After months of uncertainty, the Wellington Phoenix will finally experience some normality when they walk on to WIN Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The club has experienced an unprecedented preparation for this years A-League campaign. The Phoenix were left without a home before relocating to Wollongong as they adapted to sporting life in a COVID-19 world. However, all of those concerns will be temporarily pushed to the side as they focus on football. It will be a tough opening assignment as they meet defending champions Sydney FC. But head coach Ufuk Talay said the Phoenix were ready for the challenge. Were very excited to start our campaign, he said. Its very important that we start off strong and what a great occasion to play last years champions. The boys will definitely be up for it.
Talay doesnt exaggerate when he emphasises the importance of starting well. Wellington dropped their first four games last season before bouncing back to eventually finish in a club-high third position. The Phoenix met Sydney FC three times in 2019/20, with the Sky Blues taking the honours twice while the sides also played out a 2-2 draw. However, Talays men had gained plenty of confidence from each contest. We probably played our best games against Sydney. We let them go a couple of times when we had them by the throat, he said. I dont think I want to start the way we did last season with the four losses. It makes life a lot tougher towards the back end with the points you give away, so its very important that we start stronger this year and get some points on the board. When I look at those four games, if we had got at least seven points, we probably could have finished in a higher place than we did. For us, its very important this year that we take the opportunities we create. We created a lot of scoring opportunities last season and I think if we can be a bit more clinical this season, whether its against Sydney or any other team, well be heading in the right direction.
The Phoenix have been based in Wollongong since arriving for a pre-season camp in early November. Three weeks later, it was confirmed the team would play all home games at WIN Stadium this season. Last month, the club expressed a willingness to return to Wellington if a travel bubble opened up between Australia and New Zealand. Talay said the club was also closely monitoring the recent COVID outbreak in Sydneys Northern Beaches. The players are being very vigilant, we need to be smart and follow protocols. Things were going great and theres been a little bit of a hiccup again with COVID, he said. But the main thing is the games are going on with a certain percentage of crowds coming in, which I think the players enjoy and the crowds enjoy. We just need to be very smart in how we do things and take things day by day as they do change.
After months of uncertainty, the Wellington Phoenix will finally experience some normality when they walk on to WIN Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The club has experienced an unprecedented preparation for this years A-League campaign. The Phoenix were left without a home before relocating to Wollongong as they adapted to sporting life in a COVID-19 world. However, all of those concerns will be temporarily pushed to the side as they focus on football. It will be a tough opening assignment as they meet defending champions Sydney FC. But head coach Ufuk Talay said the Phoenix were ready for the challenge. Were very excited to start our campaign, he said. Its very important that we start off strong and what a great occasion to play last years champions. The boys will definitely be up for it.
Talay doesnt exaggerate when he emphasises the importance of starting well. Wellington dropped their first four games last season before bouncing back to eventually finish in a club-high third position. The Phoenix met Sydney FC three times in 2019/20, with the Sky Blues taking the honours twice while the sides also played out a 2-2 draw. However, Talays men had gained plenty of confidence from each contest. We probably played our best games against Sydney. We let them go a couple of times when we had them by the throat, he said. I dont think I want to start the way we did last season with the four losses. It makes life a lot tougher towards the back end with the points you give away, so its very important that we start stronger this year and get some points on the board. When I look at those four games, if we had got at least seven points, we probably could have finished in a higher place than we did. For us, its very important this year that we take the opportunities we create. We created a lot of scoring opportunities last season and I think if we can be a bit more clinical this season, whether its against Sydney or any other team, well be heading in the right direction.
The Phoenix have been based in Wollongong since arriving for a pre-season camp in early November. Three weeks later, it was confirmed the team would play all home games at WIN Stadium this season. Last month, the club expressed a willingness to return to Wellington if a travel bubble opened up between Australia and New Zealand. Talay said the club was also closely monitoring the recent COVID outbreak in Sydneys Northern Beaches. The players are being very vigilant, we need to be smart and follow protocols. Things were going great and theres been a little bit of a hiccup again with COVID, he said. But the main thing is the games are going on with a certain percentage of crowds coming in, which I think the players enjoy and the crowds enjoy. We just need to be very smart in how we do things and take things day by day as they do