Elimination Final! Wellington Phoenix vs Melbourne City @ Sunday May 3rd, 5pm AEST

[MaliMate]

Ffs Kennedy is going to win us the title.

All you silly cunts that have given him shit have no clue about football.

But you giving Novillo shit is fine yeah?I'd like to say his goal was luck but I suppose those things happen when you have an all out attacking mentality like Novillo does.

Still did fuck all the rest of the game while the commentators were falling over him just because he is flashy. And the assist? What assist? Mooy assisted, and Novillo did not pass the ball to Mooy, he lost control of the ball and it trickled to Mooy.

His goal was also luck.

Again, I'll concede that when you're always attacking like Novillo, eventually the luck will be in your favour. But how many attacking opportunities did he waste?

Look, he is useful for us right now because we wouldn't do anything with all the attacks he wastes anyway, they'd just be wasted by someone else, and at least at some point it comes off for Novillo. But if we have a competent manager next season, Novillo is of no use.

The key to winning football matches is attacking efficiency, rather than doing the most attacking or creating the most chances. Something people in this country don't understand, probably due to watching too much EPL. But how does that all out attacking EPL style work out in Europe against teams that attack efficiently? Not very well judging by this season's results.

Novillo is a fuking gun has changed our dynamic up front, runs at defenders, shoots from distance with power (not since Sibon have we had someone like him) and scores goals....what the fuk have you been watching?

What the fuck have you been watching? What is the end product of all the things he does? Most the time it's nothing. Again, useful for us now given that we'd waste all those attacks anyway under JVS, and at least it comes off for Novillo sometimes, unlike Williams and Ramsey, but in the future I'd hope we can attack more efficiently, and Novillo is not the player for that

You should coach man.

[cadete]

 

tomby vs KD. friday night. cant wait

Fight of the century.

 

Already offloaded my Ladbrokes Account on: The T-Bone, The Head Wobbler, The T-Bomber, The South Eastern Dandy... Tommmby.

Edited May 4, 2015 by cadete

[Chez]

What a night!! Thought we were gone after that first half. Finally we had some quality touch in the final third to put a couple of goals away. The Imperial was absolutely rocking. Coud hardly move there were so many city people. Won't forgwt that one in a hurry.

[Deeming]

Great game by the team. No one played a bad game for the first time this season.
Weird goals but I'll take them. You put enough pressure on your opponents and take enough shots they'll go in eventually.

[malloy]

 

 

tomby vs KD. friday night. cant wait

Fight of the century.

 

Already offloaded my Ladbrokes Account on the: The T-Bone, The Head Wobbler, The T-Bomber, The South Eastern Dandy... Tommmby.

 

 

[moops]

I am surprised, JVS made a change that worked, he virtually set up as a 4213. He had Mooy staying deep assisting Portaloo with defensive duties and starting play, I think that's what won the game for us. That and our full backs being quite disciplined last night, I thought Retre and Germano did really well. Though it did take some attacking potency out of us and often there was a big gap between midfield and our forwards, in stead of the other way around.

Anyway, brilliant result and I can't wait for next week!

[RFC56]

Did anyone go imperial? Someone give an analysis please who went. i.e. How many ppl rocked up, any atmosphere,..etc?

Was a great night at the Imp, standing room only and lots of singing and chanting. Security were counting people as they entered to avoid overcrowding. Bar staff in Melb City tee shirts (looked great) which were given away free to anyone that wanted one (a big thank you to the club). Atmosphere was electric and when we scored that first goal the place erupted. 2nd goal even better. Tony had us chanting between the bars "split the pub", and when the final whistle was blown it was awesome. Lots of hugging, even saw a few people in tears of joy. Best rendition of Happy Together and the greatest night of football ever (without being at the game).

"We're coming for you..."

[HEARTinator]

 

Did anyone go imperial? Someone give an analysis please who went. i.e. How many ppl rocked up, any atmosphere,..etc?

Was a great night at the Imp, standing room only and lots of singing and chanting. Security were counting people as they entered to avoid overcrowding. Bar staff in Melb City tee shirts (looked great) which were given away free to anyone that wanted one (a big thank you to the club). Atmosphere was electric and when we scored that first goal the place erupted. 2nd goal even better. Tony had us chanting between the bars "split the pub", and when the final whistle was blown it was awesome. Lots of hugging, even saw a few people in tears of joy. Best rendition of Happy Together and the greatest night of football ever (without being at the game).

