Big boots for Krishna to fill
It looks like a lot’s on Roy Krishna’s shoulders.
Michael McGlinchey, Roly Bonevacia, Blake Powell and Jeffrey Sarpong will hopefully contribute goals to the Wellington Phoenix this season. But if the A-League club are going to win games, Krishna might need to play a starring role.
Nathan Burns scored 13 goals during the Phoenix’s last campaign, while also causing innumerable headaches for opposition defenders and coaches. Burns was so good he was awarded the Johnny Warren Medal.
But despite having the competition’s best player, the Phoenix were still eliminated in the first week of the playoffs.
Powell, briefly on the books of Sydney FC – but otherwise more accustomed to playing at levels below this league – and Sarpong are the men brought in to replace the departed Burns. Powell impressed in pre-season, while no one’s much the wiser about Sarpong.
Anyone who’s appeared in the top Dutch and Spanish leagues, and represented The Netherlands at age-group level, must be a serious player. But Sarpong hasn’t revealed himself to be especially fit or durable just yet and might have to be used in fits and starts for a few weeks.
Which leads us back to the 28-year-old from the Fijian town of Labasa.
Krishna can really play, on his day. But, as you survey this Phoenix squad, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that Krishna’s day is going to have to roll round a bit more regularly than it has in his previous season and a half with the club.
‘‘Of course [this is an important season]. Last year was a disappointing ending for me, but it’s passed now,’’ Krishna said ahead of the Phoenix’s seasonopener against the Newcastle Jets at Westpac Stadium on Sunday.
At one point last season, Krishna and Burns resembled a double act. But the Fiji international suddenly went off the boil, leaving defences to focus all their attention on Burns.
He struggled with the additional attention and the Phoenix’s attack foundered. For his part, Krishna’s identified what went wrong.
‘‘I was just rushing in the final third. With a bit more experience and training I know that in the front third you’ve got to be a bit more patient with the ball and calm with the ball,’’ said Krishna. A-League round one Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets
Westpac Stadium, 7pm Sunday Phoenix $1.75, Newcastle $4.10, Draw $3.75 (from) Glen Moss, Manny Muscat, Justin Gulley, Roly Bonevacia, Jeffrey Sarpong, Alex Rodriguez, Michael McGlinchey, Kwabena Appiah, Blake Powell, Louis Fenton, Vince Lia, Ben Sigmund, Tom Doyle, Lewis Italiano, Roy Krishna, Andrew Durante, Matthew Ridenton.
Mark Birighitti, Daniel Mullen, Jason Hoffman, Nigel Boogaard, Ben Kantarovski, Cameron Watson, Enver Alivodic, Mateo Poljak, Milos Trifunovic, Leonardo, Labinot Haliti, Andy Brennan, Lee Ki-je, Mitch Cooper, Themba Muata-Marlow, Ben Kennedy, David Carney, Brandon Lundy
So he’s confident of becoming a prolific scorer in this league? ‘‘Of course.’’ The Phoenix’s route to goal will be interesting. Some teams are adept at scoring from setpieces, but the Phoenix don’t appear to be one of them.
Corners became something of an issue for them last season and – on the strength of what you see from them at training – free-kicks and penalties don’t leap out as a reliable source of goals either.
But if they can get in behind teams and allow players such as Krishna to utilise their pace and set up one-on-one situations with the goalkeeper, then they should be right.