Nix coaches stand by players after two costly mistakes

Wellington Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano has leapt to the defence of Alex Paulsen after the young goalkeeper made a costly giveaway in their Friday night3-1 defeat to Sydney FC. Inside the final 10 minutes and just after drawing level with former coach Ufuk Talay’s team, a wayward pass out from defence by Paulsen gifted Sydney’s Robert Mak a chance for the home side to restore their lead. “It happens. I can’t fault him,” Italiano said. “We’re in round 10 and if we’re faulting him for one mistake in round 10 it’s pretty good. It’s going to happen and it won’t be the last time.” Despite the loss, the Phoenix men stayed top of the A-League although Melbourne Victory had a chance to go past them in last night’s late kickoff. “I think that shows a lot of character within the group,” Italiano said. “There’s a lot of belief … and we were five minutes away from getting a draw away from home against a really tough opponent.”

Meanwhile, the Phoenix women’s coach Paul Temple was also bemoaning a Friday night mistake after import striker Mariana Speckmaier missed a sitter in the final minute of their 1-0 defeat to Sydney FC. The bungled header was the Venezuela international’s third bad miss in four games. “It’s a goal that we should be scoring and there’s no hiding that,” Temple said. “It’s a big chance that we missed and it’s a shame because the overall play and particularly that piece of individual play from Isabel deserved more. At the moment we’re just not clinical enough in the final third.”