Rise of the Phoenix gives us a true trans-Tasman rivalry

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By Adrian Musolino, 8 Mar 2010 Adrian Musolino is a Roar Expert

Tagged:: A-League, a-league finals, Eugene Dadi, football, Melbourne Victory, New Zealand, new zealand all whites, Newcastle Jets, Paul Ifill, Sydney FC, Wellington Phoenix

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Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix players in action during their round 6 match, played at the Ethihad stadium in Melbourne, Sunday, Sept 13, 2009. AAP Image/Joe Castro.

The Wellington Phoenix are kicking and screaming for their very existence, and doing a damn good job of it. A sell-out crowd of 32,792 watched them defeat Newcastle 3-1 in extra-time to book their place in the preliminary final against Sydney FC for the right to face Melbourne Victory in the Grand Final.

It was an enthralling end-to-end display at the Westpac Stadium as Wellington’s dream run, and that of New Zealand football’s as a whole, continued with Paul Ifill’s extra-time strike and Eugene Dadi’s sealer killing-off the stubborn Jets.

The Jets took a surprising lead when Matt Thompson took advantage of some lacklustre defending, only for Tim Brown to even proceedings before halftime.

Ifill was once again instrumental in Wellington’s attacking dominance, finally hitting the back of the net in extra-time to the rapture of the locals.

The major semi-final, meanwhile, produced another intense match between Australia’s two biggest clubs with a 4-3 aggregate win to the Victory.

(Speaking of aggregates, if the A-League is going to continue with aggregated two-legged finals, it needs Fox Sports to get with the program and show the aggregate scores in their graphics).

The win gives the Victorian capital the honour of hosting the Grand Final for the third time in the last four seasons.

The intensity and excitement of the matches has revitalised the finals series, which had been questioned by some, including me, following the growth in stature and excitement of the Premiership race.

It was a great day for the A-League, with both matches living up to their billing.

But the story of the day was undoubtedly Wellington.

The political upheaval that has clouded the future of the club has helped fuel the ‘Nix’s recent momentum, and credit to all those at the club and in the stands who are putting such a strong case for their future.

And if the AFC hasn’t opened its eyes as yet to what New Zealand football could offer the Asian confederation, let alone how important they are to the A-League, then they need to wakeup.

It’s an important milestone for New Zealand football; the first time a team from across the Tasman has progressed so far.

New Zealand franchises have often been perceived as the weaklings of the A-League – allowed in the league as a parting gift to Oceania, helping to makeup the numbers.

But few could have predicted the all-encompassing growth, at international and club levels, of the sport in New Zealand following World Cup qualification, especially the form of the Phoenix, who many thought were destined for the wooden spoon following the loss of Shane Smeltz.

The country has been galvanised by the Phoenix, as evidenced by the 20,000 plus crowd Wellington pulled in Christchurch when Adelaide United visited in Round 25.

One can only imagine what a good performance at the World Cup (a win against Italy would be nice) would do for the Phoenix heading into next season, let alone championship success!

For the sake of the A-League, and commonsense, they need to be granted amnesty and a 10-year licence.

A-League fans, meanwhile, have said all year that a Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC Grand Final would be the best outcome in terms of the spectacle and crowds.

However, with the pair having battled out for the Premiership Plate (minor premiership, for the uninitiated) already, a trans-Tasman Grand Final wouldn’t be a bad option – the pride of New Zealand against Australia’s best.

It would be a wonderful touch in a year in which Australia and New Zealand will be heading to the World Cup finals together for the first time and the rivalry between the Socceroos and All Whites will be rejuvenated at the MCG farewell match in May.

And just think of the irony if Wellington were to go on and win the A-League championship and ‘qualify’ for the Asian Champions League. They would, unfortunately, be forced to hand that ACL spot to the Melbourne Victory, even if they beat the Victory in the Grand Final.

Unjust? Absolutely, but that’s what would happen thanks to the peculiarity of their unique situation. Even though the Phoenix would be allowed in by the AFC in 2011 (albeit as an Australian entry with the limit of the ‘three foreigners rule’), it couldn’t enter the ACL under its agreement with the FFA, according to SBS’s The World Game website.

If Wellington’s continued success helps strengthen their case for survival, then it’s even more reason to jump on the Phoenix bandwagon in the coming fortnight and watch the trans-Tasman rivalry grow at the domestic level.

