Wellington Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano is excited but wary about playing a side from the fourth tier of football in Australia.
The Phoenix have travelled to Melbourne this afternoon (Saturday) to play Nunawading City on Sunday for a place in the quarter-finals of the Hahn Australia Cup.
Nunawading City are the lowest ranked team remaining in the Cup. They play in VPL 2, the third division of men’s football in Victoria.
Nuna, as they are nicknamed, are enjoying an historic season. They beat NPL Victoria side Hume City 4-0 to qualify for the Australia Cup final rounds for the first time and then beat Darwin Olympic 9-0 in the round of 32. It is the biggest winning margin and most goals scored in a match in Cup history.
Italiano was asked on Thursday what his reaction was when the Phoenix drew Nunawading in the round of 16.
“Excited,” he said. “It’ll be a different experience. [But] we’re not going there thinking it’s going to be an easy game, far from it.
“They’re going to be pumped for the game. The fact is if they get a goal early or we get a player sent off it changes the dynamic.
“Cup competition always throws up upsets so that’s something we have to be mindful of.”
It’s a complete contrast to the challenge the Phoenix faced in the round of 32 when they ousted fellow A-League opposition the Perth Glory on penalties after making the long trip to Western Australia.
“When you’re playing another A-League team that is also underprepared you can change the strategy a little bit knowing the opposition are not going to last in terms of legs so they’re going to have to make changes.
“When you’re playing a team that’s in full season and fully fit it becomes different. You have to make sure that you rotate your players accordingly so it’s a bit of a different dynamic.
“But the mindset going into the game is always about the performance, good mentality and then the outcome looks after itself.”
Italiano says the team has been buoyed by the shootout win over Perth and has been building nicely in pre-season.
“I thought it was a great occasion. It was a nice memory.
“The fact that we conceded in the last minute, the boys didn’t put their heads down, they refocussed, they battled it out in extra time and they were behind in the penalty shootout and the belief didn’t waver. That’s all I can ask for.
“It was more important to get a good performance. I think the stats were a huge improvement to build on what we did last season.
“As well our defensive line was playing a little bit higher and we were a little bit more on the front foot, which is good.
“That also comes with confidence and experience with those younger guys. And the second year imports are starting to gel a lot nicer as well, getting a good pre-season under their belts.”
New signings Ifeanyi Eze and Carlo Armiento are in line to make their club debuts against Nunawading City, while All Whites fullback Tim Payne is also expected to feature after sitting out the wins over Wrexham AFC and Perth Glory.
Italiano has made it clear they will all have to earn their place in the starting XI.
“I’m really happy with the younger players, the ones that have been filling in.
“They’re giving good energy, good focus and that’s what’s getting us the results at the moment.
“It’s been two really good performances now so there’s a lot of depth there now that I can rely on.
“The focus for me is making sure those young guys build confidence and consistent performance. That’s very important for me going into the season.
“And I’ve said it to the boys since day one, I’m not really interested in personalities anymore.
“It’s going to be the best players playing in the positions and they’re going to earn it through training and what their performances are. I’m only going to reward those that give me 100%.”
Josh Oluwayemi hasn’t travelled to Melbourne because of illness, meaning reserve team squad members Matt Foord and Eamonn McCarron are vying to start in goal.
The round of 16 Australia Cup match between Wellington Phoenix and Nunawading City is scheduled to kick-off at Nasiol Stadium in Melbourne at 5pm (3pm AEST) and will be broadcast LIVE on Football Australia’s YouTube channel.
Wellington Phoenix squad: 5. Fin ROA CONCHIE, 6. Tim PAYNE, 7. Ifeanyi EZE, 8. Paulo RETRE, 9. Hideki ISHIGE, 11. Carlo ARMIENTO, 15. Isaac HUGHES, 17. Gabriel SLOANE-RODRIGUES, 18. Lukas KELLY-HEALD, 23. Luke SUPYK, 24. Xuan LOKE, 25. Kazuki NAGASAWA, 27. Matt SHERIDAN, 29. Luke BROOKE-SMITH, 35. Matt FOORD (gk), 40. Eamonn MCCARRON (gk), 42. Fergus GILLION, 8. Mac MUNRO.
Unavailable: 1. Josh OLUWAYEMI, 3. Corban PIPER, 14. Alex RUFER (c), 19. Nathan WALKER, 30. Alby KELLY-HEALD, 39. Jayden SMITH.
