Nix v Brisbane Ratch Matings

As mentioned, I think I had a slightly different view to a few people. So here goes my view and would love to hear others opinions.

Spoonley 7 - Some really good saves from Berisha, a few questionable calls when safety first may have been better, but very decent overall performance.

Adams 5 - Not as terrible as he could have been - if that makes sense. For a guy out of position he did okay. Won a few balls in the air early and actually passed well but caught out often once brisbane pressed more.

Sigmund 6 - Really did well to nullify Berisha - for most of the time. However Berisha drops deep often to get the ball and Siggy would sometimes follow but get caught out. Poor for the last goal where he needed to take control and make the clearance. Great vision for the ball to Boxall at the far post for our goal.

Boxall 7 - Very strong in the tackle and actually showed a good turn of pace to track down his man. The cushioned header to Huysegems was fantastic. No-nonsense and actually think he was only caught out in defense when Siggy had pushed forward.

Caira 6 - A lot better than a lot of people would have expected. Can't remember a tackle that he missed, and tracked back well to shut out his man whenever he got in behind. Some poor mistakes at times and didn't get forward much but overall was quite encouraging.

Muscat 7 - A decent performance from Manny  - a lot of strong challenges and moved the ball well. Was also very impressed with his pressure off the ball especially in the first half where we really did a good job squeezing their talented midfield.

Lia 4 - Actually made some good tackles but would often then give the ball away with his next decision. Moved the ball reasonably well and released Cunningham for a decent angled shot, but overall nothing special with probably more negatives than positives. 

Hernandez 8 - Wow. Our midfield was completely different from anything we have ever had. Was super impressed with his willingness to run a lot without possession and they way he actually outmuscled opponents and pushed our attacks. His passing and combination play was amazing but tired after about 60 which is probably what he should be playing each week for me.

Cunningham 6 - A promising start without really giving us his best. Think he took a while to ease into the game and clearly a little bit underdone. As the game went on we saw him get in behind the defense and show that he does have a good turn of pace. Should have probably done a bit better with his 1v1 but was probably tricky with defender stuck to him.

Hicks 5 - Thought he took a long time to settle and made a lot of poor decisions however grew into the game a little more and tried to track back. Showed his class when he was facing a defender and skipping past him, but feel like he was a bit unsure positionally. Not convinced he would be a success in the middle of the park in this league, which is apparently more his preferred position, but obviously the fact he was out of position made his job harder today.

Huysegems 7 - Linked very well with other attackers, and has a great ability to maintain possession and hold up the ball. A few chances where I really wished he'd been able to take the shot - but his goal again showed his quality in front of goal and he was stoked to score which is great to see. Going to be a huge battle with Brockie.

Riera 5 - another out of position performance. Wasn't confident with his positioning but thats to be expected. No nonsense tackling with good vision and distribution which could definitely translate a lot better to playing in the middle of the park.

Ifill 5 - Looked slightly off the pace but still quality when on the ball. Didn't really get past his man to open up space like he has in the past but I expect he will have more luck this year once he's back to full fitness.

Boyd - Not much time on field but tried to get involved and beat 4 players at the end there when he had no support. Was worried for him with that cast.

Ernie 7 - Tactically he has really worked wonders with the squad so far, and think we played some of the best footy we have seen from a nix side. Think he would probably want his two 'wingers' to come inside a little bit more to get more numbers into the box and have decent shots which we didn't really see. He spoke of wanting the fullbacks to overlap and proved the width which we didn't see but I assume that is still part of the evolution of the side. Thought his selections were interesting, mainly taking off Stein when I think Carlos probably needed a break. Was risky playing a few guys out of position like Riera, Adams & Hicks, but didn't have as much of a choice with the RB spot.

Overall I'm freaking excited with the upcoming season and really gutted that we didn't get a point that we probably deserved. Missing a few players counted a bit but I think the fact that so many guys weren't ready for 90 mins was our undoing. Carlos, Ifill, Cunningham and Boyd all not 100% in my eyes but will get better. 

I think thats on the money there sir. I may have dropped Carlos down by one based on that he drifted out for the 2nd half. It felt more like 45 than 30 but your point stands.

