Speaker 1: Football Fever with News Talks MB's voice of Football, Jason
Speaker 1: Pine and Bonnie Jensen. Hello that welcome into the start
Speaker 1: of a new week and to a fresh episode of
Speaker 1: Football Fever, where we discuss all things to do with
Speaker 1: New Zealand football, the Wellington Phoenix, or the Left c
Speaker 1: men's and women's international games and anything else that drops
Speaker 1: into our football consciousness. We being me Jason Pine and
Speaker 1: you Bonnie Jensen. Get a Bonnie.
Speaker 2: Yoder Piney, how are you good?
Speaker 1: Thanks? What an occasion at go Media on Saturday? Can
Speaker 1: we talk about the occasion first before we get to
Speaker 1: what happens between the White Lions twenty seven thousand and
Speaker 1: nine turning up there on Saturday a new regular season
Speaker 1: record for a club game here in New Zealand's beautiful day.
Speaker 1: Crowd absolutely loved it, and probably mainly because it was
Speaker 1: six to one on the field, but what an occasion
Speaker 1: to be a part of yet again, Yeah.
Speaker 2: It's just absolutely crazy and hearing all of that back, Piny,
Speaker 2: just goosebumps come back to me. It was incredible. I
Speaker 2: was lucky enough to not be working this time and
Speaker 2: just soak it up and enjoy it as a fan,
Speaker 2: And yeah, what a spectacle it was, you know, and
Speaker 2: obviously the match was great because there are a lot
Speaker 2: of goals.
Speaker 1: Yeah, a lot of goals to enjoy. And I think
Speaker 1: probably because of the size of the crowd a lot
Speaker 1: of people went for the first time on the weekend.
Speaker 1: You know, there've been crowds a sort of fourteen fifteen thousand,
Speaker 1: so I know they have had a couple of salouts,
Speaker 1: but I'm sure there were you know, a few thousand
Speaker 1: there on the weekend who had never been before. Imagine
Speaker 1: if that was your first game, you might you've probably
Speaker 1: you think is it like this every week? Yeah?
Speaker 2: Exactly. A few of my family members actually went for
Speaker 2: the first time and they were just saying, wow, what
Speaker 2: an occasion. You know, you don't get sporting events like
Speaker 2: this very often in New Zealand. And you know, I
Speaker 2: think with the Super Rugby Pacific that's back now, the
Speaker 2: Warriors will be starting up soon. Auckland f C really
Speaker 2: set a standard of what sporting occasions should be like
Speaker 2: in New Zealand. And that doesn't take away from the
Speaker 2: Phoenix and what they've done down at their club in Wellington,
Speaker 2: you know, over the past decade or more. But you know,
Speaker 2: they just know how to put on a show. Auckland
Speaker 2: nefcy on and off the field, and I think they
Speaker 2: should be really proud of how they hosted that third
Speaker 2: third Derby.
Speaker 1: And I think you also have to give huge kudos
Speaker 1: to Auckland's fans and in particular the port. They are
Speaker 1: the act of support. They lead the way as far
Speaker 1: as being raucous and boisterous and completely one hundred percent committed,
Speaker 1: standing for the whole game, chanting, singing, you know, hurling, abuse,
Speaker 1: all that sort of stuff, and I think everybody else
Speaker 1: takes their lead. They arrive and even if they're not
Speaker 1: sitting in the port, even if they're somewhere else, they go, oh, okay,
Speaker 1: so that's what we do here. We actually can't just
Speaker 1: sit here and watch the game. We have to involve
Speaker 1: ourselves in it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's really easy to involve yourself in it.
Speaker 2: You know, I'm speaking personally. You know, I'm from Wellington,
Speaker 2: I grew up in Wellington. I'm meant to be a
Speaker 2: neutral supporter, and I am, you know, as someone who
Speaker 2: works in this industry, but it's so easy to kind
Speaker 2: of fall in love with how these fans go about
Speaker 2: it and their chants and their culture. You know, it
Speaker 2: was awesome. I was sitting on the other side of
Speaker 2: the stand but looking down at the port and they
Speaker 2: had opened up that second tier, that second level on
Speaker 2: the south stand and just jam patch. You know, it
Speaker 2: was the place to be on Saturday afternoon down in
Speaker 2: the port.
Speaker 1: All right, we've held off talking about the football for
Speaker 1: long enough. Let's talk about the football. Utter demolition job
Speaker 1: by Auckland FC. I don't think anybody really saw this coming.
Speaker 1: I'll hold my hand up totally high and say I
Speaker 1: did not see this coming at all. In fact, I've
Speaker 1: picked a Wellington Phoenix win by a goal to nil.
Speaker 1: If I'd been asked for a second choice, I would
Speaker 1: have said, okay, a similar margin in favor of Auckland FC.
Speaker 1: I thought this was going to be a cagey encounter
Speaker 1: where one goal would separate the two sides. But well,
Speaker 1: and actually it looked like that for half an hour.
Speaker 1: It was nil all after thirty minutes, then Nat Mdino
Speaker 1: with a couple of goals in quick succession, Logan Rogerson
Speaker 1: scoring before halftime. All of a sudden, it's three nil
Speaker 1: and the game has really, to all intents and purpos
Speaker 1: has been taken away from Wellington. But then Luke brook
Speaker 1: Smith came on at halftime scored three to one, youngest
Speaker 1: ever Phoenix goal scorer. More on him in a moment.
