Phoenix ‘have more to give’

Wellington Phoenix coach Mark Rudan wants more from his team, which was operating only at ‘‘70 per cent’’ in Friday night’s draw with Melbourne Victory.

While a point against the defending champions, who sit second on the ladder, is nothing to sniff at, the result means the Phoenix have won just one of their last six matches after winning five of seven in December and January.

It has been 10 games since they had more shots on target than an opponent – a rudimentary measure of quality – though they have still picked up 14 points in that time, against the odds.

Seventh-placed Newcastle Jets closed the gap on the Phoenix in sixth to six points with eight games to play with an upset win over Melbourne City, which will serve as a reminder there’s still plenty of work to do, starting on Saturday against Sydney across the Tasman.

The Jets result also means City remain level on points with the Phoenix, but ahead on goal difference.

Rudan’s men received another boost in the race for fourth and a home playoff when Western Sydney Wanderers beat Adelaide United, who remain just two points above them.

The Phoenix spurned a chance to go 2-0 up in front of a recordbreaking crowd at Eden Park in Auckland, when Roy Krishna’s shot was saved at the end of a splendid counter-attacking move, shortly after he had ended a 479-minute run without a goal by slotting his 12th of the season and equalling his previous best haul.

Minutes after that he was involved as the Phoenix conceded a penalty, which Keisuke Honda slotted to level the scores in a match where there were plenty of shots, but few clearcut chances.

Rudan said afterwards that his team had only been playing at ‘‘70 per cent’’ of its potential.

‘‘I don’t want to point out individuals, but as a whole, it wasn’t one of our better performances. I’ll just leave it at that. I know that there’s a lot more this team can give.’’

Rudan acknowledged his players could be feeling the effects of the busy schedule they had in January, which might have taken more of a toll on them than other teams because of their thin squad.

‘‘It could well be a flow-on effect from the tough run of games we had in January, sometimes that happens, but we work hard on making sure they are primed for game time,’’ he said on Friday.

‘‘We know it’s the final stretch, and we’re asking for a little bit more from our our players and that’s the challenge for them, but I’m sure we’ll find the right ingredients so that next week in Sydney we’re better than we were tonight.’’

One player who doesn’t seem to be feeling any effects of fatigue is wingback Liberato Cacace, who was the standout performer on Friday, motoring up and down the left flank from start to finish.

‘‘He was superb tonight, he was, and he’s one I’m extremely proud of as well,’’ Rudan said.

‘‘He’s a fantastic kid, he really is. We gave him enough time in pre-season to make sure.

‘‘His father, who was one of the first people I met when I came to Wellington, he was a bit unsure whether I was going to allowhim to further his studies, but I’m no different. Growing up, my mum and dad made sure that homework and education came first, so he had no worries there, and the way he was able to cope with both of them is a credit to him.

‘‘His parents should be awfully proud and today he stood up. I challenged the players – in an arena like this, in front of a big crowd, good players stand up and they create moments. He created a lot of moments tonight.’’