it did do was open the
Speaker 2: door for an A League men's debut for eighteen year
Speaker 2: old goalkeeper Amon McCarran. He had played against Rexham mid
Speaker 2: year and in the Australia Cup, but a big, big
Speaker 2: occasion for I think reserve goalkeepers always know they might play,
Speaker 2: but most of the time they don't. What would it
Speaker 2: be ninety five percent of the time, probably even more
Speaker 2: than that. You sit on the bench. You know, you
Speaker 2: warm the keeper up before the game. You sit on
Speaker 2: the bench, but you never get the call eleven minutes
Speaker 2: in this eighteen year old kids out there are a
Speaker 2: pretty crucial game.
Speaker 3: It it must be. It must be so hard because
Speaker 3: as you say, you're sitting on the bench, you think
Speaker 3: of other things. You know you're not you're not going
Speaker 3: to play. You're a bit relaxed, and suddenly boom, it's
Speaker 3: on and you're out there. And for a young guy
Speaker 3: rather than the you know, for a guy, it feels
Speaker 3: like he's gone from number three to number two, which
Speaker 3: is kind of unusual, isn't it. Its number three keeper
Speaker 3: stays as number three keeper.
Speaker 2: I think it's a really interesting point because if I
Speaker 2: remember last year, about midway through the season, Janklotaliano decided
Speaker 2: to make a change in goal, wasn't happy with what
Speaker 2: Josh Olowaymey was giving him, and I made the decision
Speaker 2: to bring lbie Kelly Healed INSS number one, so basically
Speaker 2: swapped as one and two a round and LB Kelly
Speaker 2: Heild played, i think from memories, seven or eight games
Speaker 2: before injuring his shoulder in training and then being ruled
Speaker 2: out for their is to the season oll Away and
Speaker 2: he came back in and that was that. But if
Speaker 2: lb Kelly healed was number one last season. He's back
Speaker 2: from that injuries, played half a dozen National League games.
Speaker 2: He sat on the bench I think a couple of
Speaker 2: weeks ago, but obviously didn't get on. Has he gone
Speaker 2: from number one to number three? What's happened there? Yeah?
Speaker 4: I mean I don't know.
Speaker 3: I mean goalkeeping a mystery to me anyway, and it
Speaker 3: seems that the only people who understand are the goalkeeping coaches.
Speaker 3: You know, they have their own little club and they
Speaker 3: trained together and they talk about it. But it's unusual.
Speaker 3: I can't remember that happening at too many clubs. I
Speaker 3: thought Albie did quite well last season, although I always
Speaker 3: felt Josh should be the number one, given as whose
Speaker 3: background and his pedigree.
Speaker 4: So yeah, it's unusual.
Speaker 2: I think the reason for the change, or one of
Speaker 2: the reasons for the change, was that Chief you liked
Speaker 2: Albi Kelly Held's ability to play with the ball at
Speaker 2: his feet, and that's always been a little bit of
Speaker 2: a question mark over Josh. He's a terrific shot stopper
Speaker 2: and has actually improved with his feet, but still gives
Speaker 2: you the odd nervous moment. But I think he's the
Speaker 2: better shot stopping goalkeeper, and I agree he should be
Speaker 2: number one and his performances a season. Even if Albert
Speaker 2: Kelly held was available, I think Josh would have had
Speaker 2: the gloves. But it just seems odd to me. But
Speaker 2: we don't know what happens, you know, in training and stuff, chief,
Speaker 2: he said after the game yesterday. It's a contestable position
Speaker 2: that number two spot. Amon mccawran is currently ahead of
Speaker 2: Albi Kelly healed and almost certainly will start against Victory.
Speaker 2: I have to say, though, Burge, if I'm the Central
Speaker 2: Coast Mariners, I'm peppering Amon mccawran's goal. They hardly tested
Speaker 2: him yesterday. I know for a fact Melbournevie will be
Speaker 2: absolutely peppering Amon mccarran's goal on the weekend.
Speaker 3: It was a bit strange, wasn't it to be to
Speaker 3: not see a few more shots and just not flinging
Speaker 3: in some more crosses, just to hey, there's a kid
Speaker 3: and goal. He's just come on, let's see what he's
Speaker 3: made of. That's the standard thing in any level of football,
Speaker 3: isn't it. Let's test the new keeper, Let's give him
Speaker 3: a bit of grief, Let's do a bit of sledging,
Speaker 3: all that kind of stuff, and it didn't really happen,
Speaker 3: which was a surprise.