I'd drop Hernandez a point.and Adams too. But yeah, near enough. Leggy moaning about Ifill being past it, Yet in the first half Cunningham struggled to get past his defenders as well for most of the time he was on. I'd give Ifill a 6 as he put the effort in and he is clearly not 100%

I'm very happy the way the team is heading mind.

As mentioned, I think I had a slightly different view to a few people. So here goes my view and would love to hear others opinions.

Spoonley 7 - Some really good saves from Berisha, a few questionable calls when safety first may have been better, but very decent overall performance.

Adams 5 - Not as terrible as he could have been - if that makes sense. For a guy out of position he did okay. Won a few balls in the air early and actually passed well but caught out often once brisbane pressed more.

Sigmund 6 - Really did well to nullify Berisha - for most of the time. However Berisha drops deep often to get the ball and Siggy would sometimes follow but get caught out. Poor for the last goal where he needed to take control and make the clearance. Great vision for the ball to Boxall at the far post for our goal.

Boxall 7 - Very strong in the tackle and actually showed a good turn of pace to track down his man. The cushioned header to Huysegems was fantastic. No-nonsense and actually think he was only caught out in defense when Siggy had pushed forward.

Caira 6 - A lot better than a lot of people would have expected. Can't remember a tackle that he missed, and tracked back well to shut out his man whenever he got in behind. Some poor mistakes at times and didn't get forward much but overall was quite encouraging.

Muscat 7 - A decent performance from Manny  - a lot of strong challenges and moved the ball well. Was also very impressed with his pressure off the ball especially in the first half where we really did a good job squeezing their talented midfield.

Lia 4 - Actually made some good tackles but would often then give the ball away with his next decision. Moved the ball reasonably well and released Cunningham for a decent angled shot, but overall nothing special with probably more negatives than positives. 

Hernandez 8 - Wow. Our midfield was completely different from anything we have ever had. Was super impressed with his willingness to run a lot without possession and they way he actually outmuscled opponents and pushed our attacks. His passing and combination play was amazing but tired after about 60 which is probably what he should be playing each week for me.

Cunningham 6 - A promising start without really giving us his best. Think he took a while to ease into the game and clearly a little bit underdone. As the game went on we saw him get in behind the defense and show that he does have a good turn of pace. Should have probably done a bit better with his 1v1 but was probably tricky with defender stuck to him.

Hicks 5 - Thought he took a long time to settle and made a lot of poor decisions however grew into the game a little more and tried to track back. Showed his class when he was facing a defender and skipping past him, but feel like he was a bit unsure positionally. Not convinced he would be a success in the middle of the park in this league, which is apparently more his preferred position, but obviously the fact he was out of position made his job harder today.

Huysegems 7 - Linked very well with other attackers, and has a great ability to maintain possession and hold up the ball. A few chances where I really wished he'd been able to take the shot - but his goal again showed his quality in front of goal and he was stoked to score which is great to see. Going to be a huge battle with Brockie.

Riera 5 - another out of position performance. Wasn't confident with his positioning but thats to be expected. No nonsense tackling with good vision and distribution which could definitely translate a lot better to playing in the middle of the park.

Ifill 5 - Looked slightly off the pace but still quality when on the ball. Didn't really get past his man to open up space like he has in the past but I expect he will have more luck this year once he's back to full fitness.

Boyd - Not much time on field but tried to get involved and beat 4 players at the end there when he had no support. Was worried for him with that cast.

Ernie 7 - Tactically he has really worked wonders with the squad so far, and think we played some of the best footy we have seen from a nix side. Think he would probably want his two 'wingers' to come inside a little bit more to get more numbers into the box and have decent shots which we didn't really see. He spoke of wanting the fullbacks to overlap and proved the width which we didn't see but I assume that is still part of the evolution of the side. Thought his selections were interesting, mainly taking off Stein when I think Carlos probably needed a break. Was risky playing a few guys out of position like Riera, Adams & Hicks, but didn't have as much of a choice with the RB spot.

Overall I'm freaking excited with the upcoming season and really gutted that we didn't get a point that we probably deserved. Missing a few players counted a bit but I think the fact that so many guys weren't ready for 90 mins was our undoing. Carlos, Ifill, Cunningham and Boyd all not 100% in my eyes but will get better. 

