Back home! The Sky Blues return to Sydney Football Stadium
Wednesday 1st December 7:00pm
Back home! The Sky Blues return to Sydney Football Stadium for the clash with the ‘Nix-. Both sides are out for revenge – who will prevail?
Having headed out West for the visit of Perth Glory, the Sky Blues are back in more familiar territory for this Wednesday night clash with Wellington Phoenix. On a brand new playing surface, they-ll be looking to take revenge on a side that beat them in Week 6 at Westpac Stadium.
The match marked a mixed Sky Blues debut for striker Bruno Cazarine. Having conceded the penalty from which Paul Ifill opened the scoring, the Brazilian then clinically equalised, before ending up on the losing side thanks to a fantastic Nick Ward goal.
This was at the midpoint of Sydney-s worst ever Hyundai A-League run of results, which saw them take until week 11 to finally secure three points. It is a slow start that they are still trying to recover from.
However, Sydney were without captain Terry McFlynn, striker Alex Brosque and playmaking midfielder Nicky Carle on that rainy night in Wellington.
With a less depleted squad at his disposal this time round, coach Vitezslav Lavicka will be hoping for a better outcome against a side that traditionally finds life hard on the road. The trip out to Sydney-s West will certainly have done plenty to boost the confidence of the Sky Blues.
The patient and hard-earned win over Glory kept their top six ambitions alive and showed that the players are willing to really graft and grind out results. When you-re not playing amazingly, that is a crucial asset.
While Phoenix have already had the pleasure of overturning Sydney in the Hyundai A-League 2010/11 season, they have a special reason to seek revenge. Wednesday-s game is the first time they will return to Sydney Football Stadium since they were beaten there in the Preliminary Final stage of last season-s Grand Finals.
The fact that the heartbreaking loss was inflicted in somewhat controversial circumstances – with one of the goals going in off striker Chris Payne-s hand – will make Phoenix all the more eager to get one over their hosts. There is no better way to heal the pain of such a defeat than to head to the scene of the crime on Wednesday and walk away with three points.
What a night it was for The Cove the last time Wellington visited, as your team continued their amazing march to glory.
This season is turning out to be very different, but a win is just as important in its own way, so get along to this midweek match-up and try to rekindle the atmosphere that served your team so well when Phoenix were last in town. Jump up Sydney Cove!