Speaker 2: And when it did, they scored. They had the shot
Speaker 2: from outside the area. He's gone across to his left,
Speaker 2: I'm sure, and any goalkeeping review and I'm not a keeper,
Speaker 2: neither of you, and like you, it's a bit of
Speaker 2: a mystery to me sometimes, but he should do better
Speaker 2: with that, shouldn't he. I know's I don't want to
Speaker 2: be too hard on an eighteen year old on debut
Speaker 2: who's come off the bench unexpectedly, but as he goes across,
Speaker 2: it seems to me as though you either hold that
Speaker 2: or you push it wide. The fact that he's sort
Speaker 2: of patted it back into a position where Sabaitnor was
Speaker 2: able to come in and tuck it away, that's a
Speaker 2: goalkeeping error for me. And look again, it's his debut,
Speaker 2: and beyond that, I think he was pretty solid. But
Speaker 2: it's still I think has to come under under scrutiny,
Speaker 2: and it makes it so strange to me why the
Speaker 2: Mariners didn't didn't do that more, just fire shot him
Speaker 2: from anywhere. Maybe you know, I'd have to have a look,
Speaker 2: but maybe McCarran was protected a lot better by his
Speaker 2: defense than I initially thought. But look, good luck to
Speaker 2: the kid. You know, he'll have a he'll have an
Speaker 2: absolute baptism of fire from it in a starting debut
Speaker 2: at Amy Parking against Melbourn Victory on the weekend. And look,
Speaker 2: I guess we'll find out a lot more about him
Speaker 2: then we will.
Speaker 3: And the Phoenix have got a pretty good record of
Speaker 3: bringing through young keepers, you know, they have done it
Speaker 3: plenty of times in the past, so I'm looking forward
Speaker 3: to seeing more of him. And but you are right,
Speaker 3: he just needed to push that ball a bit further away.
Speaker 3: It was a nice, very clever finish from a very
Speaker 3: tight angle, but just need to push a bit away
Speaker 3: because it could have been really costly to concede in
Speaker 3: the fiftieth minute, basically after having the lead. In the
Speaker 3: end it wasn't but could have been.
Speaker 2: It could have been. They got the lead in the
Speaker 2: thirty sixth Corbyn Piper. This was a terrific piece of
Speaker 2: football from Kazuki Nagasawa, who I think just quietly is
Speaker 2: just growing into quite an important part of this team.
Speaker 2: He stole the ball in midfield, drove forward, played a
Speaker 2: really clever pass into Piper who did what of control
Speaker 2: and then knock it passed Andrew Redmain for one nil.
Speaker 2: Nill makes it, makes it one all at half time.
Speaker 2: As I understand it, Birch Jihan Carlo Ataliano absolutely blew
Speaker 2: up at halftime, peeled the paint off the walls inside
Speaker 2: that changing room for letting the Mariners back into the
Speaker 2: game in the fashion that they did. He wasn't having
Speaker 2: a go at Amon McCarran, as I understand that, he
Speaker 2: was more annoyed about Hughes playing the pass to is
Speaker 2: a is not holding on to it. The marin is
Speaker 2: getting the ball Rufer being stood up on the edge
Speaker 2: of the area to allow the pitch you go to
Speaker 2: get the shot away. And then Kelly held and James
Speaker 2: not reacting quick enough when the ball was spilled by McCarran.
Speaker 2: By the sounds of it, he absolutely went to town
Speaker 2: on them at halftime.
Speaker 4: That's good, though, isn't it. It's good.
Speaker 3: I think you've got to do that sometimes. The fans
Speaker 3: love hearing about that. The players sometimes need that, they
Speaker 3: need the wake up call because it's quite old fashioned.
Speaker 3: You know, it's the Alex Ferguson thing. But it's still relevant,
Speaker 3: you know, it's still still needed. And as you pinpointed
Speaker 3: that sequence, there were five or six moments there weren't.
Speaker 3: There are five or six little lapses that ended up
Speaker 3: with the goal.
Speaker 2: Well, it clearly worked because it was almost the direct
Speaker 2: opposite to last week where Wellington came out, you know,
Speaker 2: after the break and consider what three and seven minutes
Speaker 2: or whatever it was. They didn't score three, but they
Speaker 2: scored two pretty quickly. The penalty which was I'm not
Speaker 2: quite sure how the referee hasn't seen that in real time.