Speaker 1: But then Nadal Madona scored his third, Auckland's fourth, Logan
Speaker 1: Rogerson another goal. Jesse randall right at the end six
Speaker 1: to one? Did anybody right next to you? I think
Speaker 1: you said to me, didn't you? On the podcast last
Speaker 1: week you thought it might be like a what were
Speaker 1: we talking about Arsenal and Tottenham, the two women's teams,
Speaker 1: and it was a five nil and you said you
Speaker 1: predicted something similar, so you had.
Speaker 2: It bang on Piney. You asked who predicted a game
Speaker 2: like this? And I ain't it. I did have it
Speaker 2: bang on. We asked Michael Burgess as well, who's a
Speaker 2: senior football writer for the New Zealand Herald. He also
Speaker 2: predicted a KG affair like yourself. But I had it right.
Speaker 2: I picked a high score game in favor of Auckland FS,
Speaker 2: and I'm pretty proud of that. I think I think
Speaker 2: they're just too good, you know, the Phoenix. I find
Speaker 2: it so hard to criticize them at the moment because
Speaker 2: there's so much stuff they could be doing, but they're
Speaker 2: just so young, so in experience, and then their experienced players,
Speaker 2: you know, returning from from long term injuries. I didn't
Speaker 2: expect it to necessarily be six to one, but yeah,
Speaker 2: I wasn't surprised when Auckland made the statement they did.
Speaker 1: The only I think the only reason was a couple
Speaker 1: of reasons. I was reticent about it about, you know,
Speaker 1: agreeing with you. Look, if it had been a normal
Speaker 1: one v ten then yeah, that's different. But Darby's, as
Speaker 1: we've said often, you know, are one off occasions. The
Speaker 1: other part was that Auckland FC haven't really torn anybody
Speaker 1: apart this season. They've won a lot of games, but
Speaker 1: they haven't won a lot of games by a lot
Speaker 1: of goals. Now they have. They absolutely took Wellington to
Speaker 1: the Cleaners twenty four shots to the Phoenixes eleven. Now, Bonnie,
Speaker 1: only eight of Auckland FC shots were on tart had
Speaker 1: six of them went in.
Speaker 2: This is an example of how they've learned their lessons.
Speaker 2: You know, at the start of the season, not even
Speaker 2: that long ago, Piney, we were talking about how we're
Speaker 2: a little bit concerned by the lack of goals they're scoring.
Speaker 2: It's also quite ironic how many times we mentioned on
Speaker 2: this podcast how we're not too sure about natea Madena.
Speaker 2: I think both of us can take that back. I
Speaker 2: feel really bad about that, but I think the thing
Speaker 2: is is, you know, as you say, Piney, anything can
Speaker 2: happen in a derby match, and it form does go
Speaker 2: out the window. But it showed that one side showed
Speaker 2: up for the match and the other didn't. And regardless
Speaker 2: of how the Phoenix season has gone so far, I
Speaker 2: don't think they showed up at all.
Speaker 1: I think they had a couple of small periods, and
Speaker 1: they were small periods across the ninety minutes. I think
Speaker 1: the first five to ten minutes they were probably as
Speaker 1: proactive and as you know, on the front foot as
Speaker 1: they have been at the start of a game all season,
Speaker 1: because they've been very passive from the start in many games.
Speaker 1: You know, they there was a very early chance from
Speaker 1: a free kick that Paulson tipped over from a Shiga.
Speaker 1: The second period was the period straight after halftime, and
Speaker 1: they'd injected Alex Ruffer, that injected Luke brook Smith and
Speaker 1: also Nathan Walker, so clearly actually something they're three kneeled down,
Speaker 1: and I think when Luke brook Smith scored and it
Speaker 1: was three to one, there was just a period there
Speaker 1: where Auckland looked a bit shaky. But apart from that,
Speaker 1: you know, Auckland completely dominated the game. You're right about Moreno,
Speaker 1: I mean, the the guy has just become this cult hero.
Speaker 1: Do you know, though, that Logan Rogerson is claiming Moreno's
Speaker 1: second goal, he thinks Logan Rogerson thinks he's got a
Speaker 1: hat trick. I think the official word is still that
Speaker 1: Nada Moreno has, but Modano's second one that he fires
Speaker 1: through a crowd of bodies, it does actually hit Rogerson
Speaker 1: on his hip and goes in. He's claiming it. Rogerson
Speaker 1: reckons he's got the hat trick.
Speaker 2: In the match ball oh classic. I actually missed that.
Speaker 2: I just Nada's first and second goal were almost like
Speaker 2: a carbon copy of each other, that kind of side
Speaker 2: foot strike that he put into the back of the net.
Speaker 2: But that that is interesting, And you know, I kind
Speaker 2: of thought as well. I felt a bit bad for
Speaker 2: someone like Liam Gillian who had done so well and
Speaker 2: impressed for so long. But you can't pull Logan Rogerson off.
