Phoenix embrace busy fixture list
Wellington Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay will be able to call upon a near full-strength squad to help navigate a packed February schedule in the A-League Men.
Today’s clash with Macarthur in Campbelltown is the first of five games within a 14-day period after their catch-up games against Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar were rescheduled for the next two Wednesdays.
The busy run of fixtures presents a golden opportunity for the last-placed Phoenix to climb up the table after a disruptive start to the season, thanks largely to a Covid-19 outbreak within the playing squad.
‘‘We need to manage the boys well and get through these games as best we can, but look at the end of the day if I was a player all you want to do is play games so what a great opportunity,’’ Talay said.
Talay said new signing Scott Wootton was the only player unavailable for selection after welcoming goalkeeper Oli Sail back from a hip injury and Clayton Lewis and Tim Payne from All Whites duties.
Wootton had arrived in Australia with a pre-existing injury, but he was hopeful the former Manchester United defender would be ready to make his debut in their first midweek clash against the Victory.
‘‘Scott is not ready at the moment. Hopefully we can get him ready for the game on Wednesday.
‘‘But at the same time we’ve got to make sure he’s 100 per cent right before we throw him in there and make sure he’s 100 per cent ready to go, rather than try to force him to play a game and then he’s out for another six to eight weeks.’’
Talay said Sail will start ahead of Alex Paulsen, who has performed admirably in the vicecaptain’s absence over the past four games, while Lewis and Payne should also slot back into the starting XI.
‘‘Oli is all good, he’s good to go. He’s ticked all the boxes so he’s available for selection,’’ Talay said. ‘‘AP understands. He’s come in [and] he’s done a fantastic job [but], look Oli is our number one keeper. We signed Oli as our number one keeper and if he’s available to play most likely he will play.
‘‘We’re very fortunate that we’ve got quality goalkeepers and we’ve always had quality goalkeepers at this club.’’
The Phoenix notched their second win of the A-League Men season when they beat Western United 2-1 a fortnight ago but they are coming off a deflating 4-1 defeat to the Victory in the semifinals of the FFA Cup.
Today’s match against Macarthur was originally intended to be played in Wellington but with border restrictions preventing quarantine-free travel, the fixture was relocated to Campbelltown Stadium.
‘‘We haven’t played a home game back in New Zealand for such a long time so I think the boys should be used to it.
‘‘Playing at their stadium I don’t think it changes anything.’’