Jump to content
Melbourne Football

Sunday October 14 - 3:00pm Melbourne FC vs. The Nux @ AAMI Park


Jimmy
 Share

Recommended Posts

^ Lol, wouldn't have been easier to just say; "If I was Aloisi, I'd go in unchanged"?

Wellington:

Ins: Michael Boxall, Cameron Lindsay, Luke Rowe, Scott Basalaj, Tom Biss, Jacob Spoonley.

Out: Mark Paston, Glen Moss, Leo Bertos, Ben Sigmund, Tony Lochhead, Jeremy Brockie, Benjamin Totori.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Melbourne Heart: 1.Clint Bolton (Gk), 2.Michael Marrone, 4.Simon Colosimo, 5.Fred ©, 6.Patrick Gerhardt, 8.Matthew Thompson, 9.Dylan Macallister, 10.Josip Tadic, 11.Richard Garcia, 15.David Williams, 16.Aziz Behich, 17.Jason Hoffman, 18.David Vrankovic, 20.Andrew Redmayne (Gk), 21.Steven Gray, 22.Nick Kalmar, 23.Mate Dugandzic. *Two To Be Omitted

Ins: Nil

Out: Nil

Unavailable: 13.Jonatan Germano (Fitness – 1 week), 14.Golgol Mehbratu (Groin - 2 weeks), 19. Ben Garuccio (international duty – Qantas Young Socceroos).

If I was Aloisi:

--------------------------------Dylan Macallister--------------------------------

David Williams-----------------------------------------------Mate Dugandzic

-------------Fred ©------Richard Garcia------Matt Thompson-------------

Aziz Behich---Simon Colosimo---Patrick Gerhardt---Michael Marrone

---------------------------------Clint Bolton-------------------------------------

Subs:

Andrew Redmayne (GK)

Josip Tadic

David Vrankovic

Jason Hoffman

Omitted:

Steven Gray

Nick Kalmar

Don't think anything will change from last week. Hope Tadic comes on for Thompson & we play 4-4-2 early in the second.

I will do the same but replace Hoff with Kalmar on the bench, they both played the same role for most of the preseason and Kalmar did a better job.

He also has better skills, it’s just endurance that lets him down as a player – However this won’t happen if he is coming of the bench.

Edited by cadete
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

FFS Steven gray is the biggest waste of a signing.

Can't see him getting into the squad all year tbh.

Disagree, if we had him last Season as just simple cover down back then we would probably would have won a Home Final.

A Home Final would be massive for our club...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Melbourne Heart lose Jonatan Germano for Phoenix clash

David Davutovic

October 11, 2012

MELBOURNE Heart midfielder Jonatan Germano has been ruled out for another fortnight after tweaking his calf.

The Argentine was on track to be available for Sunday's clash with Wellington Phoenix at AAMI Park.

But Germano and new signing Golgol Mebrahtu did not train with Heart's main group at Latrobe University Bundoora today.

Teen winger Ben Garuccio is away with a full strength Young Socceroos squad, which includes former Heart defender Curtis Good.

It leaves Heart with 17 available, though that pales in comparison to the visitors, who are missing seven and coach Ricki Herbert, away on international duty.

"Germano is still a couple of weeks off, he had a bit of a tweak to calf which is disappointing," Heart's football operations manager John Didulica said.

"Golgol will be joining full training next week but everyone else pulled up well from the weekend.

"Ben Garuccio is in Portugal with the Australian team, which is a big feather in his cap considering the overseas players are available."

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/melbourne-heart-lose-jonatan-germano-for-phoenix-clash/story-e6frfg8x-1226493528997

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FFS Steven gray is the biggest waste of a signing.

Can't see him getting into the squad all year tbh.

Disagree. Lot of experience - over 300 games as a professional footballer, cool head, good stature, left-footed. Gerhardt can be a bit impulsive, and IMO could be a liability for us if he doesn't watch out.

Disappointing over Germano. How does one 'tweak a calf'?

Already I can see our injury management being a major issue again this season...

