Playoff push in the balance
Wellington Phoenix defender Scott Wootton knows Eden Park well, even though he’s only set to play there for the first time tomorrow.
The Englishman’s familiarity comes in part via the British and Irish Lions rugby team, which also draws on the best of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, and visits New Zealand every 12 years.
Between the Lions and England’s national sports teams, he’s mostly used to watching losses at the suburban Auckland venue, but he’s hoping that won’t be the case when the Phoenix face Western Sydney Wanderers.
‘‘It’s a hugely popular venue all around the world, and I’m personally really excited to play there for the first time,’’ Wootton said. ‘‘It’s been a good ground for us, and hopefully we can continue that.’’
In eight matches at Eden Park since 2011, the Phoenix have come away with four wins and four draws.
It’s the only venue used more than five times in A-League Men where the home team has never lost.
As they chase a place in the finals series to cap their second season in a row spent mostly on the road, they need to keep that record going.
Three games ago, coach Ufuk Talay set them the goal of 10 points from their final seven matches to make the top six.
So far they have picked up six points, from wins over Western United and Perth Glory.
But after being hammered 4-0 by the Central Coast Mariners in their first match at Sky Stadium in Wellington in almost a year last Sunday, their second and final proper home fixture of the season tomorrow has become one they can’t afford to lose.
It’s far from clear whether Talay’s target of 37 points will be enough for a place in the playoffs, but even getting there will become a challenge if they can’t add three against the Wanderers.
The Phoenix have been on the end of defeats by four goals or more six times so far this season, but have bounced back from three of the five losses before Sunday’s with wins.
Anything else this time around will leave them up against it as they return to their Sydney base for their final three matches which include trips to Melbourne to play high-flyers Victory and City either side of another meeting with the Wanderers.
Wootton said Talay had played an important role in keeping the Phoenix on track during a season where those heavy losses had been relatively minor setbacks, compared to the disruption caused by postponements due to Covid-19 and bad weather and the team’s lengthy injury list.
‘‘He does a great job in sort of getting us focused and getting us ready for the next game, and I think there’s always great character within the group as well.
‘‘We don’t get too down by defeats, and we’ve always got our head on the bigger picture.
‘‘We’re focused on the next game, that’s the most important game. We’re not dwelling, and we’re not worrying about what’s going on.
‘‘Obviously we have to put them things right and learn from it but at the same time we’re not losing too much sleep over it.’’
The Wanderers sit 10th on the ladder and are clinging on to their own faint playoff hopes, having lost just once in their last seven matches.
They last played on Wednesday night, beating Newcastle Jets 3-2, which means the Phoenix will head into a match with more rest than their opponents for the first time in a month.
Their exertions during a run of seven matches in the space of 22 days had clearly taken a toll by the time they played the Mariners in front of an 18,000-strong crowd last Sunday.
On Wednesday, the Phoenix were afforded a rare day off, and young midfielder Ben Old was one of those who made the most of it, taking in a round of golf with his brother, who prevailed by a single shot.
They resumed training on Thursday and were able to leave themselves fully gassed for the first time in a while, much to Old’s delight, ahead of what will be his first Phoenix outing in his hometown.
‘‘It’s nice that we’ve been able to have this whole week,’’ he said of preparing for tomorrow’s match.
‘‘This training [on Thursday] was awesome. We haven’t been able to have that [intensity] for a while, so to be able to have that was great.
‘‘I think having a good lead into this game is going to help us a lot.’’