Speaker 2: That's one of the clearest handballs I think I've ever seen.
Speaker 2: Maybe he was unsided, I don't know, but they got
Speaker 2: the decision right at the ends. Interesting that man Draca
Speaker 2: James took that penalty. Normally in football teams, if a
Speaker 2: guy has scored a penalty, the next time a penalty
Speaker 2: is awarded for his team, he takes it. He's on pens.
Speaker 2: He scored the last one Ramy Nazerene scored against Adelaide
Speaker 2: back in round six, but Man Draca James said afterwards
Speaker 2: that because James was on the pitch during that time,
Speaker 2: that James is the penalty taker. But at one Nill
Speaker 2: ahead of Adelaide.
Speaker 4: He wanted to give.
Speaker 2: Ramy Nazerene a bit of a confidence boost, a first
Speaker 2: goal for the club. He's a striker, Nazerene, so he
Speaker 2: gave that spot. Keck up yesterday with the score at
Speaker 2: one all, he thought this was a little bit more important.
Speaker 2: I'm going to take responsibility, interesting little dynamic that I thought.
Speaker 3: Really interesting and really really unselfish, and consider it from James.
Speaker 3: But he'll be the penalty taker. I mean, I really
Speaker 3: like the look of that penalty. That's that's a penalty.
Speaker 3: That's a no start, a step, none of that crap.
Speaker 3: Just pick your spot, hit it well, hit it hard,
Speaker 3: hit it in the corner. I mean, that's how you
Speaker 3: take a penalty.
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, no doubt about it. And shortly after that,
Speaker 2: back on the other end and Corbyn Piper plays one
Speaker 2: across the box and Carlo Armiento excellent again, scored and
Speaker 2: made it three to one. From there, the Phoenix managed
Speaker 2: the game pretty well. I mean, the Mariners are pretty limited.
Speaker 2: I have to say. They didn't really, as I said before,
Speaker 2: present a huge threat to the goal of Amon McCarran.
Speaker 2: And look, I think the you know, the result was
Speaker 2: the right one. I think the Phoenix managed it out
Speaker 2: pretty well. You wrote a piece ahead of this game,
Speaker 2: and I'm going to read from this as well, talking
Speaker 2: about a crucial six game stretch for Giancloataliano.
Speaker 4: And you're right.
Speaker 2: After Sunday so match against Central Coast which looms as
Speaker 2: I must win. Well, they've ticked that box.
Speaker 4: You're right.
Speaker 2: They have one of the toughest stretches of their season,
Speaker 2: with the way matches against the Melbourne Victory, Brisbane Raw,
Speaker 2: Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets, along with another visit from
Speaker 2: Adelaide United is chief. He still under pressure. This win
Speaker 2: alleviates the pressure, of course it does, but with a
Speaker 2: stretch like that coming up, he's still got to keep
Speaker 2: on collecting points, doesn't he or his team does.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean he's got to show that they've got
Speaker 3: they've got more more to give and their progressing, because
Speaker 3: that was the issue. It's not just about the points,
Speaker 3: it's about where they were going, and no one could
Speaker 3: really see where they were going. It just looked like
Speaker 3: they were going. They were going downwards. There'll be underdogs
Speaker 3: for all four of those away games, I would think,
Speaker 3: and even Adelaide it was a really good win against
Speaker 3: Adelaide a few weeks ago, but Adelaide was strangely off
Speaker 3: color when they came to Wellington or what happened there, So.
Speaker 4: They'll be better as well.
Speaker 3: So that that's a really tough fixture list, but I
Speaker 3: guess it's because they had a comparatively more straightforward run
Speaker 3: of games up till they haven't. There a lot of
Speaker 3: home games and a lot of games against teams in
Speaker 3: the bottom half of the table.
Speaker 2: And they'll take a lift from yesterday, won't they. It
Speaker 2: was obvious, wasn't it. I Mean, it's just it's absolutely
Speaker 2: stating the obvious. But a win does massive things, not
Speaker 2: just to a team, but to the crowd, those on
Speaker 2: the bench, everybody associated with a football club. And I
Speaker 2: think scoring first does that too, doesn't it. You know,
Speaker 2: just getting a lead and then getting a win and everything.
Speaker 2: You know, you wake up here in Wellington this morning
Speaker 2: and the sun's just a little bit brighter. I don't know,
Speaker 2: it's just the tonic for everything is just winning football
Speaker 2: matches really well.
