Damned windy Wellington. If the kiwis hadn’t paid off Mother Nature before the match, we might’ve had a win last week.
Damned windy Wellington. If the kiwis hadn-t paid off Mother Nature before the match, we might-ve had a win last week.
While you could argue that we were unlucky not to get three points at our cross-Tasman neighbours, I-d say that 2-2 was an acceptable scoreline for the balance of play. The Phoenix played well for part of the game, and there were periods in which we had them pushed deep into their defensive half.
The highlight of the Phoenix match, for me, was the emergence of Adrian Zahra. In the past two weeks, two of our younger players have stepped up to the plate and delivered when we needed them to.
Aziz Behich played out of his skin during the derby, and now Zahra stepped into the right wing position and always looked quick and dangerous.
His run into the Phoenix box to win the penalty was a great showing of his potential. After some great defending from the front, the ball fell at Zahra-s feet on the halfway line. He immediately strode towards goal and, using his agility, drew a foul from a different Muscat and brought us back into the game.
Rutger Worm also had a great game. He-s slowly starting to build up a reign of good form, so hopefully he can continue this through the season as we climb up the table.
Most impressively, though, Wayne Srhoj had a great match. Before the season began, he was lauded as a technically gifted creative midfielder, thus taking the #10 shirt, however he-s shown that when he works hard, chases the ball and tracks back he can turn our midfield into something special.
Speaking of special, how about that goal from Matty Thompson? Out of nowhere to turn like that and calmly place the ball into the back of the net – you can tell why we worked so hard to sign him this season. As a vice-captain, he shows the kind of leadership you want on the field. With or without the armband, he steps up his game and causes the other players to lift with him.
This week we-ve got the high-flying Gold Coast. With all their talk, it-s surprising that they-re not named Ego FC, but that-s another story.
Their defence has been rock solid this season, conceding only six times, however they-ve also only put nine goals into the back of the net, so I-m not sure that we-ll have a high-scoring match on our hands.
Brimming with confidence from the last two matches, I-m expecting a strong showing from our boys. We-ve won the last three at home, so I-m hoping that this run can continue to make it four wins at home in a row.
If you want to get involved with the pre-match atmosphere, get down to The Imperial Hotel before the game to take part in the Imperial March. Awesome food and drink specials are available for Heart fans, so make sure you come down to show your support for the Heart.
As well as this, Red & White Unite are going to be sitting in Section 38 behind the goals at the Olympic End from this week onwards in an attempt to increase the atmosphere down the non-active end of the ground.
Everyone is welcome, whether you-re general admission, reserved seats or active support, so come down, raise your voices and spur the boys on to yet another win!
Yours in support,
– The Punter
www.redwhiteunite.com – The home of all Melbourne Heart supporters
