Treat yourself to festive football thrills by catching some live Hyundai A-League action at Westpac Stadium!
Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets
Friday 23rd December, 7.30pm
Treat yourself to festive football thrills by catching some live Hyundai A-League action at Westpac Stadium!
For one evening in Wellington, the festivities take a back seat as there are far more important things to think about. Namely, the business of securing Hyundai A-League points!
Westpac Stadium hosts a belter of a contest between the Phoenix and Newcastle Jets on Friday, so get yourself along to the match and breath in some exciting live Hyundai A-League action! Is there a better way to kick off your Christmas than by being part of a great atmosphere as these two quality sides go all out to topple each other? Surely not.
The Fever Zone will be hoping for a similar outcome to when the two sides last met at Westpac Stadium. In Week 2, goals in each half from Tim Brown and Daniel gave Phoenix a 2-0 win over the Jets.
The victory ensured that the New Zealanders remained unbeaten at the start of the season and was especially impressive considering the fact that, not only did they lose attacker Paul Ifill to injury, but they were reduced to nine men by the final whistle, following two red cards. With Ifill back in action, Phoenix will certainly be giving the Newcastle back-line plenty to think about on Friday.
If last season’s battles between the teams in Wellington are anything to go by, then the home side should indeed be confident of emerging victorious.
A 1-0 win towards the end of the campaign was preceded by a 4-0 thumping of Jets just almost exactly a year ago. Indeed, Newcastle seem to hate travelling to New Zealand. Of their eight visits, they have lost seven times.
If they are to buck that trend, then they will have to perform better than they have done on the road for much of the Hyundai A-League 2011/12 season. While their most recent away loss – defeat in the derby against Central Coast Mariners a couple of weeks back – is nothing to be ashamed of, it demonstrated their general inability to truly compete away from home this campaign.
They have, in fact, only picked up a single point on their travels so far and scored just once – a Jobe Wheelhouse consolation in a 3-1 loss to Gold Coast United.
With the kind of away form that makes Phoenix’s seem positively impressive, Newcastle Jets might not be fancying a festive foray to Wellington, so, Fever Zone, you need to take advantage of this by creating an intense atmosphere that will spur your side on to attack their travel-sick opponents. Non-stop support from the stands can have a huge impact on what goes on on the field, so make some serious noise!