Speaker 2: You can't pull Nadar off when they're scoring machines right now,
Speaker 2: saying with Max Mutter and Gmo My.
Speaker 1: It's funny with my, isn't it. If you said at
Speaker 1: the start of the game, maka Auckland will get six today,
Speaker 1: you were thought, ok, well, how many is my gonna get?
Speaker 1: Didn't get any, Marta didn't get any. What about Logan
Speaker 1: Rogerson's second goal though, what a goal that is.
Speaker 2: Remind me Piney there were so many got it? Wow?
Speaker 1: The long shot from outside the area?
Speaker 2: Ah, yes, that's right, Yeah, yeah, unreal. He was good.
Speaker 2: Logan Rogerson has really impressed me. I remembered thinking back
Speaker 2: at the start of the season how he probably wasn't
Speaker 2: going to keep that starting spot. But he's Yeah, he's hustled,
Speaker 2: hustled away for that and he's really really, really good defensively,
Speaker 2: I think as well tracks back with his player. But yeah,
Speaker 2: to fire shots away, like you say, like that one
Speaker 2: is what you need from Ford.
Speaker 1: I think you say. I think what you say is
Speaker 1: absolutely right in terms. That's the most competitive part of
Speaker 1: the squad I think is those attacking players who support
Speaker 1: Gizmo Mai. I think my players every week, he's the
Speaker 1: one who's going to play every week, and he deserves
Speaker 1: to as well, because he has been tremendous, But it's
Speaker 1: those positions in and around him where there is real competition.
Speaker 1: And you mentioned Liam Gilly and he played almost, you know,
Speaker 1: every single game to start the season. But I actually
Speaker 1: can't remember the last time that we saw Liam Gillian
Speaker 1: out there. I'm just is she going to check my statusy?
Speaker 1: He hasn't played the last five games.
Speaker 2: No. Yeah, I think as a real shame for him,
Speaker 2: and I would like to see him get another run
Speaker 2: because he was obviously he was obviously a great player,
Speaker 2: just hadn't found the back of the neck yet and
Speaker 2: he's kind of been punished for that, but I think
Speaker 2: equally that was the way the whole team was playing
Speaker 2: back at the start of the season when Liam couldn't
Speaker 2: find the back of the net. So I would love
Speaker 2: to see him get a run now when they're starting
Speaker 2: to gell a little bit more and see if maybe,
Speaker 2: you know, it opens something up for him. Obviously, we
Speaker 2: saw Jesse Randall as well get his first goal on
Speaker 2: the weekend. He's another one, you know, another young player
Speaker 2: that's that's impressing and equally contending for one of those
Speaker 2: forward spots.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know Marley Francois is there as well
Speaker 1: at the moment. So yeah, it is crowded. Not everybody
Speaker 1: can play. But if you ask Steve Coriker, he'll be like, well,
Speaker 1: that's exactly what I want. I want, you know, competition
Speaker 1: for places. There's so much so that he didn't even
Speaker 1: have to start. Louis Vastrata, one of the you know,
Speaker 1: one of, if not the standout player for Auckland FC
Speaker 1: this season, suspended for the game against Western United last
Speaker 1: weekends through yellow cart accumulation. I just assumed that he
Speaker 1: would come back into the side, that he's the type
Speaker 1: of player who actually it doesn't matter. They say you
Speaker 1: shouldn't change winning team, but it's Louis via Strata, so
Speaker 1: he plays. Clearly that's not the case.
Speaker 2: Well, your piney. We asked Steve Coker that the day
Speaker 2: before in the pre match press conference. I remember asking,
Speaker 2: you know, you are playing the tenth the tenth side
Speaker 2: in the A League. Is this an opportunity to kind
Speaker 2: of take your foot off the gas and maybe play,
Speaker 2: you know, rotate the team a little bit, And he said, no, no,
Speaker 2: we want to play our strongest team. We asked about
Speaker 2: Louis va Strata and he was ready and fit, so
Speaker 2: it was interesting that he didn't start him. And I
Speaker 2: actually thought he was on the field for the first
Speaker 2: thirty minutes or so until I realized. But I mean, yeah,
Speaker 2: it's proving the incredible depth that they've got.
Speaker 1: We had Steve Coracker on the radio yesterday the day
Speaker 1: after the game, and I said to him, look, if
Speaker 1: you're not changing a winning team after winning two nil,
Speaker 1: then surely you can't change your winning team that's won
Speaker 1: six to one. You can't bring the Strata back in
Speaker 1: if you use the same rationale. But he said something
Speaker 1: like a week's a long time in football or something
Speaker 1: like that. So look, I think louisvis Strata's two good
Speaker 1: a player to leave out he you're starting eleven for
Speaker 1: too long. Even when he came on, I mean, he's
Speaker 1: basically dispossessed. I think it was Tim Pain for Logan
Speaker 1: Rogerson's second goal. He just does what he does, mops up,
Speaker 1: gets the ball, gives it to one of his mates
Speaker 1: and sets them off in forward motion. So I mean,
Speaker 1: I'm not picking the team, but if I was, I
Speaker 1: think i'd demonstrate her in there. But Steve Corickan might
Speaker 1: have might have other ideas. So Adelaide lost to Western
Speaker 1: United yesterday, So Auckland FC and now eight points clear
Speaker 1: with nine games to go. If they beat Adelaide on Saturday,
Speaker 1: and given the way they're playing and how mediocre, if
Speaker 1: we're honest Adelaide were yesterday and losing to Western United,
Speaker 1: they will be eleven points clear. Surely they can't be
Speaker 1: caught with only eight games to go.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's actually crazy. I think they're winning it a poney.
