Homecoming on hold for Wgtn Phoenix
Phoenix fans hoping to see their side in Wellington this season have been forced to wait for confirmation they will get that chance.
The Phoenix have been based in Wollongong this A-League season, but with the trans-Tasman travel bubble now underway, club officials had been hoping they could play their final two home fixtures, against Western United and Perth Glory, in New Zealand.
Fox Sports commentator Brenton Speed got everyone excited during their draw with Western United on Thursday night when he said Wellington-based fans would have a chance to finally see their team in action on May 22.
But while a home fixture with Western United has been scheduled for that date, the venue and kick-off time for the match was still to be confirmed when the final set of A-League fixtures was published yesterday afternoon.
The home fixture against Perth is set to take place eight days later, on May 30, but also had no venue or kick-off time listed. In between those two home matches, Australian Professional Leagues has scheduled the Phoenix to play away against Western Sydney Wanderers, which would leave them with an arduous travel schedule if they were both to be played in New Zealand.
In a statement yesterday, the Phoenix said they would ‘‘make a further announcement regarding the venue and kickoff times for its remaining two home matches when these details have been confirmed’’.
The Phoenix’s last home match in New Zealand was against Melbourne Victory on March 15 last year in Wellington, just over a week before the country entered lockdown in response
to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Coach Ufuk Talay was asked about the May 22 fixture after Thursday’s draw and said it had ‘‘been pencilled in, but not a hundred per cent confirmed’’.
‘‘I think we’ll all be buzzing,’’ he added. ‘‘I think the players will be buzzing and hopefully the fans will be buzzing back at home for us to come and play there.’’
Western United coach Mark Rudan, who was in charge of the Phoenix during the 2018-19 season, but has been booed on subsequent visits to Wellington, said he was fully onboard with playing on this side of the Tasman.
The Phoenix play next tomorrow at their temporary WIN Stadium home in Wollongong against Adelaide United, looking for a win to keep their faint finals series hopes alive.
■ Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay was left seething after his team was held to a frustrating and costly 1-1 draw in a feisty encounter against 10-man Western United in Launceston on Thursday night.
The Phoenix were desperate for a third consecutive win to stay in the hunt for the top six and Talay said it felt like an ‘‘opportunity missed’’ after failing to capitalise on their numerical advantage when Western were reduced to 10 men before halftime when defender Brendan Hamill copped a second yellow for catching Waine with his elbow while competing for a header in an aerial duel.
‘‘When we were 11 men [versus 10] we were casual, we were a little bit sloppy. I thought we made some poor decisions and the execution wasn’t good as well,’’ Talay said.