Edited by jw1739
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Preview: Heart v Phoenix

11/10/2012 9:49 AM

Damien Souness

Date: Sunday 14 October, 2012

Kick-off: 3.00pm AEDT, 3.00pm local

Venue: AAMI Park

Head-to-head

Played: 6 Wins: Melbourne Heart 2, Wellington 2, Draws: 2

Previous encounter

Melbourne Heart 1, Wellington 1, 10 March 2012

Form:

Past matches:

Melbourne Heart: W

Wellington: W

The Game

Both teams head into the contest full of confidence on the back of their Round 1 victories against fancied opposition. Heart grabbed a stunning 2-1 win over Melbourne Victory in the derby at Etihad Stadium, while Wellington ruined Alessandro Del Piero's Hyundai A-League debut with a convincing 2-0 win against Sydney FC at Westpac Stadium.

Heart were desperate from the outset against Victory, pressuring Ange Postecoglou's men at every opportunity and capitalising on their chances in front of goal. Phoenix were resolute in front of their home supporters, sticking to Ricki Herbert's system and benefiting from goals from debutants, Belgian Stein Huysegems and local teenager Louis Fenton.

With a host of injuries and absentees due to international duty, Wellington are expected to blood academy goalkeeper Scott Basalaj and defender Luke Rowe as well as uncapped squad members Michael Boxall and Cameron Lindsay. Academy duo Hamish Watson and Tom Biss could also feature off the bench. Heart, on the other hand, have almost a full squad to choose from, with Argentine Jonatan Germano (fitness) and Golgol Mehbratu (groin) their only concerns.

The big issue

Melbourne Heart - John Aloisi's decision to combine Dylan Macallister, Mate Dugandzic and David Williams up front paid instant dividends against the Victory as the trio executed the direct game plan with class and authority. Macallister held the ball up well with wingers Dugandzic and Williams pushing forward at every opportunity. If the attacking options can continue to gel they will become one of the league's most formidable threats.

Wellington - Phoenix will lose seven players as well as manager Herbert to international commitments this weekend, with New Zealanders Leo Bertos, Tony Lochhead, Jeremy Brockie, Ben Sigmund, Mark Paston and Glen Moss named to face Tahiti in a pair of World Cup qualifiers, while Benjamin Totori has been called up for Solomon Islands. With Vince Lia, Lucas Pantelis, Jimmy Downey, Dani Sanchez and Mirjan Pavlovic unavailable through injury, Wellington will field a completely different line-up, managed by assistant Chris Greenacre, goalkeeper coach Jonathan Gould and strength and conditioning coach Chris Baranowski.

Gamebreaker

Dylan Macallister - The veteran forward was left without a club following the demise of Gold Coast United and faced the prospect of plying his trade in the NSW Premier League after an unsuccessful trial at Western Sydney Wanderers. But he was snapped up by Aloisi in a show of faith that reaped instant rewards. The 30-year-old struck the decisive goal in Heart's win over Victory and was arguably the best player on the park. Macallister spent a season at Wellington in 2010-11 and will be keen to add to his tally against his former side.

Prediction: Heart 2 Wellington 0

Football Federation Australia rejected a request from Phoenix to postpone the game because of New Zealand's international schedule, leaving Herbert's men with a significant uphill battle. While Wellington would consider themselves genuine contenders with a full squad to choose from, the loss of so many players and even their manager should prove too difficult to overcome.

Despite the absentees, Herbert this week maintained the team would cross the Tasman in search of three points. Thankfully for Phoenix, Huysegems and Fenton will be on hand to provide a target up front, though it is in defence where the visitors are most likely to be exposed without Lochhead, Sigmund and Paston.

Few knew what to expect from Heart following the departure of coach John van 't Schip, leading scorer Eli Babalj and key defenders Brendan Hamill and Curtis Good, but the likes of Macallister, Patrick Gerhardt and Richard Garcia allayed any immediate fears as Heart made the most positive of starts under new boss Aloisi and are hot favourites to continue their run against Wellington.

http://www.sportal.com.au/football-match-preview-display/preview-heart-v-phoenix-202977

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FFS Steven gray is the biggest waste of a signing.

Can't see him getting into the squad all year tbh.

Disagree, should be in the match squad based on what I saw from him in pre season. Wait till he gets his chance, he will prove the doubters wrong.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Although the media and pundits get a lot wrong (I still can't fathom why Heart were so heavily considered underdogs against Victory), I reckon they are correct for this match. I think we'll easily win.

If we start as energetically against Wellington as we did against Victory we'll win easily, maybe 2-0 or 3-0. I reckon Williams will score again, because he looks like a confidence player and he has no reason not to back himself against a second string Wellington defence.

