Luka Jovanović of Adelaide celebrating after scoring a goal during the A-League Men - Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United at Sky Stadium. Photo: Masanori Udagawa/Photosport
New Zealand's A-League Men's teams both came up short this weekend.
Firstly, error-strewn Wellington Phoenix fell to Adelaide United 2-1 in the capital before Auckland FC succumbed to a mammoth away trip to Western Australia where they lost 1-0 to Perth Glory.
Despite smatterings of quality in each performance both demonstrated the shortcomings of each team.
With the Phoenix faltering well short of play-off form and Auckland now toppled from their perch, this month presented an opportunity to patch up those loose ends with the A-League transfer window opening this Thursday, January 16.
The Wellington Phoenix are in a wretched run of form. The loss to Adelaide was their fifth in six games and a young and inexperienced side was buckling under the weight of a telling injury list.
Experienced duo Tim Payne and Marco Rojas are both currently out, as is Finn Roa Conchie, who started the season in the starting XI.
A knee injury had ruled Stefan Colakovski out for the season and, perhaps most impactful, was the indefinite medically enforced absence for club captain Alex Rufer.
Giancarlo Italiano (Centre). Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Giancarlo Italiano's faith in youth was admirable and long-term would hopefully produce the goods à la Ben Old, Finn Surman and Alex Paulsen.
However experienced heads were needed to fill the gaps, particularly in midfield, at the back and out wide, with Oskar van Hattum off to Ireland and David Ball released today.
This was a key move, opening up a visa slot for Wellington to spread their transfer net far and wide.
Scott Wootton was a successful mid-season arrival in 2022 and is currently in command of the captain's armband. Keeping him, amid reported interest from Japan, is potentially pivotal.
As for Auckland, they remained in the title hunt but one glaring issue had become painfully evident in recent weeks. They lacked goals - with the lowest tally in the top eight and failing to score in three of their last four games.
For all his industry, leading frontman Guillermo May had just three goals this season.
Max Mata, the main back-up, was yet to score and missed a golden opportunity against Perth. Auckland needed a ruthless operator in front of goal if they were to build on their solid defensive foundations and mount a serious title tilt.
The Black Knights also have injury issues of their own, and bringing in quality cover for Dan Hall and Cam Howieson will certainly be discussed.
One issue was the import situation. There is no room at the Mount Smart inn for any more foreign talent, limiting recruitment to Trans-Tasman talent - as already seen in the arrival of Aussie youngster Marlee Francois.
Auckland FC manager Steve Corica speaking to Francis de Vries (Left) and Nando Pijnaker during the A-League match against Western United. Photo: photosport
Steve Corica was unlikely to want to paper the cracks, instead considering players who would bring a long-term impact to the team.
Dream matchmaking is a dangerous game, but Ōtāhuhu's own Bill Tuiloma would be the perfect utility cover in the defensive areas.
In attack, ex-Wellington man Jaushua Sotirio was a free agent after two injury-ravaged years in India while the likes of Ben Waine and Roy Krishna had been mentioned among fans.
Luke Ivanovic was a more realistic option, having played under Corica at Sydney and recently coming off contract in Finland.
Or, both sides could look at the talent pool in the New Zealand National League again. Considering the form of Gillion, Francis de Vries and Corban Piper since taking that step, it seemed a potentially fruitful option.
Needless to say, there will be plenty of meetings and finances being juggled from Thursday until February 12 to ensure both teams were maximised for the A-League run-in.
In other football news:
Wellington Phoenix's two game win streak came unstuck against Adelaide in the A-League Women this week.
A 2-1 loss saw them fail to leapfrog their Southern Australia rivals into the top four of the division.
It was an FA Cup weekend in the UK and Manchester United back-up goalie Altay Bayindir was the hero, as the holders knocked Arsenal out on penalties in North London.
Elsewhere, Manchester City cantered to an 8-0 win over Salford City - a team owned by some of United's greatest ever players such as David Beckham, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes.
Meanwhile, Chris Wood's Nottingham Forest were into the next round after beating Luton Town 2-0. They will take on Exeter City in the Fourth Round.
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