"We're coming for you..."

 

 

:up: :up: :up: :up:

[NewConvert]

At the 91:10 minute mark there was a "scuffle" between Velaphi and a WP player. The commentary were focusing on the Burns' dive as was Ben Williams who was pointing towards the corner. The linesman was not on the frame. In any case Velaphi was standing by the near post when the WP player rammed into him pushing Velaphi inside the goal. Velaphi reacted by grabbing the WP player around the neck and a push'n'shove occurred. Does anyone have an idea as to who the WP player was and whether the MRP can adjudicate on this incident?

[jw1739]

I don't think that the rules allow the MRP to "re-referee" the match after it has concluded. I think they have jurisdiction if a card was issued for an incident.

 

However, IIRC there was an incident in S1 where Sibon was outed by the MRP for "stomping" and no card had been issued at the time, and Munn protested this at the time. Perhaps the rules have been tightened up since.

[Tony999]

 

Did anyone go imperial? Someone give an analysis please who went. i.e. How many ppl rocked up, any atmosphere,..etc?

Was a great night at the Imp, standing room only and lots of singing and chanting. Security were counting people as they entered to avoid overcrowding. Bar staff in Melb City tee shirts (looked great) which were given away free to anyone that wanted one (a big thank you to the club). Atmosphere was electric and when we scored that first goal the place erupted. 2nd goal even better. Tony had us chanting between the bars "split the pub", and when the final whistle was blown it was awesome. Lots of hugging, even saw a few people in tears of joy. Best rendition of Happy Together and the greatest night of football ever (without being at the game).

"We're coming for you..."

 

 

Awesome! How many people would you say rocked up? 

[malloy]

I don't think that the rules allow the MRP to "re-referee" the match after it has concluded. I think they have jurisdiction if a card was issued for an incident.

However, IIRC there was an incident in S1 where Sibon was outed by the MRP for "stomping" and no card had been issued at the time, and Munn protested this at the time. Perhaps the rules have been tightened up since.

My understanding was that if an incident occurred that was not seen by the referee nor in their match report that the MRP could take action

[moops]

 

I don't think that the rules allow the MRP to "re-referee" the match after it has concluded. I think they have jurisdiction if a card was issued for an incident.

However, IIRC there was an incident in S1 where Sibon was outed by the MRP for "stomping" and no card had been issued at the time, and Munn protested this at the time. Perhaps the rules have been tightened up since.

My understanding was that if an incident occurred that was not seen by the referee nor in their match report that the MRP could take action

 

correct

[belaguttman]

 

"We're coming for you..."

 

This should be our banner for the game. Most of my visitors friends are dreading the game already

[RFC56]

 

 

Did anyone go imperial? Someone give an analysis please who went. i.e. How many ppl rocked up, any atmosphere,..etc?

Was a great night at the Imp, standing room only and lots of singing and chanting. Security were counting people as they entered to avoid overcrowding. Bar staff in Melb City tee shirts (looked great) which were given away free to anyone that wanted one (a big thank you to the club). Atmosphere was electric and when we scored that first goal the place erupted. 2nd goal even better. Tony had us chanting between the bars "split the pub", and when the final whistle was blown it was awesome. Lots of hugging, even saw a few people in tears of joy. Best rendition of Happy Together and the greatest night of football ever (without being at the game).

"We're coming for you..."

 

 

Awesome! How many people would you say rocked up? 

 

No idea, didn't do a head count. It was crowded, but not uncomfortable. If the venue held, say 300, I'd say it was filled to it's safe capacity. Wasn't too hard to move through the crowd to get to the bar and the staff managed to get food to tables okay. All TVs were on the game and the entire crowd was glued to the TVs. I've been to the Imp for a few away games, but nothing like last night will ever come close to the fantastic atmosphere. If only we could get such solid support in the terrace each week.

[Murfy1]

Elimination final 2: Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City

 

Kate Cohen

 

5 May, 2015

 

 

The second of the weekend’s games, between the Phoenix and City, wasn’t nearly as open as the first but it still addressed similar themes to ones raised here a few weeks ago.

