Phoenix are getting a little respect from rivals
Ufuk Talay has been a measured spokesman for the Wellington Phoenix so far this season, in stark contrast to the man he replaced as coach, Mark Rudan.
But after Saturday night’s 1-0 win over Melbourne City at Eden Park in Auckland, he made his biggest statement yet.
‘‘I don’t want to use this word, but I think teams are starting to show respect to Wellington Phoenix.
‘‘They are starting to drop off, because we are playing a certain brand of football and we can pick them off, or we can play through them, or we can play around them, or we can play over them.’’
The context was that City, the A-League’s second-placed team, had come across the Tasman focusing on defence first and foremost, setting up in two banks of four and looking to play direct on the counter-attack.
Their approach worked,somewhat, as the Phoenix fired only six shots, the fewest they’ve managed this season.
But one of them went in – that from David Ball on the hour mark, taken when he met a perfectly placed cross from Gary Hooper – and that’s all that mattered in the end.
Talay shrugged off the lack of firepower after the match, putting it down to City’s approach – ‘‘you’re not going to create as many chances as you like’’ – but creating shooting chances has
been a persistent problem for the Phoenix this season.
Phoenix goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic played as much of a role on Saturday as he did in their last win, against the Newcastle Jets three weeks ago – there just wasn’t a last-minute block from him to capture the headlines. City created enough chances to win the match themselves – they tested Marinovic seven times – but went home with nothing to show for their efforts.
Star signing Hooper was restored to the starting lineup after being dropped to the bench for last week’s loss to Perth and played a big hand in the goal, surging down the right and setting up fellow Englishman Ball.
The fifth-placed Phoenix are next in action at Sky Stadium in Wellington on Friday night against Western United.
A win there would firm up their place in the top six heading into a 16-day break.