Speaker 2: I actually think they're going all the way, which is
Speaker 2: a very very real possibility. And Auckland fans, New Zealand
Speaker 2: Football fans probably sadly sorry, Wellington Phoenix fans, everyone's going
Speaker 2: to prepare for this because it's coming.
Speaker 1: I think they'll win the regular season. That seems now
Speaker 1: to be mathematically the most likely outcome, especially if they
Speaker 1: beat Adelaide on the weekend. If Adelaide were to win,
Speaker 1: they close the gap up to five points. That's a
Speaker 1: different conversation, but you know, hypothetically speaking, if they were
Speaker 1: to be eleven points clear of they games to go,
Speaker 1: they're probably going to finish top. Then we reached the
Speaker 1: final series and by finishing top or in the top two,
Speaker 1: they avoid the first round of finals, the three four,
Speaker 1: five six knockout games, home and away semi final, and
Speaker 1: then a home final. I think if they were to
Speaker 1: host the final, they would be extremely difficult to beat
Speaker 1: at home.
Speaker 2: I forgot there as well that they do play a
Speaker 2: home and away semi and that really plays the advantage
Speaker 2: of Auckland FC. Not that it probably would have mattered
Speaker 2: anyway because they are going to finish top likely and
Speaker 2: host that regardless. But that's the thing. They're so so
Speaker 2: hard beat at home. I mean only Western United were
Speaker 2: the ones to do it, and quite significantly, but they
Speaker 2: learned from that and I think they've just shown they
Speaker 2: can win in big moments, which will come be extremely
Speaker 2: handy when it comes to playoff football.
Speaker 1: Nanto Pineker interesting incident involving him very early in the game,
Speaker 1: only only the second minute, when he's come across and
Speaker 1: he has absolutely poleaxed Corbyn Piper on the edge of
Speaker 1: the Auckland FC penalty area. Free kick correctly given, yellow
Speaker 1: card given out. I've seen a couple of angles of
Speaker 1: this in the time since. I actually think Nando Pineck
Speaker 1: is very very lucky, not to get a red card
Speaker 1: for that challenge.
Speaker 2: Was it a foul on Corbyn Piper one hundred percent? Yeah,
Speaker 2: but it went the other way.
Speaker 1: No, no, no, when he in Phoenix is why they
Speaker 1: got the free kick? Yeah yeah no so so Pinaker
Speaker 1: has has just collected him, cut him in half. So
Speaker 1: free kick to Wellington and only a yellow card. John
Speaker 1: Collotaliana on the sideline is going spare and like I say,
Speaker 1: I saw some angles yesterday which I didn't see during
Speaker 1: the broadcast, and he has absolutely collected him right up
Speaker 1: by his waist with his foot raised. He's actually quite
Speaker 1: lucky not to get a red card.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna have to go back and watch that party.
Speaker 2: I remember the incident happening, but I don't remember it
Speaker 2: being a big deal. I remember we were arguing in
Speaker 2: the box because a lot of us thought, you know,
Speaker 2: Logan Rogerson's first goal was offside.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, that's that is another talking point. And it
Speaker 1: looked offside from the from the angles we saw on TV. Again,
Speaker 1: var sees things that we don't see, and they drew
Speaker 1: the lines on the pitch and it looked to me
Speaker 1: as though Lucas Kelly Heeled's heel was keeping him on
Speaker 1: side or something like that. But yeah, it's a different story,
Speaker 1: isn't it. If we're letting go on at two nil
Speaker 1: down not three nil, come back and score that goal
Speaker 1: after the break and it's two one, we might be
Speaker 1: having a slightly different conversation. I still think Awklandly FC
Speaker 1: would have won the game, but yeah, there was a
Speaker 1: There are a couple of moments, the other one with
Speaker 1: Pinaket because he got the yellow card, and then in
Speaker 1: the same I think, yeah it was. It was in
Speaker 1: the first half, Costa Barbarusis has kind of got a
Speaker 1: bit of space around halfway and he's looking to set
Speaker 1: off and Pindeker looks to put an arm across him
Speaker 1: and hold him back. Now, no free kick given, so
Speaker 1: you know, no yellow car but that on another day
Speaker 1: could have been a second yellow. So I think Nando's
Speaker 1: been lucky a couple of times.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they didn't really go to var much for a
Speaker 2: memory and that at all, did they. I remember as
Speaker 2: well that Max muttergo right at the start that got
Speaker 2: ruled out for a push in the back. There were
Speaker 2: quite a few controversial moments.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was a push in the back and the
Speaker 1: referee grabbed that one didn't need var But yeah, look,
Speaker 1: you can say as much as you like about these incidents,
Speaker 1: it wouldn't have affected the result. Auckland FC were by
Speaker 1: far the better side. Let's talk a little bit about
Speaker 1: Wellington Phoenix though, because for them now this is a
Speaker 1: real test of their character. How much will this affect them?
