Doesn’t get more important than this
Tonight’s match against Wellington Phoenix would probably be one of the most important in the club’s history. With the possibility of securing the Premiership Plate and an automatic ACL appearance there is all to play for with goals and a number of them being the key. The fact that Wellington still has a chance of securing their first ever finals berth bodes well for our chances as they will be looking for the win. Melbourne has a good home record against New Zealand teams, having never dropped any points against either the New Zealand Knights or the Phoenix on home turf.
Also look for Allsopp to get on the scoresheet as he has a pretty good scoring record against the Phoenix, both home and away. Another key player will be Carlos Hernandez, who came off the bench to such great effect last week. Will Merrick give him a start this week? I hope so as Melbourne’s midfield looked particularly toothless last week when he wasn’t on the pitch. Hernandez was also the subject matter for my latest 442 blog post, which can be read here.
My tip: Melbourne 3 Wellington 0
Tags: carlos hernandez, danny allsopp, melbourne victory, wellington phoenix
January 23rd, 2009 at 11:02 am
Interesting point regarding Hernandez. I’ve actually started to see some sensibility in Merrick’s use of Hernandez and Fabiano off the bench. Most weeks, one of those two is on the bench. And most weeks, when they come on, they provide the necessary spark to make Melbourne come alive. Both are good enough to start on the field, but they seem to be working even better as impact subs.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:06 pm
I would disagree with you on the Hernandez front. He brings so much creativity to our midfield that when he is not on the field we tend to resort to the long ball, especially if Celeski is playing as a defensive midfielder. Would like to see both Celeski in the central midfield with either Lopez or Brebner as a purely defensive midfielder.