Hopefully Aloisi realizes this is a perfect match to give Tadic 30 or so minutes. He'll need time to adapt to the A-League, and it will be hard for him to be effective if he doesn't start getting real game time soon. Few strikers are effective when they are subbed on with 10 or 15 minutes to go. Also, I reckon if Tadic gets 30+ minutes against this Wellington team he could quite possibly find the back of the net, which would really help him settle at Heart and help boost our chances to have a very strong season.

Edited by Murfy1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

With no changes to the squad, I wonder if this would be a chance for Kalmar to sit on the bench instead of Hoffman, and he be used as the "midfield" sub to show what he has to bring to the team. It would be my preference anyway.

Re: the Nux line-up, with 2 GKs and almost all of the first choice backline out, the question for me is about whether OUR midfield can combat theirs, because if that is the case, you would expect that to mean that D-Mac, Willo and Mate could run riot. Garcia and Thompson are seemingly the key to be able to shut down Huysegems, Ifill and Fenton.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FFS Steven gray is the biggest waste of a signing.

Can't see him getting into the squad all year tbh.

If you look at the potential for our midfield to struggle with injury like last season, that is if someone like Thompson or Fred go down, Gerhardt could like up at DM, Garcia into an AM or CM role, with Grey at the back with Colosimo. Or even if Colosimo gets injured.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Garcia primed for under-strength Phoenix

11 October 2012

Melbourne Heart midfielder Richard Garcia denies his team are facing the unknown when they play a decimated Wellington Phoenix on Sunday.

Wellington head into the A-League clash at AAMI Park without first-choice players Leo Bertos, Tony Lochhead, Jeremy Brockie, Ben Sigmund and Mark Paston who have all been called up to represent New Zealand in two World Cup qualifiers against Tahiti over the next five days.

Benjamin Totori is also unavailable as he will play for the Solomon Islands against New Caledonia and the Phoenix will also have to do without Paston's would-be replacement in goals, Glen Moss, as he has also been drafted into the All Whites squad.

To cap it all off, Wellington coach Ricki Herbert won't be pulling the strings as he is New Zealand's national coach.

But despite all that, Garcia insisted the Heart would focus more on what they had to do to make sure their winning start to the campaign continued after they beat cross-town rivals Victory in the season opener last week.

"We sort of approach the game like we'd approach any other game and just concentrate on us and make sure we're at our top," Garcia said after training at La Trobe University on Thursday.

Garcia insisted the Phoenix would still need to be respected as their fill-ins will be keen to put their respective cases forward for more regular game time.

"We've got to give them as much respect as we can, and play like we did against Victory and try get those three points," he said.

"I'm sure the players that come in to the team will be double eager to impress and hold their positions, so it's going to be a very tough game and I think that's what we're expecting."

One player in particular who the Heart will have to watch closely is returning star Paul Ifill who looks set to line up after overcoming knee and ankle injuries.

"He's done well everywhere he's gone, he's always scored goals, he's a very dangerous player and one we've got to watch out for," Garcia said.

Garcia played his first A-League match last weekend after 14 years in England and the former Hull City man said he was surprised at how fast and intense the Melbourne Derby was.

"It was quite a fast-paced game and it was quite intense so I quite enjoyed that," he said.

"I was expecting it to be a bit slower, but it was good that it was at that high intensity.

"That (the pace of the Melbourne Derby) was quite similar (to back in England), but (there were) probably just a few more turnovers than usual but that's to be expected when it's high-paced like that."

http://www.soccerway.com/news/2012/October/11/garcia-primed-for-under-strength-phoenix/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

same as last week, except as cadete said, would like to see kalmar in for Hoff

disappointed Germano is missing again, but hopefully him and Mebrahtu will be back soon. I have a feeling Menrahtu will do well for us.

This match is a perfect opportunity to gain some confidence and momentum before a tough trip out to Perth. It'll be a good opportunity to give Tadic an extended run, and the like of Vrankovic and Kalmar (especially if we're up by a few)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a game we have to win by 2-3+ if we're serious about doing well this season. Good teams with their best XI should be smasing teams with half their squad on international duty or out injured.

It seems to me that this entire club, from the supporters to the players to the board are content with mediocrity on and off the field. Today Garcia even said that our goal this season is only to reach the Top 6. It's time to start demanding more.