Speaker 2: It will affect them a lot, you know. I felt
Speaker 2: like I could, I could feel the pain, especially for
Speaker 2: those senior players like Tim Payne, who you know, made
Speaker 2: a silly ara to result in in Logan Rogerson's second goal.
Speaker 2: Obviously Alex Ruffe didn't start and he would have been
Speaker 2: gutted about that, and I just feel like it's not
Speaker 2: what they needed. They probably didn't expect to win at
Speaker 2: all on the weekend, but they would have expected a
Speaker 2: much tighter match. Obviously didn't play that way. And now
Speaker 2: they see their big little brothers up in Auckland going
Speaker 2: on to lightly win the league do what they haven't
Speaker 2: been able to do, and how long, what you know,
Speaker 2: do something that they came so close to achieving last season,
Speaker 2: And yeah, it must it must really hurt, and I
Speaker 2: think they're going to have to be trying to pull
Speaker 2: something out for the next bit of the season.
Speaker 1: I think they now have to take their eyes of
Speaker 1: Auckland FC, don't they. They don't have to play them again,
Speaker 1: they have to somehow, and you're right it would be
Speaker 1: hard looking up the road and seeing what's happening at
Speaker 1: Auckland f C. But they have to try and just
Speaker 1: ignore that. They can't do anything about what Auckland f
Speaker 1: C are doing. Now all they can focus on is themselves.
Speaker 1: You know. They We've talked about this a lot. They've
Speaker 1: been a good defensive side all season. They were the
Speaker 1: third best going into the weekend and then somehow managed
Speaker 1: to ship six goals and some of the goals I
Speaker 1: mean Logan Rogerson's goal might have been a touch of
Speaker 1: our side about it. But he is completely unchallenged at
Speaker 1: the far post from you know, and I know Francis
Speaker 1: Devreese has got us one and with his do you
Speaker 1: whip him with his left or might have not even
Speaker 1: been Francis Devreese. But you know, Wellington Phoenix know that
Speaker 1: Auckland f C put crosses in. How on earth they've
Speaker 1: left wrote Logan Rogerson free at the far post is
Speaker 1: completely beyond me. The you know, the sixth goal by
Speaker 1: then you know they're just waiting for the game to
Speaker 1: end so they can get off the grass. But Auckland
Speaker 1: to see a toying with them in the penalty area,
Speaker 1: you know, my and Elliott and then Randall's in the
Speaker 1: back of the net. The mistake. I think you can
Speaker 1: forgive the mistake by Luke brook Smith because he's a
Speaker 1: sixteen year old kid who's been sent on to try
Speaker 1: and make a difference in a game when those who
Speaker 1: are far older and far more experience than him haven't
Speaker 1: been able to. He's got a goal and then no
Speaker 1: doubt adrenaline is pumping through his veins. He's just trying
Speaker 1: to get on the ball, do whatever he can. He's
Speaker 1: back defending. He's played a ill advised pass across his
Speaker 1: own penalty area. We're told from the moment we start
Speaker 1: playing football, don't play the ball across your own penalty area.
Speaker 1: And it's resulted in a goal. But I don't think
Speaker 1: you can say you can't point the finger at Luke
Speaker 1: brook Smith. He was to me the one positive in
Speaker 1: the Phoenix performance.
Speaker 2: I thought, yeah, I thought he was great coming off
Speaker 2: the bench and it's promise for the Wellington Phoenix. But
Speaker 2: speaking of the other goals that they just conceded, you
Speaker 2: know that back post Logan Rogerson one. It just shows
Speaker 2: their inexperience. Equally, though, I feel like you do have
Speaker 2: to put a little bit of blame or question onto
Speaker 2: Chief spoke about how they were really prepared for the
Speaker 2: set pieces in the corners from Auckland deft C and
Speaker 2: that's what they worked hard on in training, and clearly
Speaker 2: maybe they focused too much on that, I'm not sure,
Speaker 2: but just silly eras once again where the Phoenix could
Speaker 2: help themselves a bit better and keep themselves in matches.
Speaker 1: I quite like Chico Geraldes as well, from what I
Speaker 1: saw from him playing the full ninety minutes the new
Speaker 1: Portuguese player. I think he showed a few touches of
Speaker 1: class and enough to suggest that he'll add a bit
Speaker 1: of spark. Good to see rufer On. I would have
Speaker 1: started Alec rufer He told us during the week that
Speaker 1: he had sixty minutes in him, So why they didn't
Speaker 1: start him, I don't know. You start him and get
Speaker 1: your sixty minutes out of him, and then you hope
Speaker 1: that derby adrenaline kicks and he gets seventy seventy five minutes.
