Nix women were better but still left frustrated
They scored more goals, won more matches and picked up more points than in their previous two seasons combined.
But coach Paul Temple admits Wellington Phoenix failed to meet their main objective by missing the A-League Women finals.
The Phoenix head into their final match knowing the playoffs are already out of reach.
Their fate was decided when Western Sydney stunned Western United 3-1 in the penultimate round to leave the Phoenix eight points adrift of the top six.
The highest they can finish now is eighth, a position Temple will not be satisfied with after targeting finals football in his first season in charge.
“I think we fell short of the targets on the table. We all believed and felt we should be in the six and I don’t feel any differently about that. We’ve only got ourselves to blame,” Temple admitted.
The Phoenix’s former academy director was enlisted to raise the standards in the women’s team after back-to-back woodenspoon finishes under former coaches Gemma Lewis and Natalie Lawrence.
After recruiting import players from North America, the Phoenix appeared to have a squad on paper that could mount a serious challenge for the top six.
But they faded after a strong start, hampered by their inability to perform outside New Zealand.
While they were tough to beat at home, at Sky Stadium and Porirua Park, they really struggled on the road, losing 10 of their 12 matches in Australia.
Two of those were against the bottom two teams.
“There was a long period in the season where we had a lot of narrow defeats and the key lesson is that we need to be able to turn those tight games where we’re behind into draws or wins.
“For us as a team to fall a little short, we can reflect on those and think there were
moments where we needed to get a draw or find a way to win and we just didn’t do that.”
The Phoenix were not helped by injuries to important players either.
Grace Wisnewski and Marisa van der Meer both suffered season-ending knee injuries in quick succession, while captain Annalie Longo played less than half of the available minutes.
Chloe Knott quit after just six matches, which further depleted their midfield stocks with Wisnewski out, while goalkeeper Brianna Edwards has been in and out of the team due to personal reasons.
One of Temple’s priorities when the season ends will be identifying which players he wants to retain for 2024-25.
Top of that list should be American-Venezuelan striker Mariana Speckmaier, who scored 10 goals during her first season to become the Phoenix’s all-time leading scorer in the A-League Women.
Only six players are locked in for next season: Mackenzie Barry, Zoe McMeeken, Daisy Brazendale, Macey Fraser, Manaia Elliott and Olivia Ingham.
Temple’s own future seems secure, with another year to run on his two-year deal.
With the men’s team flying high at the top of the A-League Men and a thriving academy system, the Englishman said he was excited by the direction the football club was heading.
“It’s been a frustrating journey for everyone following [this team] and everyone involved because we have been so close but ended up short.
“Those disappointments are there in the background but you’ve got to keep looking at what are the positives, where can we go next and what can we achieve.’’