The Big Match: The heat will be on at 'The Cake Tin'

Wellington Phoenix's Nathan Burns says Sydney FC is the team under pressure going into this match but Mickael Tavares reckons "Burnsy" is kidding himself. One thing is for sure, though - the game at Westpac Stadium on Sunday is massive because of what the result will mean to the final standing. We tell you all you need to know about it.

A-League Rd 12 - Sydney v Wellington

Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix meet for the second time in a month with a big prize on offer (Getty) Source: Getty Images Asia Pacific

Wellington coach Ernie Merrick has two A-League championships to his name, both with Melbourne Victory, and Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold has one, with Central Coast Mariners. Each man is trying to become the first to win a championship with different clubs.
Why you should watch it

Because it all goes on the line in this final match of the regular season.

Sydney only needs a draw to clinch second place. Wellington must win. Why is a top-two finish so important? Because only two teams have ever made the grand final after finishing outside of the top two in the regular season and no team has ever won it from there.

What happened last time they played

It was a 3-0 smash-up in favour of Sydney and it was only four rounds back, so the result would still be relatively fresh in the memories of players from both teams.

But what must be taken into consideration was that it was an international weekend, and while Sydney was missing star striker Marc Janko, Wellington was much worse off.

Phoenix had to do without Nathan Burns, as well as a host of All Whites representatives including Michael McGlinchey.

All of the scoring came in the first half, with the goals coming from Jacques Faty , Shane Smeltz and an own goal from Manny Muscat.

Key battles

There are two main fronts on which this game will be fought.

Both midfields have the ability to feed their team's attackers great ball. Shutting down the rival midfield will be a high priority for each team.

Sydney's back four faces a huge challenge against Phoenix's Burns, McGlinchey, Roly Bonevacia and Roy Kirhsna. It's the same for Wellington against Marc Janko, Alex Brosque, Bernie Ibini and Smeltz.  

Why Phoenix will win

The late, late show it put on at home against Central Coast Mariners last weekend would have given the players a huge lift.

Down 2-0 at half-time, Wellington came back to win 3-2, with Kenny Cunningham's deciding goal coming in the fifth minute of added time.

That second half was much more like the Phoenix we have seen for the bulk of the season. 

Why Sydney will win

It's form away from home this campaign is fantastic. It hasn't lost a game on the road and has won most of them.

Sydney's run home looked extraordinarily difficult, with three straight away games to finish, but so far it has beaten Perth Glory (3-0) and Newcastle Jets (4-3).

And despite the fact it only needs a draw against Wellington to clinch second place, it won't adopt a conservative approach. It will be playing to win, as always.

What the players are saying

Early in the week, Wellington star Burns came out of the blocks fast to try to put pressure on Sydney by identifying what he saw as its shortcomings.

"Oh yeah, they've got heaps of issues, I think, with their defensive line-up," Burns said. "They conceded three goals in their last game, so they're easy to break down and we just have to find our way through and get a bit of luck.

"The pressure is on Sydney to come and get the top-two position here, so we're just going to have to go out and play our best."

But Sydney midfielder Mickael Tavares said Burns had it the wrong way around.

"The last game we played against them, we didn't concede any goals and we scored three," Tavares said.

"They're dealing with more pressure than we are. We're coming into the game in a better place on the table, so they have to make the game.

"They have to win. We only need a draw, but we'll be going in to fight for a victory like we do in every game. I'm used to people trying to put pressure on before games. We are professionals and we know what we have to do."

What the coaches are saying

Wellington's Ernie Merrick said last week's win over Central Coast had put his team back into gear.

"I've made a couple of grand finals with another club [Melbourne Victory] and we got that sort of run at some stage - conceding goals, not scoring goals - and you have to come out of it before you go into the finals," Merrick said.

"That's why it was such a crucial game last weekend. The fact that we did get three goals, and it could've been four or five with Jason [Hicks] missing a chance and 'Burnsy' missing a chance, so I think that was a crucial game to win. Very much [so]."

Sydney's Graham Arnold said his team's run of away games to finish the regular season was toughening it up for the big games ahead.

"I said four or five weeks ago that if we can get through this period of away games, we're going to be battle-hardened for the finals series," Arnold said.

"We're in good shape. We've changed our training programs to keep the players mentally fresh and happy - and they're very happy at the moment."

The villain

Both teams had a player sent off last time they met. For Sydney, it was former Phoenix striker Smeltz.

If one of their own, in Smeltz, comes off the bench to score the goal that keeps Wellington out of second spot, the home fans will hate it even more.

The hero

Conversely, one of the biggest heroes in the Wellington side is an Aussie - Burns.

Phoenix fans will have loved how he called Sydney out on what he saw as a few deficiencies in the team earlier in the week. If he can now walk the walk with a crucial goal he'll get an enormous reception.

The match in numbers

These two have clashed 24 times and Sydney has done the better with 13 wins to Wellington's 10.

Wellington's record is significantly better at home, where it has six wins to Sydney's four with one game drawn.

The last 10 overall clashes have seen results split evenly, with five wins apiece, although it should be pointed out Sydney has won four of the last six and two of the last three.

The last five meetings in Wellington have resulted in three Phoenix wins and two to Sydney. Those two Sydney wins have come in the last three clashes.

Wellington and Sydney have met twice this season, with Phoenix winning 2-0 in Sydney on 21 December and Sydney winning 3-0 at Wellington on 29 March.

The verdict

This is a tough one to call.

Both teams have great ability to exploit space left behind when the opposition has swept forward in attack only to turn the ball over. There will be multiple opportunities like that in this match.

Needing only a draw but still adopting its winning mentality, Sydney can play its normal game.

Wellington, if the game wears on and it still doesn't have the lead, will start to feel added pressure to take risks. That is when Sydney could pounce on a mistake to great effect.

Sydney to win, 2-1.


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7 min read
Published 25 April 2015 11:36am
Updated 25 April 2015 4:54pm
By Greg Prichard
Source: SBS

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