Speaker 1: They didn't bring him on until halftime, and by that
Speaker 1: stage they are three nled down. Good to see Marco
Speaker 1: Rohas back out there as well. So look, if they
Speaker 1: can somehow get Rufer, Giraldez, Barbarusis Rojas all fit, throw
Speaker 1: a little bit of Luke brook Smith and Nathan Walker
Speaker 1: into there, I would love to see them, you know,
Speaker 1: rise from this, but they have to really change the
Speaker 1: way they play, because, as I've said, they've been so passive,
Speaker 1: they've been so defensive. It would take a change in
Speaker 1: philosophy from Chiefee to bring in all of those players
Speaker 1: together and to get on the front foot in matches,
Speaker 1: and I just don't know whether he will do it.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Well, I think that was the thing over the
Speaker 2: weekend is that the Phoenix actually did have some promising
Speaker 2: attacking moments, which I've really lacked recently. So yeah, obviously
Speaker 2: you've got to put that down to Costa and Cheeko
Speaker 2: this guy. I'd like to see them play, probably a
Speaker 2: team more at their level and see how they go.
Speaker 2: Having Rufer back, having row hassback, as you say, Pineers
Speaker 2: surely will insill a bit of confidence in them.
Speaker 1: Well, let's hope. So so they're nine points now outside
Speaker 1: the top six with nine games to go. Gian Calotaliana
Speaker 1: said after the game believes they can make the top six,
Speaker 1: and mathematically he's right, but it would be a huge
Speaker 1: turnaround in form and fortunes if they were to somehow
Speaker 1: climb out of this, because it has been really, really
Speaker 1: challenging for them in recent times. They've only won one
Speaker 1: of their last eight matches, They've only scored five goals
Speaker 1: in those eight games. They've just suffered one of the
Speaker 1: worst defeats in club history against their fiercest rivals. They've
Speaker 1: got Melbourne City coming on Friday night. Then they've got
Speaker 1: to travel to Western United and to Sydney FC, so
Speaker 1: by the time we even get to April, it might
Speaker 1: be beyond reach. But I will say this a huge,
Speaker 1: huge kudos to the members of Yellow Fever who traveled
Speaker 1: to the game. They were there in big numbers again
Speaker 1: and most of them stayed right till the end. And
Speaker 1: I tweeted this out last night. It's not the time
Speaker 1: to abandon your team. There's a lot of anger, a
Speaker 1: lot of irritation, a lot of frustration, a lot of
Speaker 1: chat about the Phoenix, about the club, about the coach
Speaker 1: about the philosophy all that stuff. But fandom is a
Speaker 1: roller coaster. I mean, if anybody knows that it's Phoenix fans,
Speaker 1: you can't jump off just when things get tough. You
Speaker 1: have to stay on.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're absolutely right, Pinney. I felt goosebumps when you
Speaker 2: were saying that. I think even if the Phoenix falls
Speaker 2: short on this playoff run, they need to just pick
Speaker 2: themselves up and get a few wins or draws under
Speaker 2: their belts, score a couple of goals, you know, just
Speaker 2: just keep those fans on. And I doubt the Yellow
Speaker 2: Fever fans they're the most loyal you'll ever find. They
Speaker 2: were there in full force in Auckland on Saturday and yeah,
Speaker 2: no doubt they'll stick with their team. But I just
Speaker 2: hope that the boys on the park can give them
Speaker 2: something in return.
Speaker 1: Yep, I hope so so well said very well said.
Speaker 1: So the Phoenix up against Melbourne, short turn around for
Speaker 1: them Friday night, Sky Stadium and then Auckland FC are
Speaker 1: back at home for a top of the table clash
Speaker 1: against Adelaide United. That game kicks off at five o'clock
Speaker 1: on Saturday. Afternoon Football Fever with Jason Faine and Bonnie Jensen.
Speaker 1: So no game for the Wellington Phoenix women this weekend
Speaker 1: because there is an international break and during that break
Speaker 1: the football Ferns are in action a couple of games
Speaker 1: against Costa Rica. The first of them was yesterday. They've
Speaker 1: got another one on Wednesday. Now. By a catastrophic clash
Speaker 1: of timings, this game kicked off just as I was
Speaker 1: starting a radio show yesterday, the first of these games
Speaker 1: in San Jose. I know that you had your eyes
Speaker 1: on it, though, so I'm going to defer to your
Speaker 1: opinions and your expertise on this. Tell us about the game,
Speaker 1: tell us about the way that Michael Maine set them up.
Speaker 1: What stood out for you?
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, Piney, it was a bit of a windy day,
Speaker 2: it looked in San Jose. The conditions weren't great. It
Speaker 2: kind of looked like a local, local perch and local stadium. However,
Speaker 2: you could hear the fans through the TV, which was
Speaker 2: which was great one all draw. It was their first
Speaker 2: game and what seven months since the Olympics, so a
Speaker 2: lot of speculation as to how they would shape up.
Speaker 2: Michael Maine, interim coach, did instill a new system. He
Speaker 2: went for three at the back, Essen and Goal Vickison,
Speaker 2: and then four across the midfield in near Page Riley,
Speaker 2: Mickey Foster, Annalie Longo and Hannah Blake and then Fraser
Speaker 2: Macy Fraser just sitting in front, and then Katie Kitching
Speaker 2: and Kelly Brown at the top. So it was a
Speaker 2: new shape. But they looked alright, a very young squad.
