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It may have only been a pre-season friendly, but Wellington Phoenix’s 2-1 victory over English Premier League side West Ham provided an impressive sign of how far the A-League has come since its inception in 2005.
Many foreign football fans are quick to dismiss the Australian domestic competition, while some are surprised to hear we even have a professional league.
The arrival of Alessandro Del Piero pricked the ears of committed football fans in Europe, but other high-profile additions to the A-League, such as Robbie Fowler, William Gallas and Emile Heskey, were either overlooked or derided.
The Socceroos impressed a lot of fans, who had expected the team to be steamrolled at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Many didn’t give the boys in green and gold a chance of even scoring a goal.
Perception of the Socceroos overseas, particularly in South America, has since altered as a result, as much as it did back in 2006. But now, it’s time for Australia’s club sides to continue to impress, and Wellington kick-started that challenge brilliantly on Wednesday night.
West Ham, by all accounts, looked typically English. They were sluggish, predictable and launched long balls forward throughout the match, disappointing fans who had woken up on the other side of the world to see how their team’s pre-season preparations were going.
The Hammers improved in the second half, led by winger Matt Jarvis, but struggled to break down a side that supposedly wouldn’t look out of place in League Two.
That the A-League is only on par with England’s third or fourth division is not only an idea perpetuated by foreign fans, it’s a myth that is often held by Australian sports fans. Without ever actually viewing the lower tiers of English football, many are quick to put forward their opinion that A-League clubs would struggle to compete in the lower echelons of European football.
Pim Verbeek was one such detractor, asserting it was better to train in Europe than to play in Australia, and we all know how his tenure in charge of the national side turned out.
Having been to League Two and League One club games, it must be said that the football isn’t at all inspiring, but still costs a rough 20 quid to get through the gates.
Clubs such as Charlton, Millwall and Coventry City occupy the Championship, and when I last saw them play they weren’t anything special to look at for 90 minutes. In fact the main drawcard is the undying fanatical support that lower league football manages to attract, despite the extortionate entry fees.
So what does Wellington’s victory say about the standard of the A-League? Not much, one game is nothing to base an argument on, but it’s a promising start to proving that the A-League is on the rise.
West Ham are hardly the pinnacle of English football, and are a borderline Championship-level outfit. They play some dire and uninspiring football under manager Sam Allardyce, but are still a top-flight club.
Wellington deserved their win, from all reports, with Ernie Merrick’s men holding out after taking a 2-0 lead within the first 26 minutes. It was the first time a British club had lost on New Zealand soil in almost 40 years.
Club captain Andrew Durante put the Phoenix in front after just 12 minutes, latching onto a Alex Rodriguez-Gorrin corner. New signing Rodriguez then opened his account, following two full-blooded and committed challenges from Nathan Burns and Louis Fenton on James Collins.
The Hammers came back in the second half, introducing fresh blood, but they could only claw back one goal, which came from new signing and substitute Mauro Zárate with a tidy effort from outside the box.
It was a friendly, granted, and results are not everything in pre-season, but the victory was a significant one for Wellington and Australian football. It shouldn’t be overblown, but it’s still an indicator of where we sit as a football nation.
West Ham named a strong side, with stalwarts such as Jussi Jääskeläinen, Mark Noble, Kevin Nolan boasting more than 1200 first division caps between them.
Wellington were also behind in the fitness stakes, with West Ham well into their pre-season preparations, with their first EPL fixture coming in mid-August.
The Phoenix face their next challenge against EPL side Newcastle United on Saturday night at Westpac Stadium. The Magpies humbled Sydney FC 4-0 on Tuesday, and will provide a tougher challenge for the Wellington outfit.
Sydney take their turn facing West Ham on the same night in a double-header, and hopefully the foundation club can build on Wellington’s performance and grab a result.
A-League fans should watch with interest, as well as Friday’s fixture between Adelaide and Spanish outfit Málaga, because despite being meaningless pre-season friendlies, these fixtures give us a small idea of how we’re progressing as an emerging football nation.
According to Merrick, Wellington’s victory had them trending on Twitter, another small win for Australian football. Two wins on Saturday would not mean we’re at EPL level, but it would expose us further to world football and provide another promising indication of where we stand.
One thing is for sure, the A-League no longer deserves to be held up against League One and League Two club sides. The players and managers deserve better than that, and warrant more respect.
Fans should take heart from Wellington’s disposal of West Ham, and look forward to future promising results.
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