Phoenix out to make ALeague history
THE ALeague Finals Series has reached the semifinal stage with the Wellington Phoenix in action, looking to secure their first Grand Final appearance and, perhaps, a first piece of silverware in the process.
Three teams are out to stop them, their finalfour opponents Melbourne Victory and on the other side of the competition, the Premier winners and reigning ALeague champions Central Coast Mariners and the ALeague’s alltime most successful team, Sydney FC.
So, what can Phoenix fans expect?
Melbourne Victory
Tony Popovic’s side will undoubtedly be impacted by the absence of mercurial midfielder Zinedine Machach. The Frenchman will miss both legs of the semifinal after copping a twogame suspension for his kickout at Leo Natel in the epic Melbourne elimination derby.
Jake Brimmer could move forward to cover, with the experienced Leigh Broxham coming into the starting XI. Other options include shifting one of the creative wide players, such as Daniel Arzani, Chris Ikonomidis or Salim Khelifi, inside. There is also a blast from the Wellington past, Roly Bonevacia, who returns to the squad. Goalkeepers: Paul Izzo, Christian Siciliano; Defenders: Jason Geria, Adama Traore, Damien Da Silva, Roderick Miranda, Connor Chapman, Jordi Valadon, Kasey Bos; Midfielders: Leigh Broxham, Jake Brimmer, Salim Khelifi, Ryan Teague, Roly Bonevacia, Fabian Monge; Attackers: Chris Ikonomidis, Bruno Fornaroli, Ben Folami, Nishan Velupillay, Daniel Arzani.
Wellington Phoenix
Giancarlo Italiano has a full complement to pick from now Isaac Hughes has recovered from a hamstring injury, leaving the Phoenix head coach spoiled for choice.
It will likely be the starting XI that has served Chiefy so well in recent weeks, with the only real decision around whether Oskar Zawada should start or be used as an impact substitute. Goalkeepers: Alex Paulsen, Jack Duncan; Defenders: Finn Surman, Scott Wootton, Tim Payne, Lukas KellyHeald, Sam Sutton, Isaac Hughes; Midfielders: Alex Rufer, Bozhidar Kraev, Ben Old, Mohamed AlTaay, Nicholas Pennington, Youstin Salas, Fin Conchie, Matt Sheridan; Attackers: Kosta Barbarouses, Oskar Zawada, David Ball, Oskar van Hattum.
The three previous meetings between these two sides have been incredibly close, with Finn Surman’s lastminute winner in the most recent fixture being the only difference across the trio of games.
A similar pattern should follow in this semifinal clash, which will not prove helpful for the nailbiters out there.
While the Phoenix are well rested, the Victory are coming off the back of an extremely sapping derby win over Melbourne City — a game in which they played with 10 men for over 80 minutes. Their goalkeeper saved them last time out, but this prediction depends on whether you think the Victory will be riding high from that adrenaline rush or suffering a hangover from the hardfought route to the final four. We will go with the latter, in hope rather than assured expectation.
Prediction: Wellington Phoenix 2 Melbourne Victory 1. The Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC played the first leg of their semifinal late yesterday in Sydney.