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The Crowd Says (97) | Page 1 of Comments

Simon Smith said | March 8th 2010 @ 3:46am | Report comment

I can hear the ‘you know what’ hitting the fan all the way from Kuala Lumpar if the ‘Nix win the title Adrian. Kick and scream all they want, but if Mr Bin Hamman isn’t happy, well there’s not much the FFA or anyone else can do.

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Ora said | March 8th 2010 @ 7:07am | Report comment

The Phoenix have truly tapped into the pyshce of the entire country, their remarkable form against the odds is testament of the New Zealand culture to never give up.
The crowd at the game was unbelievable and when the Jets were up the Fans kept on singing and cheering, I watched this game in a bar packed to the rafters in Downtown Auckland even in there the atmosphere was electric.
One thng about the phoenix while largely a New Zealand team it has a mix of English-Barbados, Socceroos, Maltese and Kiwis, the unity they show on the field is an example to the AFC what a united front can bring.

Culina must be sh!!ting bricks after last nights loss, it would be a huge blow to his ego

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KR said | March 8th 2010 @ 7:49am | Report comment

This just in:

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/soccer/asian-league-berth-in-spotlight-after-wellingtons-win-20100307-pqjv.html

FFA has always said Wellington cannot play in the ACL even if it qualifies. However, last night it shifted ground slightly, saying the AFC was reviewing participation in the ACL.

There may be hope yet, Adrian, and no, I’m not holding my breath either.

OT, but in the same article:

‘I’d prefer another Australian team because I’m an Australian,” Culina said.

Followed closely by:

”I never said I didn’t want the Phoenix in the competition…”

Branko, saying you would prefer another Australian team enter the A league instead of the Phoenix would result in the Phoenix not being in the competition. This may not be exactly the same as licking them out without a replacement, but the result is the same. You’re just defining your preferred terms for their exit.

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Eamonn Flanagan said | March 8th 2010 @ 8:12am | Report comment

Adrian all this NZ success is making the Socceroos All Whites game more interesting by the minute.

Wonder what the record crowd is for an Australian New Zealand football match.

Funny how the Aussies love to watch the Wallabies lose to the All Blacks, but if we think the Socceroos will walk it in, we won’t, we wonder if we’ll go!
Wonder if Kiwi’s will support the All Whites like they turn out for the All Blacks. Reckon that’s the only reason the Bledisloe gets near a sell-out these days Either way should be a great night in Melbourne to send the two neighbours off.

And an improving NZ can only be good for Australian football.

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- jake said | March 8th 2010 @ 9:58am | Report comment
  
  Il be at the MCG Eamon and il also be at the Grand Final if the Phoenix are there. Il be sending out the message to every kiwi i know in Melbourne to come to both games!! The atmosphere was electric i cant beleive that Newcastle bloke who missed the 1 on 1 and Ifil was on fire he should have bagged at least two more.
  
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Punter said | March 8th 2010 @ 8:35am | Report comment

The news on football in NZ is all good. Very exciting match on Sunday & Phoenix deserved winners. Their owner deserves great credit, NZ’s own Frank Lowy. Can’t wait for this weekend’s game, should be a screamer.

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MV Dave said | March 8th 2010 @ 8:44am | Report comment

One of the best finals l have watched (on TV). End to end as both sides attacked and counter attacked…with a full house roaring the Phoenix on. Great entertainment and sporting drama. Ifil absolutley dominated the game from about the 60th minute and could have had 4 goals with better finishing and luck. His go ahead goal was a screamer in extra time. Wonder how many kiwis will go to watch WP in Sydenee this week…l’m tipping WP to beat SFC. Well done to all concerned at WP.

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- Al said | March 8th 2010 @ 11:17am | Report comment
  
  I agree, it was a great advertisement for the A-League and the noise of the crowd was brilliant. Hoping Wellington can knock FC over next weekend so I can see them live against the Victory in the big one! Kruse’s goal was world class.
  
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James said | March 8th 2010 @ 10:04am | Report comment

How brilliant would it be if Wellington qualified for the ACL and were allowed to play in it!

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Marshall said | March 8th 2010 @ 10:24am | Report comment

As good as theyve been it’d still prefer to see Melbourne and Wellington in the GF as a real us v them match.

