Coach Shares Intriguing Insight on Phoenix’s ‘Behaviour’ Posing Threat to City

Melbourne City’s head coach Aurelio Vidmar is expecting a determined effort from Wellington Phoenix when the two sides square off this Friday night, following the Nix’s 6-1 thrashing in the New Zealand Derby.

Having already suffered defeats in the first two clashes of the Isuzu UTE A-League’s latest derby rivalry, Wellington was dealt a harsh lesson by Auckland FC at Go Media Stadium in Round 20. The heavy loss sees them languishing in 11th place on the ladder, a daunting nine points adrift of the finals positions.

In contrast, City will enter Friday night’s encounter at Sky Stadium on the back of a hard-fought 2-2 draw against their archrivals, Melbourne Victory.

“It could go one of two ways, you never really know,” Vidmar remarked when asked about his expectations for Wellington’s performance.

“However, you have to assume they’re feeling the sting of that derby loss. It’s certainly not a pleasant experience.

“But observing their last few games, some of their actions suggest they’re still ready to compete.

In terms of their transitions, notably defensively, you can see they’re still sprinting hard even in the 85th minute. Those signs indicate a commitment to the fight.”

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As City prepares for the match, they’re currently placed sixth on the ladder, but importantly, they’re just three points shy of second-placed Adelaide United. A victory against Wellington could see them leapfrog the Reds, at least temporarily, before Adelaide plays.

With four points earned from their past two matches, Vidmar’s team has alleviated concerns regarding their top six prospects, particularly after an unsettling three-game losing streak earlier in the month.

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Moreover, with returning Socceroos Mathew Leckie and Marco Tilio now fit and raring to go after their injuries, City will be keen to add to Wellington’s woes this Friday night. However, Vidmar has pinpointed an essential area his side must address for success.

“We’re definitely moving in the right direction in terms of our attacking play, but it hasn’t quite reached the level we need, for various reasons.”

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“In recent weeks, we’ve started to turn that corner, and we expect that to continue. Wellington is a solid defensive side, and they’ve increased their attacking efforts over the past month and a half.

“We know it’ll be a challenging match, and we need to be at the top of our game, maintaining focus for the entire 90 minutes.

“We’ve had some lapses at the start of the second half, as we saw again last week, and we need to ensure we rectify that.”

He emphasised, “Every player carries the responsibility to maintain high intensity from the start to avoid a negative opening to the match.

“We’re continuously working on improvements and striving for better performance. We are playing some solid football at the moment, and with our training and approach, I maintain a positive outlook and see our growth each week.”