The Wellington Phoenix are “buzzing” on the eve of their much-anticipated pre-season match with Wrexham AFC.
The Phoenix are playing host to the Red Dragons in the final leg of their ‘Down Under Tour’ at Sky Stadium on Saturday.
Wrexham beat Melbourne Victory 3-0 last Friday before being stunned 2-1 by Sydney FC on Tuesday night.
It’s Wellington’s first match of a long pre-season campaign, but head coach Giancarlo Italiano views it as a great opportunity for his team in front of what is expected to be a big crowd at Sky Stadium.
“It would have been nice to have a couple of weeks’ more preparation, but the group is buzzing,” Italiano told media on Friday.
“We’ll have a younger team playing in the first half and the second half will essentially be the academy playing. I’m buzzing for both groups.
“It’s a great opportunity to showcase what the squad can do.
“We’ve already come a long way in the pre-season so far. We addressed things from last season but everyone is on the same page, which is good.”
He is unable to call on half a dozen first team players, with club captain Alex Rufer, fellow All White Tim Payne, versatile defender Corban Piper, experienced midfielder Paulo Retre, goalkeeper Alby Kelly-Heald and young forward Nathan Walker unavailable due to injuries or a lack of match fitness, while new signing Ifeanyi Eze has yet to arrive in Wellington.
But Italiano still believes his side can give Wrexham a good match.
“You saw what Sydney did the other night against them.
“I can’t recall exactly when they changed the majority of the team, but the younger boys gave them great energy in the second half and that’s what got them over the line.
“I’m not really putting too much into the result. I don’t think it’s important.
“It they give me 100% and I know that they’ve come off the pitch giving all that they can and playing a brave style of football that we’re trying to implement for this season; that’s something that the fans can hang their hat on.
“Whether we win or lose that’s up to the football gods and so on.
“I want them to enjoy the occasion as well and with the second half team I really want to see one or two of those boys step up and put themselves in the shop window.”
And he doesn’t want his players to get drawn into the hype around Wrexham.
“We haven’t addressed any individual player to be aware of or the team dynamic.
“The boys are really cognisant of the fact of where Wrexham has come from. It’s a great story and a great storyline but we don’t place too much emphasis on that.
“The crowd is going to give the occasion. They’re going to rise to that and part of our process is making sure that we’re not listening to the noise outside and we can just focus on what we need to focus on and that’s the now.
“If I played too match into that narrative of Wrexham they can maybe get overawed by the situation and that’s something I don’t want to do. It’s more about performance and the right mindset.”
Wellington Phoenix squad: 1. Josh OLUWAYEMI (gk), 5. Fin ROA CONCHIE, 9. Hideki ISHIGE, 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, 31. Ryan LEE, 32. Ryan WATSON, 33. Dylan GARDINER, 34. Nick MURPHY, 35. Matt FOORDE (gk), 36. Luke MITCHELL, 37. Anaru CASSIDY, 39. Jayden SMITH, 40. Eamonn MCCARRON (gk), 42. Fergus GILLION, 44. Dan MAKOWEM, 45. Lewis PARTRIDGE, 46. Lachlan CANDY, 47. Luke FLOWERDEW, 48. Mac MUNRO.
Unavailable: 3. Corban PIPER, 6. Tim PAYNE, 7. Ifeanyi EZE, 8. Paulo RETRE, 14. Alex RUFER (c), 19. Nathan WALKER, 30. Alby KELLY-HEALD.
Main image: Wellington Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano and Wrexham AFC manager Phil Parkinson shake hands on the eve of their match at Sky Stadium. Photo: Cam McIntosh/Photomac.
