Forgettable Phoenix cop arresting display from boys in blue
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday November 2, 2009
Sydney FC 3 Wellington Phoenix 1 JUST seven days after the finest performance in the history of the club, Wellington Phoenix picked a bad time to put in one of their worst.Coach Ricki Herbert might have spruiked during the week that his players could only get better after last week's 6-0 demolition of Gold Coast but they looked a shadow of that team against Sydney FC at the SFS yesterday.In the end, the 3-1 triumph probably didn't do the victors justice, nor adequately convey how poor the Phoenix were. From the opening minute €“ when Brazilian midfielder Daniel temporarily dislocated his shoulder €“ it was a forgettable evening for the Kiwis.For Sydney, this was an exercise in punishment or, more precisely, how much they could extract. Some 35 minutes into the first half, the hosts had pierced Wellington's defence three times. Game over.Mark Bridge overcame illness to grab his fifth and sixth goals of the season, either side of a tap-in finish from captain Steve Corica. But the star of the show was the brilliant Alex Brosque, who set up all three goals, delighting the 10,053 crowd.Wellington had a chance to gain some respectability on the hour mark when Paul Ifill was fouled in the box but Daniel couldn't beat Clint Bolton with his re-taken penalty. Eventually they stole one through Costa Barbarouses with nine minutes to play though the damage had already been done.At the opposite end, Herbert had the misfortune of replacing Mark Paston just eight minutes in after he collided with Ifill. His replacement, 20-year-old Reece Crowther, never looked comfortable and his back four's sloppy efforts didn't helpSydney coach Vitezslav Lavicka said he was "very happy" with the result even though his side squandered several gilt-edged opportunities. "They played simply, moved the ball quickly, created the chances and scored goals," he said. "Most importantly, we created those chances. Had we not, we would think there is a problem. However, we need to score more."Corica revealed he was concerned at lapses in concentration that nearly allowed Wellington to get back into the game. "We are aware [of it], we've spoken about it and about being consistent. It does happen in the second half a little but the game was 3-0 at the time," he said. "They came good in the second half but I still think we created more chances in the second half than in the first."Herbert admitted his side were on the back foot from the moment Paston went down with a hip injury that is likely to keep him out of Wednesday's match against Newcastle."It didn't go particularly well. We had a spell of 15 minutes where we lost our way a bit and got punished for it," he said. "If you fall into that zone you really do get punished."The keeper change seemed to unsettle the Phoenix and it wasn't long before the Sky Blues had the lead after a superb interchange between Bridge and Brosque. From Karol Kisel's throw-in, Bridge found his strike partner before receiving the ball back and floating shot inside Crowther's right post.Fifteen minutes later, Corica picked up a yellow for his late challenge on Leo Bertos but turned from villain to hero when his simple finish doubled Sydney's advantage after Crowther palmed out Brosque's shot.Infused with confidence, Sydney lifted another notch when Brosque accelerated away from Ben Sigmund on the left flank, drawing Crowther off his line as he motored towards goal. Brosque squared the ball past him to Bridge, leading to another tap-in.Sydney were effectively doing as they pleased until Gerard Parsons blew his whistle for half-time, temporarily ending the domination.Bridge was switched for John Aloisi on 53 minutes, giving the marquee striker a chance to prove why he shouldn't be forgotten €“ he had several opportunities in the second half, even hitting the post, but couldn't convert them.Had Daniel converted the contentious penalty, the Phoenix could have been an outside chance but they rarely threatened, even accounting for Barbarouses's shot which literally bounced over the head of Bolton.– In yesterday's other match Melbourne Victory beat Perth Glory 2-1 at ME Bank Stadium in Perth.– W-League heavyweights Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar both stated their intentions with record-equalling 6-0 victories over Adelaide United and Perth Glory respectively at the weekend. Sydney FC remain three points in arrears of the Roar.
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
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