A WIN, a loss and a draw. One of each in Phoenix’s busiest ever week.
Last Sunday's loss to Sydney was very disappointing, especially given the previous week's mauling of GCU. Losing Mark Paston after seven minutes didn't help, but he'd have been as powerless as Reece Crowther to stop any of Sydney's goals. It was game over after half an hour as Alex Brosque tore the defence to shreds. That Sydney then went to Gold Coast and lost on Saturday night just shows how unpredictable this league is.
Wednesday's win over the Jets got Phoenix back on track. To be honest, it was fairly comfortable and but for some excellent keeping by the much maligned (and horribly coiffed) Ben Kennedy, including a save from Chris Greenacre's spot-kick, the scoreline could have been much wider. Paul Ifill was excellent again and youngster Costa Barbarouses marked his first start of the season with an excellent display; enough in fact to keep Leo Bertos out of the side for the next game against his former side, Perth.
The Perth match was always going to be an arm-wrestle and so it proved, with neither side able to gain ascendancy for long periods. The football was fairly ordinary at times, and it was only a frantic last 10 minutes that elevated the game above ordinary. Phoenix had enough territory and possession in the dying minutes to grab a winner, but a draw was probably fair enough, all things considered.
Certainly fatigue may have been a factor for those players who were involved in all three matches, but if a professional footballer can't handle a mid-week game sandwiched between two scheduled weekend fixtures, then something's wrong. Certainly Greenacre and Ifill have taken great delight this past week in reminding their Australasian team-mates at every opportunity that midweek matches are par for the course in England's lower leagues.
Four points from a possible nine isn't a great return, but it consolidated sixth place at the half-way point of the season. I get the feeling this is where the side will remain for much of the rest of the campaign; Sydney, Melbourne and Gold Coast look likely to be the top three (in some order) so the other seven sides, who are now separated by just five points, will scrap for the remaining three playoff slots. It really is a crazy table though - where else in the world would you find the top and bottom sides having exactly the same number of losses?
Numbers at Phoenix training will be down this week as coach Ricki Herbert and his six Phoenix All Whites prepare for the match of their lives against Bahrain on Saturday. The stakes simply couldn't be higher - win, and place at South Africa 2010 is ours. Lose, and the pathway will be far more treacherous in years to come as FIFA look to shore up inequalities in the global qualification system.
It's the match everyone is talking about and tickets are nigh on impossible to get, unless you're willing to pay several times face value on Trade-Me. The excitement levels among football fans are already higher than ever and will build to a cacophonous climax on Saturday night. Fans I've spoken to have butterflies already, so goodness only knows how the players are feeling. It will be a simply massive occasion and hopefully a night to remember at the Ring of Fire.