A massive test awaits the Wellington Phoenix at Porirua Park this Sunday with the visit of top-of-the-table Melbourne City.
Remarkably, City remain unbeaten with just three matches to play in the regular season, and Phoenix head coach Paul Temple sees the game as a huge occasion.
“It’s a tough task, but it’s an amazing opportunity,” he told media on Friday.
“That’s how I’ve framed it this week. The pressure’s all on them, and nobody is really expecting us to do anything. There’s no reason we can’t take points off them.
“Everyone that’s been playing them recently has been working along the same lines and we’re no different. Can we be the ones to stop them from going the whole season unbeaten?
“We’re confident, we’ve got a plan. We feel we’ve got the tools to unlock it, and to beat City.
“We’re also very aware that they’re unbeaten for a reason, they’re the best team in the league. Their consistency is unbelievable.
“They’ve got arguably the best player in the league, and we’re going to have to be at our best to topple them.”
Almost every top-six side has faltered in previous weeks, which has kept Wellington’s playoff hopes alive.
This match now shapes as a must-win fixture, especially after last week’s disappointing defeat to Central Coast Mariners.
“For a few days, the mood was probably very sombre.
“We had a good start to the week, we’ve had an eight day turnaround which gave us a day that we don’t usually have. That helped people leave it, and just move on.
“The rest of the season is a race. Fourth down to eighth are really packed in. It’s really open still, and it’s still in our hands.
“We have to keep focused on us, not think about what teams are doing around us.
“If results go our way in other games, it doesn’t mean anything unless we capitalise on that. We’ve still got to do our job.”
Sunday will also see Mariana Speckmaier feature against Wellington after she was the Phoenix top scorer last season.
“It’s like anything. We know some of the intricacies of her game, she knows some of the intricacies of our game, so there’s pros and cons.
“We had a good season together, we stay in touch and still speak, but on Sunday it’s about us. We need to get the points.
“I hope the Yellow Fever give her stick and she has a terrible game.
“But she’s a good person, and she’s a good player, doing really well for them.
“On a serious note, we have to take that into consideration and have a plan for her and that frontline of Melbourne City.”
Making that job easier will be Tiana Jaber’s return from suspension, and, barring long-term absentees, a clean bill of health across the squad.
“The medical team have been great, clearing up a few minor niggles.
“We have Tiana returning from suspension, Emma Main returning as well.
“There’s a full squad to choose from, apart from Rebecca Lake and Ella McCann who are long-term.”
The previous matchup between the sides in Melbourne saw City scrape a 2-1 win after the Nix had taken a first-half lead and restricted the hosts to no shots until the hour mark.
“It’s going to be a challenging last three games for them. We gave a pretty good account of ourselves in Melbourne last time out, and really took the game to them.”
“There were two big factors that swung it in that last game.
“They brought on the trio of Speckmaier, McNamara, and Pollicina, and we’ve talked about how they play differently when those players are in the team and how to deal with it better.
“Also, we had that crazy own goal scenario which was something that happens, but it’s not consistent.
“We did really well in that game, once we went 2-1 down, to come at them and maybe we could have nicked a point at the end.
“We’ll definitely take some confidence from the last time we played them.”
The round 21 Ninja A-League match between the Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne City is scheduled to kick-off at Porirua Park in Wellington at 4pm Sunday March 30th and will be broadcast LIVE on Sky Sport 1 in New Zealand and on Paramount+ and 10 Play in Australia.
Most recent meeting: 28 December 2024 – Melbourne City 2 Wellington Phoenix 1
All-time A-League head to head: Phoenix 0W, City 5W, 0D
Wellington Phoenix squad (two to be omitted): 2. Zoe MCMEEKEN, 3. Tiana JABER, 4. Mackenzie BARRY, 5. Alivia KELLY, 6. Maya MCCUTCHEON, 7. Grace JALE, 9. Olivia FERGUSSON, 10. Alyssa WHINHAM, 11. Manaia ELLIOTT, 13. Brooke NEARY (gk), 14. Mebae TANAKA, 15. Daisy BRAZENDALE, 16. Annalie LONGO (c), 17. Ela JEREZ, 19. Liv INGHAM, 20. Emma MAIN, 21. Lara WALL, 39. Carolina VILÃO (gk).
Unavailable: 18. Ella MCCANN (injured), 22. Aimee DANIELI (gk) (injured), 23. Rebecca LAKE (injured).
Melbourne City squad (two to be omitted): 5. Taylor OTTO, 6. Leticia MCKENNA, 8. Alexia APOSTOLAKIS, 9. Holly MCNAMARA, 10. Rhianna POLLICINA, 11. Emilia MURRAY, 12. Shelby MCMAHON, 13. Rebekah STOTT (c), 14. Laura HUGHES, 16. Karly ROESTBAKKEN, 17. Mariana SPECKMAIER, 18. Leah DAVIDSON, 19. Lourdes BOSCH, 20. Caitlin KARIC, 22. Bryleeh HENRY, 23. Melissa BARBIERI (gk), 24. Malena MIERES (gk), 27. Tyla-Jay VLAJNIC.
Unavailable: Nil.
