The scoreline mightn’t have reflected it, but there were plenty of positives for Wellington Phoenix FC in their 2-0 loss to the Central Coast Mariners on Saturday night.

Despite a severely limited buildup to their 2007 Pre-Season Cup opener in Gosford, the Phoenix put in a gutsy, committed performance for the full 90 minutes.

Stung by a somewhat opportunistic goal to Mariners captain Alex Wilkinson in just the third minute, the Phoenix created plenty of chances of their own but were unable to find the final touches to put goals on a well-drilled Mariners outfit.

Wilkinson turned provider in the 32nd minute, setting up Adam Kwasnik to slam home a well-taken goal to complete the scoring.

Limited by a lack of time together, the late arrival of several players and the loss of frontline personnel due to injury and unavailability, the Phoenix were still competitive against opponents who won the inaugural Pre-Season Cup in 2005 and were beaten finalists last year.

Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert was pleased with the performance of his team.
“For a team that’s been together less than a month, that has six key players out and with three of our Brazilians (Cleberson, Felipe and George) with us less than a week, I’m extremely happy with how we went.”

Herbert believed the initial pace of the game may have taken the Phoenix a little by surprise.

“In the first 5-10 minutes we took time to react to things. After that we got a foothold, but we were already 1-0 down.”

Several players showed why Herbert wanted them in his new side, with goalkeeper Glen Moss the standout in pulling off some wonderful saves. Brazilian attacking midfielder Daniel was dangerous down the left flank and Shane Smeltz equally threatening on the right.

Daniel showed wonderful touches to put strikers Royce Brownlie and captain Vaughan Coveny into space, while also linking nicely with the combative Michael Ferrante inside.

Brownlie had several good chances in the first half courtesy of Daniel’s classy delivery but was denied only by fine goalkeeping by Australia under-20 custodian Danny Vukovic.

“We got punished (early) and I acknowledge that,” Herbert said. “But the flipside of that was that we were able to establish a foothold and that’s pleasing given where we’re at in the season.”

Brownlie and midfielder Jeremy Christie both had gilt-edged opportunities to score, with Christie on the end of wonderful buildup work by Smeltz and Coveny. Smeltz’s deft backheel allowed space for Coveny to fire in a pinpoint cross to the unmarked Christie, whose header went straight to Vukovic.

And it was a tough night at the office for Australian defender Steven O'Dor, who created a slice of club history - albeit for reasons he'd rather forget. O'Dor committed the team's first foul and was then shown the first yellow card in the club's short history in the 10th minute. But worse was to come, with O'Dor red-carded in the 53rd minute for a second bookable offence.

Reduced to 10 men, the Phoenix continued to play to their game plan and looked to attack whenever possible, despite several players having to move into unfamiliar positions.

But, while the overall performance gave cause for optimism, the Phoenix lacked vital cohesion and communication on defence and attack.

Herbert was unfazed.

“This was our first test against a side that is a long way down the track,” Herbert said. “We were more than competitive from a fitness perspective and now it’s all about building the relationships within the team – identifying our strengths and weaknesses. That only comes with playing competition football.”

And Herbert made no bones about what his focus was on.
“The competition. This (the Pre-Season Cup) isn’t just about being ready for the Melbourne Victory on August 26, this is about the entire competition – the A-League season.”

CENTRAL COAST MARINERS v WELLINGTON PHOENIX FC

MARINERS 2 (Alex Wilkinson 3, Adam Kwasnik 32), PHOENIX 0. HT 2-0
CROWD: 8136