 

Then, Melbourne City’s use of the 4-4-2 diamond was analysed as they looked to prevent Wellington from creating overloads in the centre of midfield. The approach there led to an open encounter but after City struggled to utilise the system against Adelaide in round 27, coach John van ’t Schip instead looked to close down the game in midfield when they travelled to New Zealand.

 

In order to do that, City switched to a 4-2-3-1 with Aaron Mooy and Erik Paartalu as deeper midfielders behind Robi Koren. In order to prevent Wellington from playing through midfield, City’s wingers David Williams and Harry Novillo would take up narrow defensive positions to clog up the middle of the park.

 

This frustrated Phoenix, with coach Ernie Merrick saying after the game his side found it difficult to play how they would have liked.

 

“I felt it was a very difficult game to go out on, I don’t think we showed what we can do at all,” he said. “To Melbourne City’s credit they put us under a lot of pressure and they closed down our midfield. Melbourne City came here with the right attitude, they competed all over the park, they pressed us and they stopped our midfield.”

 

 

 

By taking up narrow defensive positions, City not only clogged up the midfield but they also presented themselves with counter attacking opportunities. This was evident early in the match when, with Michael McGlinchey taking up a wide position high on the left, Manny Muscat looked to underlap to exploit the space between Paulo Retre and Connor Chapman. But once possession was lost, Williams would burst in behind Muscat to exploit the spaces in behind the Wellington fullback.

 

To address this, Merrick quickly switched Vince Lia and Louis Fenton, with Fenton moving out to the left side of the diamond. This allowed Muscat to take up more conservative positions, preventing the counter attacking outlet for City, while Fenton instead made runs in behind when McGlinchey received wide on the left.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/may/05/a-league-tactics-elimination-finals

[Murfy1]

 

 

A-League Finals, Match Analysis: Wellington Phoenix 0-2 Melbourne City

 

Tim Palmer

 

May 5, 2015

 

 

Melbourne City upset the Wellington Phoenix 2-0 to book a Melbourne Derby in the semi-final.

 

 

Teams

 

Ernie Merrick named the same outfield side from last week’s defeat to Sydney FC, with Roly Bonevacia continuing in the #10 position, and Michael McGlinchey wide on the left. Louis Fenton continued in his new midfield role. The only change was in goal, where Glen Moss returned in place of Lewis Italiano.

 

John Van’t Schip changed to a 4-2-1-3 formation, after recently experimenting with a 4-4-2 diamond. This meant a recall for David Williams, who played on the right, while Harry Novillo moved to the left. There was also a new pair of full-backs, with Paolo Retre and Jonaton Germano on the right and left respectively.

City’s formation change

 

Van’t Schip has been something of a formation tinkerer this season, having used 3-4-3, a 4-4-2 diamond and 4-3-3. This 4-2-1-3 (it could also be called a 4-2-3-1) was most similar to the preferred 4-3-3 formation. The crucial difference was that the triangle was flipped, so rather than Erik Paartalu playing as a lone holding midfielder, here he was in a double pivot alongside Aaron Mooy. Koren was slightly further ahead, as a #10. Both Mooy and Paartalu sat quite deep, looking to protect the defence even when City had possession in the final third.

 

This meant, along with the wide players tracking back into deep positions, City always had numbers behind the ball and were successfully able to clog the midfield zone – crucial, as the Phoenix play quite narrow and look to construct attacks through the middle. Despite the centre-backs having a relatively large amount of time on the ball, Wellington found it difficult to play penetrative forward passes.

 

This dictated the slow-burning nature of the first half, with the best chances coming from set-pieces (Novillo came close off a corner, and McGlinchey hit the bar from a free-kick) rather than open play.

 

 

City counter-attacks

 

Early on, City had two promising counter-attacking opportunities when Williams sprinted in behind Manny Muscat – the second saw Andrew Durante called into action with a fine block.

 

After that, however, City struggled to transition defence into attack effectively. There were three reasons for this: firstly, Wellington got behind the ball quickly (with Muscat much more cautious going forward after the first five minutes); secondly, the compact nature of City’s defensive structure made it difficult for them to quickly find a player in space; and thirdly, the first pass upon winning the ball was always very cautious. City seemed to be focusing on making sure they didn’t become vulnerable to the counter-counter, and so looked to retain possession rather than play a risky forward pass.