Speaker 2: Obviously Grace Jarlay and Millie Cleek were both ruled out,
Speaker 2: but overall I thought there are a lot of positives
Speaker 2: that they could could take from this game. They you know,
Speaker 2: kind of dominated the position to some extent, had ten
Speaker 2: shots on goal, which is super unusual for this side,
Speaker 2: and a lot of individual performances. Yeah, showed real great promise.
Speaker 1: India Page Riley's goal, I saw that. I've seen that
Speaker 1: in the highlights that I've watched. It's a world It's
Speaker 1: a great goal.
Speaker 2: Yeah. It was a great goal and probably came at
Speaker 2: the right time. You know, you don't want to be
Speaker 2: down going into the sheds, and they kind of answered back.
Speaker 2: The goal they conceded was one where Michael Maine wants
Speaker 2: to as an area of improvement in the transition, you know,
Speaker 2: not being caught out or two stretched, so just a
Speaker 2: turnover at the halfway point, and yeah, the football fans
Speaker 2: at the bat got a bit caught out. So nice
Speaker 2: for India page Riley to kind of turn around and
Speaker 2: answer with that kind of individual brilliance. I think, you know,
Speaker 2: as I mentioned before, they did look a lot better attacking.
Speaker 2: And that's even so with the likes of Grace Jarlay
Speaker 2: and Millie Kleek, who could have possibly started had they
Speaker 2: been fit, you know, done all right, So I think
Speaker 2: that's that's the biggest thing for the football Ferns is
Speaker 2: they need to be scoring more goals and they know
Speaker 2: that we all know that we need them to be
Speaker 2: doing that. And this new system that Michael Mayne kind
Speaker 2: of implemented yesterday showed that's kind of the way they're tracking.
Speaker 1: So quite where that Jackie Han didn't start the game,
Speaker 1: I mean, Kelly Brown, is that a you know, yes,
Speaker 1: she's a promising player, but she's playing for Perth Glory
Speaker 1: on debut. Why didn't Jackie hand start the game?
Speaker 2: I thought this as well, and I'm actually you know
Speaker 2: who my favorite team is in the world. It's the
Speaker 2: US women's national team. Coach by em Hayes planning, and
Speaker 2: I'm actually kind of comparing the two sides at the moment.
Speaker 2: They're quite incomparable. But you know, during this first international
Speaker 2: window of the year, and I think Michael Mayne is
Speaker 2: using this opportunity like Emma Hayes is with the United
Speaker 2: States team to see new players. He knows what Jackie
Speaker 2: Han can do. It's probably the reason he didn't take c. J. Bott,
Speaker 2: Rebecca Stott or Katie Bowen to this international. He knows
Speaker 2: what all those players are capable of. He's seen Jackie Han,
Speaker 2: Kelly Brown he hasn't seen in this national setup and
Speaker 2: and that's why she obviously got the start. He wanted
Speaker 2: to give her the opportunity and perhaps, you know, Michael
Speaker 2: mains right and doing that as much as we would
Speaker 2: like to see Jackie probably growing confidence and grow into
Speaker 2: that role now without you know, the likes of Hannah Wilkinson. There,
Speaker 2: there's a long way till the next World Cup, in
Speaker 2: the next Pinnacle event, so why not see new faces
Speaker 2: And that's clearly what he's trying to do. He obviously
Speaker 2: brought as well Maniah Elliott from the Wellington Phoenix and
Speaker 2: Maya Hahn who plays over in Germany, they also came
Speaker 2: on for their debut.
Speaker 1: So I'd quite like to see Emma Pinenberg in that
Speaker 1: in that case, because we haven't. I don't think we've
Speaker 1: seen her. I don't think she's stay booed in a
Speaker 1: football fern shirt. I might be wrong. She certainly hasn't
Speaker 1: played very often. She didn't get on the field, did she.
Speaker 1: So she's one I would like to see. And we
Speaker 1: don't know about Jarlay and Clegg in terms of their
Speaker 1: fitness for the second game.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I haven't heard about their fitness, but you're right,
Speaker 2: I would like to see Emma Pinenberger as well. And
Speaker 2: I think that's what Michael Mayn will do this again,
Speaker 2: comparing to the US team. I just watched their second
Speaker 2: game this morning in this international window, and the she
Speaker 2: Believes Cup. She Believes Cup against Australia, and Emma Hay
Speaker 2: has put a full new starting eleven out there, So
Speaker 2: I wonder if Michael Mayn will potentially follow suit, and
Speaker 2: you know, we might see the likes of Mackenzie Barry
Speaker 2: come in and start in the back there, or maybe
Speaker 2: someone like Maya Hahn and Macey Fraser who are similar
Speaker 2: creative players. Might swap out. Maybe maybe Brianna Edwards will
Speaker 2: get a shot and goal. So yeah, that's what I
Speaker 2: would like to see because it's clear Michael Mayn wants
Speaker 2: to give new players an opportunity, so why not change
Speaker 2: it up for the second match.
Speaker 1: So we're thirty second in the world, Costa Rica are
Speaker 1: forty third. I know, you know rankings only count for
Speaker 1: so much, but we should be getting results against Costa Rica.
Speaker 1: Shouldn't we won? All is? Okay? Yep? We fell behind
Speaker 1: and got an equalizer, couldn't find a winner ten shots.
