Plenty at stake as Nix head towards playoffs
Wellington Phoenix travel to Gosford to play defending A-League Men champions Central Coast Mariners in the biggest game of the season tomorrow night.
In fact, this might just be the biggest game in the football club’s 17-year history, other than finals fixtures.
What is the big deal, why is this game so important?
It is the top-of-the-table clash and with only four rounds remaining, it could determine who wins the Premiers Plate at the end of the regular season.
If the Phoenix win, they will take a six-point advantage into the final three rounds, making them red-hot favourites to win their first premiership.
Lose, and Central Coast will overtake them as they would have won one more game and wins, not goal difference, is now the first tiebreaker when teams have the same number of points.
The Phoenix occupy No 1 spot but have the tougher run home of the two teams, rounding out the regular season with matches against Melbourne Victory (3rd), Newcastle Jets (11th) and Macarthur (4th).
Central Coast’s final three games are against Western United (12th), Adelaide United (9th) and Newcastle (11th) so it is imperative that the Phoenix don’t lose tomorrow.
Have the Phoenix ever finished this high on the table?
This is nose-bleed territory for the Phoenix, who have never before held first place this late in a season, let alone finished top of the table or won a major trophy.
Their highest-ever finish was third, but that came during one of the Covid-19 seasons, in 2019-20, which meant they were not rewarded with a home playoff.
2009-10 remains the club’s most successful season. The Phoenix finished fourth that year and went on to win two matches in the finals series, only to be eliminated one match short of the grand final.
They have not hosted a home playoff since 2014-15.
What were the expectations heading into the season?
New coach Giancarlo Italiano has been a miracle worker.
Nobody expected the side to finish this high after losing coach Ufuk Talay and key players like Oli Sail and Clayton Lewis.
In fact, most people predicted the Phoenix to contend for the wooden spoon after prioritising youth development.
What has been the key to the Phoenix’s rise this season?
The biggest reason for the Phoenix’s success this season is they have become an extremely tough team to beat, home and away.
No team has won more games (13) or lost fewer games (3) than Wellington this season. They also have the best defensive record, having conceded just 23 goals in as many matches.
A key factor has been the arrival of new assistant coach and former Socceroos defender Adam Griffiths, who oversaw a rock-solid defence at Western Sydney Wanderers last season too.
No-one, actually.
The two teams played out an uneventful goal-less draw on Waitangi Day in a game that was billed as a blockbuster back then too.
Despite missing a host of players due to injury and suspension, the Phoenix held out for 88 minutes before Central Coast finally managed to get a shot on target.
Italiano said after the match that he was happy to take a point as the result kept the Phoenix top of the table.
So, who is going to win tomorrow?
Central Coast have been listed as huge favourites at home but don’t be surprised if this one ends in a draw too.
The Phoenix players insist they will go into the game with a positive attitude and won’t settle for a point.
However, they really don’t want to lose and a draw would still be a decent result for the Phoenix as it would maintain their three-point advantage over Central Coast, meaning they could afford to draw one of their final three games and still be guaranteed top spot.
The Phoenix have lost captain and midfield talisman Alex Rufer to suspension after he was sent off against Brisbane Roar last weekend, which is a huge blow for such an important game.
His unavailability should see Ben Old come back into the starting line-up. As an elite dribbler, Old has the ability to open up Central Coast on the counter-attack if the Phoenix do decide to sit back and pick their moments to strike.