Stakes high for Phoenix as Talay ponders selection gamble over Taylor

The stakes have never been clearer for the Wellington Phoenix this season than they will be tonight when they play Western United at the University of Tasmania Stadium.

With a win over a team they’ve already beaten this month, they will move up to seventh on the A-League ladder, as high as they have been all season, just a point behind the Western Sydney Wanderers in sixth.

That doesn’t tell the whole story, as Brisbane Roar and Western United would be only two points behind them, with three and two games in hand respectively.

But the Phoenix would have won three in a row for the first time this season and their surge up the ladder in search of a third finals series appearance in as many years would be gathering speed.

Which is why coach Ufuk Talay might be forced to gamble on starting Steven Taylor for the second time in four days, even though the experienced centre back has just come back from a quad injury he suffered the last time he tried to play twice in quick succession.

Tonight’s match is the second of three the Phoenix have in the space of seven days this week, in three different cities (Perth, Launceston, and Wollongong) at three different ends of Australia.

Ahead of the Glory match, Talay said Taylor was likely only to start one of the first two fixtures, and yesterday he said weighing up whether to stick or twist when getting three points was so important was ‘‘a tough one’’.

‘‘We’re taking it game by game at the moment, and we’ve got a very important game against Western United on Thursday where we need to win and where we need the three points.

‘‘It might be one where we need to take the risk, because we need the three points, and then once we’ve won the game, we can look forward and make decisions after that.’’