Phoenix drop two points against leaders MelbourneWELLINGTON - Friday, 4 December 2009For once, the disrupted defence of the Wellington weakened by the absence of Manny Muscat looked headed for an important win over leaders Melbourne Victory, when they led 1-0 for the majority of the 17th round clash tonight, only to be undone when they were exposed when a bad substitution by coach Ricki Herbert, saw Costa Barbourouses come on to replace midfielder Adrian Ceceras. That took all the momentum out of the home side who were dominating proceedings as the game edged towards the closing stages. When Ceceras left the scene, any positive midfield construction went out of the 'Nix play, and the 10-man Melbourne Victory suddenly began to play, and it was no surprise when in the 86th minute Rodney Vargas came into the penalty area, and was able to head the equaliser which gave the League leaders a share of the points. 2010-11 Hyundi A-League [rd17]:
Overall, Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert is continuing to experiment, and now realises that he lacks a midfield maestro, something that Paul Ifill does well, and today's game saw Ceceras take the role on successfully. What the team then failed to do, is improvise as Ifill was not brought back to carry on, and only he was able to unsettle usually reliable defender, Kevin Muscat. The game kicked off with the usual Chris Greenacre being unavailable, due to an injury - and that meant that Adrian Ceceras started. As predicted Troy Hearfield was given a rare start in Manny Muscat's position, while the return from injury of Jon McKain was a welcome sight. However, it was Hearfield in his forays upfield completely unsettled Nick Ward, and he ended up being cautioned twice, and as a result saw the visitors reduced to 10 players. Robbie Cruise was replaced by the veteran Tom Ponjejk, but it wasn't the 57th minute before Tim Brown was able ghost into a scoring position in the Victory goalmouth, before heading the home side into the lead. The Phoenix then threatened to take over the game, and needed to score a second to secure all three points, but a bad substitution error by the coaching staff saw them throw away the points, as Costa Barabouroses entered the fray. He was outwitted and outmuscled by Kevin Muscat and company, and that finally let in Rodney Vargas the chance for the 10-man Victory side to equalise - also, with a well-taken header. To crown matters, Newcastle Jets in the late game downed luckless Adelaide United 2-0 at Hindmarsh, to leapfrog the Phoenix from 6th spot on the table. With Vice-captain Tim Brown having received his 5th yellow card, effectively rules him him to miss the next game - a home game against Sydney FC in Palmerston North next weekend. Despite the bad news, the Phoenix have equalled the 14-game unbeaten home record of Sydney FC, but the draw only highlights the need to score more goals, and more wins - if they are to make the Top Six. HYUNDI A-LEAGUE TABLE 2009-10 [rd 17]
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