 

 

Germano finds some space

 

Wellington defended in an unusual assymetrical shape, with Burns, a right-winger on paper, pushing into a very narrow position on top of Patrick Kisnorbo – with left-winger McGlinchey, by contrast, defending deeper and closer to the opposition full-back. This is a pattern we’ve seen throughout the season, where the Phoenix deliberately allow the opposition right-sided centre-back to have the ball.

 

The narrowness of Burns, however, meant Vince Lia, the right-sided central midfielder, was covering both the right-hand side of midfield and the right flank by himself. When Connor Chapman switched the ball across field towards Germano, then, it meant the left-back had time to carry the ball forward before Lia was able to slide across and close him down. Throughout the first half, Germano was the ‘freest’ City player, and got into some good positions to support the attack.

 

The narrowness of Nathan Burns in defence made it difficult for Vince Lia to slide across and prevent Jonaton Germano from advancing forward from left-back

 

 

Another benefit of this was that it allowed Novillo to drift inside – he had two decent efforts from long range.

 

 

Second half

 

Thankfully, the game opened up in the second half. Both teams seemed willing to push more players forward in attack, which had the flow-on effect of creating more space on the counter-attack – Burns became far more involved.

 

A good example of this was when Riera played a quick forward pass to Bonevacia, who received a pass behind the Mooy-Paartalu pivot for what felt like the first time in the game – the Dutchman’s pass in the behind nearly created a goal via Burns.

 

Increasingly, however, City’s area of strength when attacking down the left became the game’s prominent feature. Germano got forward twice in the space of two minutes to send in two dangerous crosses on his right foot – Kennedy just missed connecting on the first, then flicked a header off the second just wide.

 

*Gif/Video of Germano crossing to Kennedy at link*

 

City’s momentum was building, however, and they scored twice from two straightforward counter-attacks.

 

 

Wellington’s response

 

Merrick brought on Kenny Cunningham and Alex Rodriguez in chasing the game, moving Burns upfront and switching to a 4-2-3-1 formation.

 

Their response was minimal, though, with City comfortably closing out the game.

 

 

Conclusion

 

“To Melbourne City’s credit they put us under a lot of pressure and they closed down our midfield,”Merrick said post-match. “[They] came here with the right attitude, they competed all over the park, they pressed us and stopped our midfield.”

 

City have become quite reactive in the second half of the season, with John Van’t Schip opting for a consistently defensive approach despite experimenting with new formations. Here, in a 4-2-1-3, City were able to prevent Wellington from dominating the midfield zone, with Mooy and Paartalu doing a good job shielding the defence and forcing the Phoenix wide.

 

This, combined with the defence sitting deep and minimising the space for Wellington’s wide players to run in behind, meant the first half was tepid and low on chances. When the game opened up more in the second half, City were able to find joy down the left partly thanks to Wellington’s unusual defensive shape – although it was two simple counter-attacks that lead to the two goals.

 

Top of the league in March, Wellington’s season has ended with a whimper. While Merrick was flexible with the formation, his side probably became too predictable – the narrowness of the midfield diamond, along with the tendency of the wide forwards to make runs inside, meant they lacked width, and several teams had success in the latter part of the season defending deep and narrow, removing the space for the likes of Bonevacia, McGlinchey, Burns and Krishna to work in.

 

An alternate option upfront, such as an out-and-out central striker like Joel Griffiths, probably wouldn’t have gone amiss, and Merrick bemoaned the lack of a ‘Plan B’ post-match. Jeremy Brockie had been out of form for some time, but a player of his attributes was sorely missing from the squad. This was particularly noticeable in Wellington’s meek attempt to chase the game here.

 

City, meanwhile, progress improbably to a semi-final against Melbourne Victory. Their defensive approach here was simple but effective. However, they remain a fairly limited side, and despite their progression to the next stage, are not in the same calibre of the other semi-final teams.

 

http://www.australiascout.com/2015/a-league-finals-melbourne-city-wellington-phoenix-analysis/

[jw1739]

I'm glad that when I played all we did was run around a bit, pass the ball to a team-mate and occasionally have a shot for goal.

[kingofhearts]

Some highlights from the imp of the game if anyone's interested.

 

http://www.melbournecityfc.com.au/video/bts---elimination-final-scenes-at-the-imperial/1216854