Edited by Jimmy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If we play like we did against victory and actually put our chances away, I don't see why we cant put 4 or 5 past em. They've got their 3rd keeper and a completely different defence ffs, should be able to find more holes in em then a Swiss vagina.

If we play the same system as the Derby we may find it very hard to get the ball in Wellington's half from turn overs. Phoenix players will bang it long if they are under any pressure so we will be getting the ball around our own box a lot more this game. The real question is how JA gets the team to use the ball to solve that problem. Will we go long and hope for knock downs or will we play it along the ground and try and pass it through them? For me it is JA's real test.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll be live blogging the game on Sunday. Here's a very brief preview

Preview

After a fairly downbeat season preview I was pleasantly surprised by the (err) heart shown by Heart in the Derby. They really should have smashed Victory. Poor finishing meant Heart's dominance was not reflected in the 2-1 scoreline. All of a sudden their squad looks good, given the strong performances of the guys expected to deliver (Colosimo, Fred and co) and the back-up from the others. Williams stood out, as did Macallister. Gerhardt looked a good pick-up in defence. If he can avoid an early yellow he may have an even stronger game.

Wellington, despite ADP's presence, won convincingly against a poorly organised Sydney. It is hard to draw a line through Wellington's performance and I suspect they will struggle away from home against a fired-up heart. Nonetheless I'm tempted to take some of the $6.00 offered on a phoneix win at time of writing.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4-1 to Heart!

Ladies and gents, keep an eye out before the game for this season's first edition of Schip Happens!

Ray Gatt, The Australian's chief football writer, has contributed a piece on the Wanderers, and there are some great yarns on everything from Del Piero, 'euro snobs' and who's come and gone since last season.

We'll be on the big steps on the Richmond side of AAMI Park from 2pm-ish.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What are our barometers for a good season? Against a weaker team, they'd be what I'd look for.

- Fred to work into form with his passing/creativity.

- Dugandzic, Williams and Behich providing plenty of threat on the wings.

- Central defensive structure of Garcia, Colosimo and Gerhardt standing up when opposition gets the ball in space.

- Front 3, especially Macallister and Tadic, taking advantage of attacking play and finishing opportunities.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Be interesting to see how we play. As our tactics v victory were very munched designed to combat their style of play. Can't see that working v Wellington. We were effective v victory by knocking the ball in front of our wide men into the space behind. Won't be any space behind wellingtons defence. This game will test our passing football and don't know if that will suit d mac. Can see this being 0-0 at around 60 mins then tadic being introduced to hopefully bring in a bit more skill on the floor which could see get the goal we need. If the game plays out that way also leaves us open to being hit by a counter with ifill and husygems well capable of producing something.

Hopefully things have changed but we always seem I struggle against the more direct teams in this league.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The latest reports are that Wellington's third choice keeper, Scott Basalaj, is unavailable, so their fourth choice keeper, Jacob Spoonley, will be between the sticks.

Also the herald sun wrote today that:

Defender Patrick Gerhardt is available after opting against joining Liberia for its African Cup of Nations qualifier away to Nigeria.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/football/heart-warned-not-to-drop-guard-against-phoenix/story-e6frfg8x-1226493967035

I find it pretty remarkable that Gerhardt has chosen not to partake in a pretty important match, qualifier for the African Cup of Nations against one of the stronger teams in Africa, Nigeria. A good sign that he is committed to nail down starting place in defence, I guess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is my first post, I've only been in Melbourne for a few weeks and am thinking about taking in the game tomorrow as my first taste of A-League action. Not sure where the best place to sit is, or whether there's somewhere people would recommend going for a beer before the game? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers guys,

Nick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is my first post, I've only been in Melbourne for a few weeks and am thinking about taking in the game tomorrow as my first taste of A-League action. Not sure where the best place to sit is, or whether there's somewhere people would recommend going for a beer before the game? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers guys,

Nick

There will be a fair few people at the Imperial at the start of bourke street before the game. I'm sure they'd love to see you there.

At the game it depends how much you want to spend. I wouldn't jump straight into the active support straight away. Premium B isn't worth the extra money. So you're looking at either Premium A or General Admin. Premium A obviously offers better seating but is more expensive. If you go General Admin make sure you sit more than 12 or so rows back for the best possible view.

All that said there really isn't a bad seat at AAMI Park.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...