Be a part of history as Eden Park in Auckland plays host to its first ever professional football match!
Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United
Saturday 19th November, 5.00pm
Be a part of history as Eden Park in Auckland plays host to its first ever professional football match!
This Saturday, history is set to be made as Wellington Phoenix host Adelaide United in what will be Eden Park-s first Hyundai A-League match. Tickets are on sale now for what promises to be a momentous occasion in Auckland-s football history. So, don’t delay, secure yours today and get involved!
The newly redeveloped Eden Park, better known as the home of rugby union and cricket in New Zealand, is a world-class multi-purpose stadium and is preparing itself of an influx of yellow and black shirts on Saturday.
With tickets starting at just $5 for under 16s and $25 for adults, there is no reason not to get along to this match. Of course, 2011/12 Wellington Phoenix Season Members can attend the game at no extra cost. For details, call the Wellington Phoenix FC hotline on (04) 384 2457, quoting your membership number or produce your membership card and identification at Michael Fowler Centre or St James box office in Wellington, or at Sky City box office in Auckland.
Wellington go into this inaugural appearance at Eden Park on the back an absolutely fantastic result in Brisbane. Despite being under constant pressure for pretty much the entire 90 minutes, Phoenix held on for a valuable point.
Indeed, they showed tremendous spirit to fight back after conceding an early Besart Berisha header from a Thomas Broich free kick. That could have been the start of a crumble, but when Leo Bertos played a pin-point ball to Nick Ward, he squared for Tim Brown to slot home on his 100th Hyundai A-League appearance and, from that moment on, it was a case of frantic defending from the away side.
The fact that they somehow held on will give them optimism that they can gain all three points this weekend.
However, they take on an Adelaide United side buoyed by a return to winning ways. Following a couple of miserable losses, they picked up a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Gold Coast United at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday.
After the Reds had the better of a scoreless first-half, Zenon Caravella gave his new club the lead with a goal in the 57th minute, before Iain Ramsay hit an absolute beauty to restore the lead after James Brown had levelled things up.
However, despite this confidence-boosting win, Adelaide still hop over the ditch without having picked up a single point on the road so far in the Hyundai A-League 2011/12 season. In fact, the last time they played away from home they were on the wrong end of a 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Brisbane Roar.
This will give Phoenix hope that they can turnaround their own loss of home form. Before last weekend’s exceptional draw, the yellow and black uncharacteristically suffered two straight losses on their own patch. Ricki Herbert – who last week signed a contract extension – will be eyeing their first game in new surroundings as an opportunity to bring about an end to the temporary home slump.
Historic occasions like this don’t come along too often, so get yourself down to Eden Park on Saturday. Whether you are a die-hard Phoenix fan or an intrigued Aucklander, this event is not to be missed. Let’s make it a massive crowd and an occasion to remember!