Speaker 1: As you say, we should expect New Zealand to win
Speaker 1: games like this, or at least have an expectation that
Speaker 1: they'll come close to winning games like this.
Speaker 2: Shouldn't we We should? But I didn't don't know if
Speaker 2: that's harsh. I thought Costa Rica would come out and
Speaker 2: probably put three past us, especially with this young side
Speaker 2: and that Michael Maine took over there. I base that off.
Speaker 2: They played the US again. I mentioned this will be
Speaker 2: the last time I mentioned the US. They played them
Speaker 2: last year and they drew with the United States and
Speaker 2: there I think it was before the Olympics pre Olympic
Speaker 2: match again. Then the US went on to beat them
Speaker 2: three nil. But I Costa Rica are a great football
Speaker 2: nation and I didn't think we would compete with them
Speaker 2: as well as we did, especially on the stats front.
Speaker 2: We owned more of the position and we still managed
Speaker 2: to get ten shots off one goal. So I was
Speaker 2: really really impressed with the Ferns and the way they
Speaker 2: executed themselves.
Speaker 1: What about Macy Fraser, you mentioned it briefly before played
Speaker 1: eighty minutes. How did she look?
Speaker 2: Yeah, she looks good considering she hasn't played a game
Speaker 2: of or that we you know, professional football, or you know,
Speaker 2: beyond a preseason match since the Olympics, since she came
Speaker 2: off and you know, she didn't go back to Utah
Speaker 2: after the Olympics, the Utah Royals and the NWSL. She's
Speaker 2: gone back there now for the preseason, but she hasn't
Speaker 2: played since the Olympics. And I thought she looked really
Speaker 2: good out there, and she looked like she was having
Speaker 2: a bit more fun, and she was passionate in the
Speaker 2: game and she was contesting tackles. Obviously, looks great on
Speaker 2: the ball, and maybe this new coaching structure of Michael
Speaker 2: Maine is able to bring out the best in Macy
Speaker 2: and I think that's so important because I mean, we
Speaker 2: speak all the time about how talented this player is
Speaker 2: and I just hope, yeah, whoever is in that role
Speaker 2: as head coach, can you know, find ways to optimize
Speaker 2: her talent.
Speaker 1: All right, So game two between the two teams, same
Speaker 1: venue I think, is on Wednesday at two o'clock New
Speaker 1: Zealand time. I will be able to watch this one,
Speaker 1: so I'll be much better informed. But yeah, let's hope
Speaker 1: for a similar performance perhaps and maybe even a win
Speaker 1: for New Zealand over Costa Rica when they meet on
Speaker 1: Wednesday at two o'clock. As I say, no game for
Speaker 1: the Wellington Phoenix women, but they are in action this
Speaker 1: coming weekend. I'm just thinking, Actually, it doesn't give the
Speaker 1: Phoenix players and the football funds a heck of a
Speaker 1: lot of time to get back and get over any
Speaker 1: jet lag they might have. But they're going to have
Speaker 1: to because they play on Sunday against Adelaide United at
Speaker 1: pottido A Park. And as mentioned on the podcast numerous times,
Speaker 1: March is massive for the Wellington Phoenix Women. Four of
Speaker 1: their five games are at home. We know how good
Speaker 1: they are at home. Adelaide United Western Sydney Central Coast
Speaker 1: and Melbourne City all come to Pottydoor Park. In the
Speaker 1: middle of all of that, Wellington will go away to
Speaker 1: play Sydney FC. Just so pivotal that they get a
Speaker 1: lot of points in March if they are to make
Speaker 1: a run for them for the top six. Okay, Bonnie
Speaker 1: well having survived derby number three where I was gonna say,
Speaker 1: it all sort of calms down a little bit, but
Speaker 1: it doesn't really does it. Wellington Phoenix Men Friday night,
Speaker 1: Auckland FC Saturday afternoon, Wellington Phoenix Women Sunday afternoon, and
Speaker 1: the football ferns and amongst all of that. So it's
Speaker 1: it's ramping up if anything.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it is piney and I just want to say,
Speaker 2: you know, for t KIWI fans get out there and
Speaker 2: you know, obviously support all three teams playing in the
Speaker 2: A League as they kind of go on this home stretch.
Speaker 2: Obviously it's important for the playoff runs, but it's also
Speaker 2: important for all the team's revenue and getting ticket sales.
Speaker 2: If you were arming and roning about this Auckland FC
Speaker 2: game in the weekend as well. It is a top
Speaker 2: of the table clash. Plus rumor has it. They're going
Speaker 2: to have a bit of a carnival fair circus type
Speaker 2: situation going on with a Fairis wheel, a fifteen meter
Speaker 2: ferris wheel.
Speaker 1: Well, if that's not going to convert those who are
Speaker 1: sitting on the fence, then nothing will football on the
Speaker 1: field and a fairest wheel off to one side. A
Speaker 1: fairest wheel. I can't remember the last time I was
Speaker 1: on one of those.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I know it's actually insane that I just don't
Speaker 2: know what more this club are going to do, but
Speaker 2: bring it.
Speaker 1: On, Bring it on, indeed, and we'll have a fresh
Speaker 1: episode of Football Fever for you next Monday. This is
Speaker 1: Football Fever.