The Wellington Phoenix have held the Isuzu UTE A-League’s best attack scoreless to pick up their first point of 2025.
The Phoenix have drawn 0-0 with Sydney FC at Sky Stadium in Wellington, with 19-year-old goalkeeper Alby Kelly-Heald keeping a clean sheet on his A-League debut.
The result lifts the Nix up a place to ninth on the ladder, but still seven points adrift of the top six.
Head coach Giancarlo Italiano was delighted with the performance.
“I hate using the cliché proud, but there’s still a lot of fight in this team,” Italiano told media post-match.
“[Despite] all the changes, all the subs, injuries, [and] injures in-game we put up a really good fight against a really good opponent.
“For the inexperience that we have, we have a lot of energy, and we’re giving some opportunity to boys I think a little bit faster than what we anticipated, but I was very happy.
“Tonight, I just wanted a good performance, a solid performance and to work for each other.
“There were very few moments where we made errors and we didn’t come back and recover. I felt that everyone was on the same page.
“If the team that I put out there week-in, week-out just consistently do that I think we can definitely turn the corner sooner rather than later.”
Italiano was also delighted with how Kelly-Heald grabbed his opportunity to start in goal.
“We made a decision after the last game and looked at all the footage over all the season and we just felt Alby was deserving of an opportunity.
“He absorbed a lot of pressure for us, especially with the ball at his feet. It was very good.
“Honestly, I felt like I had a composed goalkeeper, an experienced goalkeeper so credit to him. He was really good.”
Giancarlo Italiano made two changes to his starting XI, reinstating experienced Japanese midfielder Kazuki Nagasawa along with naming Kelly-Heald to make his debut. Josh Oluwayemi and Mo Al-Taay moved to the bench, alongside fit-again midfielder Fin Roa Conchie and reserves team midfielder Lachlan Candy. Luke Brooke-Smith was ruled out with a minor quad injury.
Alby Kelly-Heald was straight into the action, making an assured first touch in the opening minute as the Phoenix played out from the back.
Kosta Barbarouses had the first shot of the match soon after, flashing an effort narrowly wide of the right post after being slipped in behind the Sydney defence by Corban Piper.
Barbarouses had another shot at goal 10 minutes later, but this time his thunderous attempt from the top of the box was well blocked by Sky Blues captain Rhyan Grant.
Polish striker Patryk Klimala was looking the most threatening Sydney player. He dragged a shot wide of goal in the third minute and found the side-netting midway through the half.
Klimala though wasn’t able to test Kelly-Heald in the Phoenix goal until the 33rd minute, with the young ‘keeper making a sharp save to keep out a powerful effort.
Alby Kelly-Heald denied him again moments later, tipping a shot around his near post. From the resulting corner Isaac Hughes got a crucial block to Adrian Segecic’s shot to deflect it over for a corner.
Segecic became increasingly influential for the Sky Blues and had another shot deflect out for a corner soon after.
Kelly-Heald had one nervy moment in the 39th minute when he had a heavy touch to a back pass but he was able to clean up as he was put under pressure by Anthony Caceres.
The Nix finished the half strongly and Hughes came close to giving Wellington the lead two minutes out from halftime with a near post header from an Hideki Ishige corner, but Sydney goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares made an acrobatic save to push it over the bar.
Italiano made a change at the half, bringing Nathan Walker on place of Matt Sheridan and moving Piper back to right fullback.
He was forced to make another just five minutes into the second half when Sam Sutton suffered an ankle injury and was replaced by Mo Al-Taay. It came moments after Sutton made an eye-catching run down Wellington’s left that brought the crowd to its feet.
Kelly-Heald was called upon for the first time since the interval in the 52nd minute, making a sharp save to keep out a powerful long-range effort from Segecic.
The young goalkeeper had his most anxious moment midway through the second half when his clearance cannoned off Sydney forward Joe Lolley and fortunately for Kelly-Heald and the Phoenix it went wide of goal and over the byline.
The Sky Blues were awarded a penalty in the 69th minute when referee Shaun Evans deemed Hughes fouled Klimala in the Wellington penalty area. However, after intervention from the Video Assistant Referee, Evans overturned his decision after replays showed the Nix defender got a touch on the ball.
Kosta Barbarouses remained the Phoenix’s most dangerous player in the second half but he had few opportunities.
He got in behind the Sydney backline twice in the last quarter of an hour but both times he was flagged for offside.
While having the greater share of possession and more shots, the Sky Blues were unable to trouble Alby Kelly-Heald any further and he confidently claimed a cross from a corner in the 89th minute to snuff out one of their final opportunities.
It remained scoreless after the six additional minutes and the points were shared.
After two home games in five days, the Wellington Phoenix will head back across the Tasman this weekend to play Macarthur FC on Monday night.
Wellington Phoenix: 30. Alby KELLY-HEALD (gk), 3. Corban PIPER, 4. Scott WOOTTON (c), 7. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 8. Paulo RETRE, 9. Hideki ISHIGE (23. Luke SUPYK 81st), 15. Isaac HUGHES, 18. Lukas KELLY-HEALD, 19. Sam SUTTON (12. Mo AL-TAAY 52nd), 25. Kazuki NAGASAWA, 27. Matt SHERIDAN (41. Nathan WALKER 46th).
Unused substitutes: 1. Josh OLUWAYEMI (gk), 5. Fin ROA CONCHIE, 39. Jayden SMITH, 46. Lachlan CANDY.
Sydney FC: 12. Harrison DEVENISH-MEARES (gk), 5. Hayden MATTHEWS, 6. Corey HOLLMAN, 7. Adrian SEGECIC (25. Jaiden KUCHARSK 81st), 9. Patryk KLJMALA (13. Pat WOOD 90+1), 10. Joe LOLLEY (20. Tiago QUINTAL 90+1), 15. Leo SENA, 16. Joel KING, 17. Anthony CACERES, 21. Zac DE JESUS (4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS 57th), 23. Rhyan GRANT (c).
Unused substitutes: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 3. Aaron GURD, 29. Joe LACEY.
Cards:
7. Adrian SEGECIC (Sydney FC) – yellow – 23rd
15. Leo SENA (Sydney FC) – yellow – 77th
25. Kazuki NAGASAWA (Wellington Phoenix) – 82nd