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- James said | March 8th 2010 @ 10:31am | Report comment
  
  I wonder though what the reaction would be in Australia if Wellington won it. I bet we would hear more branko Culina type comments about why we need a Kiwi team in the comp.
  
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James said | March 8th 2010 @ 10:36am | Report comment

BTW, we wouldn’t AFC be jumping out of their skin to incorporate New Zealand football, especially now with all the successes? Is it just cause it comes with the baggage of the Oceania minnows?

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- AA said | June 13th 2010 @ 6:33pm | Report comment
  
  James, as stated before, Oceania wishes to retain its independece and NZ is a big player in Oceania. Don’t expect any movement on this matter soon.
  
  If Oceania moves, NZ goes with it, not the other way around.
  
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chris said | March 8th 2010 @ 10:43am | Report comment

It looks like the Kiwis prefer Soccer over Rugby.

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- Al said | March 8th 2010 @ 11:26am | Report comment
  
  I wouldn’t say that however, when stacked side by side, football comes out on top in almost every facet.
  
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  - AndyRoo said | March 8th 2010 @ 1:33pm | Report comment
    
    Al, it’s different story in NZ than it is in Australia.
    
    Rugby is a working class game in NZ. Kiwis often get shocked when they move over to OZ and realise that your perception of Rugby is shared by many Aussies.
    
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- Ora said | March 8th 2010 @ 11:48am | Report comment
  
  Certainly at the moment Chris
  
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  - Marshall said | March 8th 2010 @ 1:59pm | Report comment
    
    Agreed. Save the Nix, add a 2nd team in Christchurch and build the Anzac rivalry in the league
    
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    - Keith said | March 8th 2010 @ 4:32pm | Report comment
      
      That’s a massive leap to make. The fact that NZ soccer fans can’t seem to talk about their sport without making a reference to rugby says a lot about the respective positions of the sports in New Zealand.
      
      That said, I’m a rugby fan and have been all my life (like many others in NZ) and I thought that game in the weekend was pretty watchable. Hope the Nix win it all.
      
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- Dave said | March 9th 2010 @ 6:52am | Report comment
  
  Both football and cricket have garnered a huge following this year but that interest is not translating into all-important ratings.
  
  Although the All Whites’ match against Mexico screened in a rating dead zone (a 5pm weekday kick-off) it still attracted a dismally small audience. Only 26,000 Kiwis, or a 0.7% share of the total available audience, tuned in. Both of the six o’clock bulletins on the two major free-to-air news networks were unaffected by the scheduling clash.
  
  The Phoenix’s audiences have also been relatively small, despite the club enjoying a golden period. A shade under 50,000 Kiwis watched their thrilling penalty shootout victory over the Perth Glory a fortnight ago, 1.2% of the audience share.
  
  Cricket is faring better.
  
  The Black Caps’ Twenty20 win over Australia last Sunday attracted 170,000 viewers, their biggest audience of the summer by a considerable margin, a feat New Zealand Cricket trumpeted in a press release last week.
  
  It pointed out the average audience for Super rugby that same weekend was less than 70,000. But that comparison was a little unfair. It included matches, featuring Australian and South African sides, of little significance to Kiwi audiences. It also omitted to mention the four largest audiences of the sporting year belong to rugby.
  
  The biggest (222,000) was for the Crusaders’ win over the Highlanders in round two. The opening match of the season between the Hurricanes and Blues drew 207,000 and the Highlanders v Blues on February 19 had 211,000 viewers.
  
  They are big numbers by anyone’s standard but rugby officials are wary they can’t become complacent. The viewing figures in recent weeks will ensure they won’t rest on their laurels. The arrival of South African and Australian teams saw ratings drop: the Crusaders-Sharks game attracted 132,000 viewers, the Hurricanes-Force garnered 183,000, and 163,000 watched the Hurricanes beat the Lions.
  
  Those figures best illustrate why next year’s Super rugby competition will feature more local derbies. They rate considerably better, which translates into more revenue from the game’s paymaster, News Ltd. News is due to announce it has renewed and increased the value of its broadcasting agreement with Sanzar later this month.
  
  Ad Feedback The New Zealand Rugby Union took the unprecedented step last month of including in its top five priorities of the year, improving TV ratings and crowd numbers at games.
  
  http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/3414191/Audience-numbers-game-adds-up-on-box
  
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