Speaker 3: You mentioned in training, you know this week they've all
Speaker 3: got to spring in their step and the laughing and
Speaker 3: the joking and the banter and that happens in any
Speaker 3: week because that's what sports people do. They move on,
Speaker 3: they're professional. But there's no doubt that when you win,
Speaker 3: it does change everything, changes everything for everyone involved with
Speaker 3: the club, everyone who follows the club. And that's why
Speaker 3: the run of games this season and the way they've
Speaker 3: just conceded early goals, crazy goals often conceded first in
Speaker 3: a game, has made it so hard for themselves. Now
Speaker 3: they've got a little they've got little, a little something
Speaker 3: to build on.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I've got to keep it going. They do.
Speaker 2: Marin's had the ball in the net early yesterday, didn't
Speaker 2: They talked off a handball in the area. But yeah,
Speaker 2: you're right. It just makes make such a difference. And
Speaker 2: yet they'll be they'll be, They'll be swaggering into work,
Speaker 2: not getting ahead of themselves. The same with the women's site.
Speaker 2: Imagine walking into training the day after a seven nil win.
Speaker 2: You'd be high fives and all sorts going on, wouldn't there.
Speaker 2: But yeah, the Phoenix, you're right. Both teams actually have
Speaker 2: to continue in the fashion that Aukland FC have done,
Speaker 2: really just consistently stacked wins on top of wins on
Speaker 2: top of wins and you know that is that is
Speaker 2: championship stuff. Ben Wayne won't be coming back to Wellington
Speaker 2: or to the A League Burge he was. It was
Speaker 2: a name on my laundry list that I that I
Speaker 2: read out a few weeks ago on the pod. As
Speaker 2: you understand, it will probably stay at Port Val. He
Speaker 2: starting to get games there.
Speaker 4: Yeah, probably will.
Speaker 3: And there was interest in him around that time you
Speaker 3: read out your your wish list.
Speaker 4: I know there was.
Speaker 3: I know there was interest and I know he was
Speaker 3: considering it. He was thinking, well, actually I'm not playing,
Speaker 3: maybe I should go back because that World Cup is looming,
Speaker 3: et cetera, et cetera. But he started to play at
Speaker 3: Port Vale. He's got a goal or two and that's
Speaker 3: where he wants to be. So it won't happen even
Speaker 3: though there was there was interest.
Speaker 2: All right. So there is still the chants for Wellington
Speaker 2: to make some moves. They've got Herdecki a Shiga of
Speaker 2: course out for the season, so they could if they
Speaker 2: wanted to bring somebody in in January and import and
Speaker 2: obviously look at other other players as well. Interesting I
Speaker 2: mentioned last week on the pot ISA Prince has moved
Speaker 2: to Auckland f C has been confirmed initially for the
Speaker 2: Oceania Pro League, but but Isopryns. I'm almost certain we'll
Speaker 2: integrate into the A League squad as well. We might
Speaker 2: even see him this season, who knows, but he's another
Speaker 2: one to look out for. The table is just so
Speaker 2: tight Perch. After nine rounds, Melbourne City and MacArthur play
Speaker 2: game tomorrow night, so that'll complete a complete set of
Speaker 2: nine matches, each one point from fourth to ninth, six
Speaker 2: teams that is within a point of each other, and
Speaker 2: nine teams separated by just four points from fourth down
Speaker 2: to last. I mean, Auckland FC and Sydney FC have
Speaker 2: cleared out a little bit, but it feels like everybody else,
Speaker 2: the other ten teams in the league. On their day,
Speaker 2: anyone can beat anyone. This feels like one of the
Speaker 2: tightest A League seasons we've ever seen. And it's in
Speaker 2: ten and to four does and go. But any of
Speaker 2: those ten could pretty much end up in the top six.
Speaker 2: With Auckland FC and Sydney FC.
Speaker 3: This is the perfect situation. This is why people enjoy
Speaker 3: the A League so much because it's generally quite you know,
Speaker 3: there's not these massive gaps or massive cohorts of teams top,
Speaker 3: middle and bottom. So long mate continue, you know it
Speaker 3: will eventually sort itself out. But the uncertainty is what
Speaker 3: we love, isn't it. The uncertainty where you don't really
Speaker 3: know what's going to happen.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's demonstrated perfectly over the weekend. Five of
Speaker 2: the six games and the A League mens this weekend,
Speaker 2: or in five of them, the team lower on the
Speaker 2: table beat the team higher on the table. The only
Speaker 2: exception was Auckland FC beating the Wanderers. So in all
Speaker 2: of the other five games, yes it's a tight table,
Speaker 2: but the team who started the game lower beat the
Speaker 2: team who started the game higher, So it just goes
Speaker 2: to show how tight it is. Sir Wellington off to
Speaker 2: Amy Park on Monday night to take on Melbourne victory.
