Nix challenged by defensive tactics
WELLINGTON: The Phoenix is finding out that hanging with the big boys in the top half of the ALeague brings with it some sobering realities.
Wellington hosts a second powerhouse side in the space of three days when Melbourne City comes to Westpac Stadium today, bringing with it the stingiest defence in the league.
Mark Rudan’s troops could not break down a methodical Sydney FC in Wednesday’s 10 loss, its first defeat in two months.
Offered little space against a defence sitting back and without playmaker Sarpreet Singh in the starting lineup, the Phoenix had more possession than any game this season but struggled for chances.
Rudan expects more of the same from an opponent which realises the renewed threat his sixthplaced team poses this year, particularly through the pace of striker Roy Krishna.
‘‘Not often does a team like Sydney FC come to our shores and play the way they did,’’ Rudan said.
‘‘It shows just how much respect now we’ve got from other teams where they just bank themselves up, two banks of four, and they were waiting to play on the counterattack against us.’’
The Phoenix enjoys an eightpoint buffer back to seventhplaced Newcastle but Rudan is not content to spend the next two months merely protecting a finals berth.
His ambitions are for a high ranking, which makes fourthplaced City — four points ahead of Wellington — a prime target to strike.
Singh looks set to start, possibly along with forward David Williams, after Rudan’s decision to rest the pair in favour of Nathan Burns and Cillian Sheridan against Sydney backfired.
Rudan has the smallest roster in the competition after recently jettisoning Australian pair Mitch Nichols and Reuben Way but says rotation is a necessary evil during this month’s congested calendar.
Melbourne City will hope Belgian fullback Ritchie De Laet continues to convince up front in the absence of Bruno Fornaroli, having scored twice in this week’s 43 win over Western Sydney Wanderers.
Rudan said his players were aware visiting teams would come to Wellington with their guards up, as has not always been the case in more challenging seasons for the Phoenix.
One glance at Sydney’s bench when the fulltime whistle blew on Wednesday told a story.
‘‘They’re the big guns, they’ve got the marquees, all the money, all the resources and they were acting like they’d won the grand final after the game,’’ Rudan said.
‘‘I looked over and thought ‘OK, that shows just how far we’ve come as a football club’.’’ — AAP