Yep pretty much agree with those ratings, although thought Cunningham didn't live up to the hype. Also while spoonley had a good game overall, he shouldn't have come so far out the side of his goal for their first, leaving an empty net for berisha.

Also Muscat looks to have found some of his form from a couple of years back. He was everywhere. 

Good ratings, and find them hard to disagree with other than Boxall's, who i thought was supposed to be marking Berisha, but lost him time after time.

I felt Ifill looked dangerous when he came on and perhaps that's his role now. Although $250k import slot for 20-30min cameo's mightnt be the best use of our salary cap!

I think it was a good effort considering missing players, first game etc, although cant help feeling it was a dropped point, given it was a last minute equaliser and a home game.

Very generous to Lia.

Spoonley was very impressive. I thought Lia did pretty well in the first half, but in the second he reverted to type, back to his horrible old ways, gifting the ball. Pretty much agree with everything else in the first post. I saw some really exciting attacking football this evening with some great precision. The saddest part is that newcomers will only see the result, and probably won't compare this game with most of last season, and see the immense changes the Blessed Ernie has made. I am still absolutely confident that we are going to have an amazing season.

I still think it's REALLY DUMB to take the Nix around the country.

We are Wellington.

It is our club.

Let them come to us.

There is no other way to develop a rock solid fan base, and this is the only way to keep the football fires burning bright in NZ.

A fine summary, if I may say so. We will all quibble about a +/- point here or there for individual players - mine is I would rate Muscat a point higher, but an intelligent, well considered post. Congrats, and thanks for taking the time to put this together.  Still gutted at losing at the death.

My top 3 for today were Muscat, Carlos and Waffles. Thought Muscat was back to his destructive best in midfield. Carlos showed he still has it during the first half but faded as the game went on. Waffles did so much work closing down from the front and took his goal well.

PWH's ratings are spot on for me. If I was quibbling I'd raise Hicks to a 6. For a debut it was impressive: quick feet, a decent passer and gave some good support in defence.

Like the look of Manny in that midfield role too. He ran his guts out and made a lot of crucial tackles.

Can I say though, I remain somewhat skeptical of Huysegems. Great goal of course, but he does dither on the ball sometimes and seems to lack that killer striker instinct. Perhaps I am being overly critical and, what do I know about football, but, he just doesn't instill *fear* in the defense,  unlike Berisha.  Am I being too harsh? Maybe, but my heart pounds more when Ifill is on the ball than Waffles.

Perhaps Caira wasn't any better today than Lochy was, but hes prob on about 1/3 the wage and will get better. I had to laugh at one of his early crosses though when he launched it into the bowl almost.

Could see Boxall pushing Siggy out eventually, and Riera that same with  Lia ( I hope). I think muscat defended well and had a few nice turns and even some nice passes to link up with his attack. I felt Cunningham did okay but could have scored.

Shame about Ifill's injury as I feel he could of added a point of difference as a starter. Boyd looked a little lost when he came on, I think he's a better winger than a striker - why no watson...?

Hicks was interesting and would like the chance to see a bit more of him than his 1 week contract.

I think Huysegyms played well and holds the ball up effectively along with a nice touch, although doesn't quite have the strike factor that brockie may provide. Carlos was epic until he tired a bit

I think Hicks is 3-4 weeks and Watson and McPeake is 1 week.

ah yep right you are :)

Move along, the argument has been done to death already...

Personally, I blame those bloody cats!

I thought Caira played really well. There right mid looked pretty average, but that could have been because Caira kept tackling him. MIles better than Lochy.

Also, you can't spell liability without Lia.

Coincidence? I think not...

Had a friend yesterday ask if his nickname was waffles because he waffles on a lot and doesn't take a shot. Pretty observant for someone who has never been to a football game in her life lol.

Am I the only one who thought Siggy had a rubbish game? Failed to marshal the defence on 2 key occasions. Ran ahead and resulted in being a spectator for the 1st roar goal. I think Boxall failed to track back and cover berisha because he found himself having to cover both the ball carrier and Berisha, when he should have been on the ball carrier and Siggy on berisha. Not sure, but was it Siggy who gave away the ball before the second goal?

