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FULL TIME – Shaun Evans calls the close on today’s clash at Allianz that saw Nathan Burns dominate the offense for the New Zealand side, and Sydney prove clueless in attack as Ibini and Janko suffered from a lack of communication in the second half.
Final score:
Sydney FC 0
Wellington Phoenix 2
Thanks for joining me today on The Roar for some Sunday afternoon A-League action!
I’m James (@James01253), and you have yourself a nice day and Christmas.
Your thoughts on the match?
Following a shaky performance at the cake tin last week, Wellington Phoenix will be looking to break into the top four and overtake Sydney FC on the A-League ladder when they head to Allianz Stadium this Sunday. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 5:00pm (AEDT).
Sydney is arguably in the worst form of their stellar season at the moment, losing one and drawing two from their last three fixtures.
While tough opponents along with injuries to Corey Gameiro, Ali Abbas and Sasa Ognenovski played a role in all three of their recent fixtures, a Wellington side that dominated possession, but failed to convert until the dying stages against the Mariners, shouldn’t be an issue to the Sky Blues.
Sydney started last week’s fixture against the Melbourne Victory with Sebastian Ryall returning to the squad, and filling the centre-back gap that was left vacant last week by injured Ognenovski, for Jurman to take.
The back four to line up against Wellington is expected to look the same on the wings as against the Victory, but now with Ognenovski returning from injury he will partner the central defence with Ryall behind Demetrijevic, who was vital in providing the ball upfield towards Shane Smeltz and Terry Antonis at Etihad.
Marc Janko’s return to the squad last week was a huge bonus for Sydney, Janko received the ball from a brilliant Smeltz assist to make the score 1-1 in the 16th minute. Janko is also known for using his towering 6″5′ figure to out-muscle the defence, and always come out best in the situation of a corner kick.
It’s possible that for the Wellington fixture, Brosque may be shifted from the left-midfielder role he struggled in against the Victory after making room for returning Marc Janko. Janko may be shifted into a lone striker role, while Brosque could form a partnership with Smeltz, following Antonis’ surgery last Sunday.
For Wellington, with the memory of finishing last year’s A-League season at the hands of Sydney on a wet Allianz day still fresh in coach Ernie Merrick’s mind. The New Zealand side will without-doubt be looking for revenge as they now find themselves, on the A-League ladder, six points clear from the bottom half and one win away from overtaking the Sky Blues.
With strikers Nathan Burns and Roy Krishna in arguably the best form of their careers, along with goalkeeper Glen Moss who is yet to concede more than one goal in a match, Wellington are looking at a slightly higher chance of moving into the top four.
Following some errors in the defence that led to Matt Simon giving the Mariners the lead in the 40th minute on Saturday, Wellington will promote Tom Doyle to the left-back position so the defence is arranged accordingly to Manny Muscat’s two-game suspension. But if the defence is to show any improvement against Sydney, Dutch centre-back Roly Benovacia, who has already netted two goals for Wellington this season, will certainly be at the commanding point of it.
Prediction: With a strong offensive lineup that has helped the New Zealand side reach the top half of the A-League ladder, there is no doubting this revenge-fuelled clash will see Wellington have their chances upfront, even if that means getting past the central defensive pairing of Ognenovski and Ryall.
But when considering the strong offensive lineup that helped Sydney net three against the Victory, a home ground advantage, and an Austrian marquee in top-form. My prediction is for Sydney to find the back of the Glenn Moss’ net on multiple occasions.
Sydney 3–1 Wellington.
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