Phoenix call for All Whites players to be held back
He was delighted to see him score on his international debut, but Wellington Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay wants young star Callum McCowatt held back from New Zealand’s next match against Lithuania.
The 20-year-old forward hit the ground running in his first appearance for the All Whites, scoring the team’s only goal in a 3-1 loss to Ireland in Dublin yesterday. He was one of three Phoenix players named in the starting 11, with Liberato Cacace lining up at left-back and Stefan Marinovic playing in goal.
‘‘I’m very delighted for him to get a goal at international level. Also for Stefan, I thought Stefan had a great game as well. I’m very pleased with their performance,’’ Talay said.
‘‘That’s why we brought him in, he’s done that previously at Eastern Suburbs so hopefully he can continue that with us.
‘‘People need to understand he’s only played five games in the A-League at professional level but he’s got the talent to be successful.’’
The All Whites play Lithuania in Vilnius on Monday, six days before winless Wellington’s next match against Brisbane Roar. The five Phoenix players involved are not due back in New Zealand until Wednesday.
All Whites coach Danny Hay has already indicated he will select an entirely different lineup meaning yesterday’s starters McCowatt, Cacace and Marinovic may not feature at all. But both Tim Payne and Alex Rufer are expected to start.
Due to the short turnaround, lengthy travel schedule and the fact the Lithuania game will be played on artificial turf, Talay said it would be in his club’s best interests for the Phoenix players to be kept on ice ahead of a crucial A-League game.
‘‘We’ve got a great open relationship with Danny and we’ve had that since day one, since I’ve been at Wellington Phoenix,’’ Talay said.
‘‘As much as I want him to be successful he wants the same for me on this side of things so there’s things we can weigh up and talk about.’’
But the scenario could be much worse for the Phoenix given eight of the 11 A-League clubs are playing through the international window.
The only reason they don’t have a game this weekend is because they requested the first of their three byes to coincide with the two All Whites fixtures.
There was a chance it could have all gone pear-shaped for the All Whites against the Republic of Ireland, as Danny Hay handed first caps to three youngsters, one of whom has never played professionally, and encouraged his team to play a positive brand of football.
But while they did lose 3-1 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin yesterday, they were by no means dominated, and there were plenty of encouraging signs for the new coach and Kiwi fans.
‘‘People can have their own opinions, but there were elements there that I’ve never seen from an All Whites side, ever,’’ Hay said afterwards, referring to their short-passing approach when on attack.
‘‘We’ve talked about being brave and wanting to do things differently – well, there you go. That’s the first piece of the jigsaw puzzle.’’
It was one of the three debutants who put the All Whites ahead half an hour in – Callum McCowatt getting on the end of a cross from Wellington Phoenix teammate Liberato Cacace to finish off an incisive passing move.
But both could have done better in the leadup to Ireland’s equaliser just before halftime – one of two soft goals Hay was upset about afterwards.
‘‘The goal just before halftime is a killer,’’ he said, referring to Derrick Williams’ header from a corner, where he towered over Cacace in the middle of the box.
‘‘All the footage we had of Ireland, all the analysis and all the clips we’ve worked through, is them delivering goals from wide areas and that they’re dangerous from set pieces, so that’s disappointing we conceded two goals essentially from that.’’
Hay had a different gripe about Ireland’s second goal, which gave them the lead, believing McCowatt had been fouled on the edge of the All Whites’ area in the buildup: ‘‘That’s a deadset foul. The referee’s made a few dubious calls in my opinion, he was very much favouring the home team, but I’m not worried about that.’’
The next piece of the jigsaw puzzle will come against Lithuania on Monday (NZ time). Hay is set to field an entirely different starting XI to the one he used in Dublin, but will want to see the same positive intent in possession.
‘‘The first and third goals [from Ireland] are easy fixes – direct from a corner, a young player getting outmuscled, outjumped, and then allowing someone to get across the front of us from a ball that’s been whipped in.
‘‘The difficult stuff is the interchange, the ability to be brave in possession, to build up from deep. I thought for two days training, the boys were incredibly good, and just imagine what we can do when we spend some time together.’’
Hay said Winston Reid, Ryan Thomas and Chris Wood wouldn’t be travelling with the rest of the All Whites to Lithuania and will return to their clubs.
‘‘This is about ensuring that every player on this trip gets a good opportunity and can walk away knowing that we’ve had a good look at their character, their mentality, how invested they are in the direction we’re taking the team, and their ability to play the way I want them to play.
‘‘While it’s going to be tough losing, I guess you could argue our three best
players, it gives an opportunity to other players.
‘‘There will come a time when we need to win games, but now’s not that time, this is about developing a team and
developing our style of play. Once we get into World Cup qualifiers, that changes obviously.’’
Elijah Just and Joe Bell joined McCowatt in earning their first caps
from the start yesterday, and both impressed, while Elliot Collier made his debut off the bench, spurning an excellent chance to score when played in by Sarpreet Singh.
‘‘There were elements there that I’ve never seen from an All Whites side.’’ Danny Hay All Whites coach