I thought Spoonley, Caira, Boxall, Muscat, Hernandez and Hysugems were good. Hicks didn't have a great game but I think he has a lot of potential and should get a full contract. I think its a pity Spoonley doesn't have a full contract either. 

Cunningham was a little underwhelming, no real evidence of extreme pace or skill. Could be injury related. Lia was better than I expected but would still consider replacing him for the next game or at least subbing him off after around 50 minutes to let him play more aggressively while on the field.

I liked Caira, showed some good moves, looked a bit nervous and a lot of bad passes, even my son recognized that, he got pretty annoyed.

Ifill looked not fit, he was barely moving without the ball.

We should have not lost that game, no excuse. Hope we learn from it.

I think Hicks took about 20 mins to settle but once he did he was good. Alot of our best moves came from him making runs off Waffles and pulling the ball back across the goal, think Hysegems second half shot that was well saved.

Siggy was all over the place coming out of his line. Boxall did well to cover him and generally put pressure on Berisha who was his man. Boxall, is stronger, faster and a better passer. Can't see Siggy lasting the year as a starter.

Adams annoyed the crap out of me. Did a couple good things, but every time he got beaten, instead of working his arse off to get back he ambled back to help out. No urgency at all.

Cunningham underwhelming, but that was expected with his lack of game time. i expect him to get better and better.

Lia broke up a lot of play in the first half and had a good game screening and applying pressure. The first 10 - 20  minutes they couldn't get out of their half. Passing was poor in the secind, but he's not there for that.

Manny was very good.

Spoonley - 7. Great game apart from a few silly errors.

Adams - 4. Some silly turnovers like Caira. Offers nothing going forward. Not his fault he's a CB

Sigmund - 5. Lucky Franjic his the post in first half. Done like a dinner. Easy turned inside out which is always a worry.

Boxall - 5. Piss poor marking for 1st goal but nice assist for ours

Caira - 5. No better than Lochhead and gave the ball away far too much

Muscat - 7. Best performance since Round 1 against Sydney last year. Hope he keeps it up

Lia - 5. I dont care

Cunningham - 5. Failed to beat anyone he took on. Should've scored. Prob realises how ugly and scrappy A League is now and will have to adjust

Hicks - 5. Some nice wee touches. Didn't help that a simple pass was blasted at him a few times though. Not bad for out of position

Hernandez - 7. Great first half but hid in the last 25 of the 2nd

Huysegems - 5. Well taken goal. Absolutely diabolical with ball at feet on the break. Head down...

Boyd - 5. Not much time to do anything. Not sure he would anyway. Still wonder if he's up to it

Riera - 6. Crisp passing. Again another guy out of position. Like to see him alongside Manny

Ifill - 5. Still wonder if he will recapture form. Nice to see him in shape though.

Personally I thought:

Ciara was man of the match for the Nix.

Ifill added a lot when he came on - nothing came off but he looked likely and stretched the Roar defence and created space and opportunities. 

Hernadez was good, but needs to be better - solid but not a game breaker yesterday.

Cunnigham was acceptable, had he buried his cahnce in the second half I think we would have won.

Manny was good, Lia was not.

Hicks was average, Adams was slightly less than that.

Boxall and Sigmund were mostly very solid and good, but both had some shocking lapses.

Spoonley was supreb, and if Ciara wasn't our best, he was.

Stein was good at times, but on average less effective than I would have liked.

Riera was pretty good when he came on.

I have watched Ciara three times now and am yet to see him cross a ball. always stops and looks for an inside pass.

Has anyone else noticed this?

I think bwtch and TV were watching the kiss for too long and missed some crucial parts of the game. way off on most of their ratings. Caira was good but no way was he our mom, Hernandez easily. I thought King Cunningham did well for his first a-league appearance.

3 pts - tiny dancing lion

2 pts - Patrick

1 pt - man in bear suit

Pretty much agree with those ratings PWD, your write-up on each player was spot on from where I was sitting (the couch)

I wrote something similar in the match thread minus ratings and our assessments are fairly similar

Boxall and Hernandez in the FFA Team of the Week.
http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/news-display/team-of-the-week-%7C-round-one/77182