Fenton aims to make cut

Louis Fenton believes he can cut it as one the best fullbacks in the A-League after making a goalscoring return to the Wellington Phoenix starting lineup on Sunday.

The New Zealand international, who runs a barbershop with his brother, helped the injury-ravaged Phoenix eke out a gutsy 2-2 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers by scoring a 79th-minute equaliser from a set-piece orchestrated on the training pitch.

Clayton Lewis directed his freekick towards Alex Rufer at the far post, and he headed across goal for Fenton to rise up and score his first goal in almost two years.

‘‘We do a bit of work on setpieces, it’s a pretty important part of the game and a way you can get somewhat easy goals,’’ he said.

The 27-year-old has endured a rotten run with injuries throughout his career and missed most of last season after undergoing double shoulder surgery following his latest dislocation.

But Fenton was adamant he could recapture his impressive form from the 2018-19 campaign as long as he remained injury-free.

He was determined to stake his claim as one of the leading players in his position in the A-League.

‘‘Last year was difficult physically and mentally but it’s probably the first time for a while now that I’ve felt 100 per cent fit,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s up to me now to make the most of that and try and get a bit of form and a few minutes in the legs and see what happens from there.’’

The Phoenix will be looking to build on Sunday’s stalemate when they meet fellow strugglers Melbourne Victory tonight. They are without DeVere and sidelined strikers David Ball, Jaushua Sotirio and Tomer Hemed.