‘The goals will come’

phillip.rollo@stuff.co.nz

They may have fired blanks in round one but Wellington Phoenix forward Callum Mccowatt believes his team is capable of scoring goals.

The Phoenix’s new-look strike-force was kept quiet in their A-league season opener against Western United, managing just the one shot on target in the 1-0 defeat.

The lack of cutting edge up front highlighted their need for a new striker, having failed to replace last season’s Golden Boot winner Roy Krishna.

But Mccowatt, one of the few shining lights in the narrow defeat, doesn’t think it will take long for the Phoenix to find their finishing touch despite tackling a difficult run of a fixtures over the next four weeks.

‘‘I think it’s just about getting shots on target and creating more clear cut chances. It’s easier said than done but I know the team is capable because I’ve seen them in training every day,’’ Mccowatt said.

‘‘It just didn’t happen on the weekend, they made it quite tough for us and sat quite deep in the second half. But there’s more to come from this group for sure.’’

Although they only managed the one shot on target, the Phoenix were left to rue two other near misses when David Ball chipped wide and Alex Rufer headed high from a wayward Mccowatt shot.

‘‘I hit that clean as anything but it’s come to him so quickly,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s tough to really do anything. He’s done well to really direct it towards goal but it’s tough. It might be a little too high for him to get down so it is what it is.’’

One of the most promising young players in New Zealand, Mccowatt joined the Phoenix after scoring 21 goals in 16 games for national league champions Eastern Suburbs.

That prolific record combined with some strong pre-season form suggests the 20-year-old could be the answer at No 9, given Phoenix are not expected to sign a new player before the transfer window closes on Tuesday.

But the Ole Football Academy product said he was simply happy to play wherever coach Ufuk Talay wanted him to, which for now is in a left-sided attacking midfield role.

‘‘If he wants to put me up there then I’ll be more than happy but I’m happy in the role at the moment as well so either or,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s no preference for me.’’

After sitting on the bench in the team’s final pre-season hitout against Team Wellington, Mccowatt was a surprise starter against Western.

But his bold call to turn down a place in the Olywhites squad for the Olympic Games qualifiers in order to stake his claim for a starting spot clearly paid off.

‘‘It was a big decision to not go to the under-23s, it was harder than a lot of people probably saw it. I was glad that the work in the pre-season paid off, but obviously I would’ve liked three points on the weekend. All the lads wanted it as well.

‘‘The performance was OK. It was the first game of the season so we’ve got more games to work on stuff, but I thought I did OK. I’m still going to get used to the speed of play and stuff, but it’s OK so far.’’

The task does not get any easier for the Phoenix, facing champions Sydney FC at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday night.

Sydney made a winning start to the new season, edging Adelaide United 3-2 thanks to Ryan Mcgowan’s late winner.

The Sky Blues bolstered their attacking unit in the off-season by luring All Whites forward Kosta Barbarouses across from Melbourne Victory.

‘‘It will be a tough game but we’re looking forward to bounce back for sure,’’ Mccowatt said. Andrew Fifita has hit back at the Tongan National Rugby League, describing the power struggle over their national team as ‘‘stupid’’.

Fifita will lead an invitational Tongan team at the World Cup nines on Friday that includes NRL stars Jason Taumalolo and Tevita Pangai Junior.

‘‘We had our stance, and we got through it and I think that’s the best thing that’s come through. We’re ready to play nines,’’ Fifita said yesterday.

But they will do so just days after the TNRL, which was recently suspended by the Rugby League International Federation, branded the team as a rebel squad.

More than 30 Tongan players threatened to boycott the nines tournament as well as both their upcoming test matches due to ongoing issues with the

TNRL.

But that stance is now over and former coach Kristian Woolf has been re-instated for a team TNRL officials labelled as the ‘‘Woolf Pack’’.

‘‘Yeah I love it. I really love it,’’ Fifita said of the new term.

‘‘[But] I can’t wait to get our old name back. Just being brutally honest, it’s stupid what’s going on at the moment.

‘‘But look, Woolf-pack, any kind of pack, as long as I’m standing next to these boys, I’m happy. You can call us anything in the world, it’s not going to affect us.’’

The TNRL claimed the invitational team can’t be described as a Tonga representative side, nor are they allowed to use their colours or logos.

But Fifita, who said the squad will also perform their traditional war dance at the nines, is adamant they still represent the island nation.

‘‘Whatever they come with, it’s just words at the end of the day. We’re Tongan. They can say we’re not Tongan and not the Tongan team,’’ he said. ‘‘Look at us, our culture is Tonga. Everyone a part of this team is Tongan and whoever we bring in, you’ve got to learn the culture.’’

Fifita led the war dance, known as the Sipi Tau, when he last represented Tonga in their test against Australia last November. He had previously represented the Kangaroos before switching allegiances to the Mate Ma’a in 2017, prompting a power shift among the league nations.

‘‘I did it once only and that was against my former nation. That was out of respect, that I should do it,’’ Fifita said of the Sipi Tau. AAP