Speaker 2: They haven't won there since twenty seventeen. That seems like
Speaker 2: an awfully long time ago to me, eight years since
Speaker 2: they've been to that patrograss and won a game. But
Speaker 2: there's no time like the present, as they say. Quick
Speaker 2: check on a couple of keys overseas. You mentioned Ben Wayne.
Speaker 2: Of course his Port Vale came up against Matt Garbet's
Speaker 2: Peterborough United, So KWV Kewe. In League One. Matt Garbet's
Speaker 2: Peterborough got the one nil win, but both of the
Speaker 2: two players started. Ryan Thomas scored on his birthday for Peckswaller,
Speaker 2: his first goal for anybody since twenty twenty one. I
Speaker 2: know he's been out with injury, but that's an incredibly
Speaker 2: long time since he last scored. And Tyler bind and
Speaker 2: I was so delighted to see this burge. He was
Speaker 2: out of the Sheffield United squad for ages. He didn't
Speaker 2: play between the thirtieth of August and the sixth of December.
Speaker 2: That's over three months without making the Sheffield United first team.
Speaker 2: He's come back and he's starting to impress. Got a
Speaker 2: goal and man of the match in a three nil
Speaker 2: win over Birmingham in the Championship. We've known the quality
Speaker 2: of Tyler Binden for a while, but I don't want to
Speaker 2: be sitting on the bench, you know, six months out
Speaker 2: from a World Cup.
Speaker 3: And to go to a you know, he went to Okay,
Speaker 3: it's a championship club, but it's a big chair chip
Speaker 3: club with a lot of a lot of pressure. And
Speaker 3: then what did they have to start the season? A
Speaker 3: run of I think it was five defeats or by
Speaker 3: a single goal, and the pressure just and he was
Speaker 3: playing in those games, the pressure just ramped up. And
Speaker 3: then new coach and he's not playing. So great resilience
Speaker 3: from a guy who's still He's still a kid, isn't he.
Speaker 3: We forget how young he still is because he's head
Speaker 3: all this time, reading and all the things he's done
Speaker 3: already in his career.
Speaker 2: Yeah, but the FAUCT just reading a few fan comments
Speaker 2: after that game and they're very happy with Tyler Bind
Speaker 2: and now that he's back in the team, I think
Speaker 2: when he wasn't playing, a lot of people just forgot
Speaker 2: about him.
Speaker 4: Really.
Speaker 2: He might have even gone back to Forest if Sheffield
Speaker 2: United didn't want to play him and look for another
Speaker 2: loan move somewhere because you've got to be playing. But
Speaker 2: by the sounds of things, now he's back in A
Speaker 2: goal will boost his confidence. He's getting a lot of
Speaker 2: good raps from the fans. So yeah, well on to
Speaker 2: Tylerbind and it's good to see him back in the
Speaker 2: team and displaying the form we always knew that he had,
Speaker 2: all right, but I don't it's one of those times
Speaker 2: of the year. Well, that time of the year and
Speaker 2: we don't actually know what day is, which day is
Speaker 2: which I could say Saturday, I wouldn't be able to
Speaker 2: see what date that was, but I can tell you
Speaker 2: that Aukland FC on Saturday night play Sydney FC away,
Speaker 2: two nights later Wellington Phoenix are away at Melbourne Victory,
Speaker 2: and the following evening the Wellington Phoenix Women take on
Speaker 2: Western Sydney. That is the thirtieth of December. So well,
Speaker 2: it just remains for me to wish you and your
Speaker 2: family are very merry Christmas and look forward to a
Speaker 2: big twenty twenty six for football Fever and for the
Speaker 2: game of football in general.
Speaker 3: Thanks Pony, and same to you. I'm sure there'll be
Speaker 3: a lot going on in the Pine Household which will
Speaker 3: be a lot of fun.
Speaker 2: As always, absolutely, we'll catch you in twenty twenty six, folks,
Speaker 2: Little Fever
Speaker 3: M