Wellington Phoenix target strong start

Coach Ufuk Talay is into his fourth season with the Wellington Phoenix.
Photo: Photosport

Wellington Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay is seeking a fast start to the A-League season.

The Phoenix kick off the season against Adelaide United in Wellington on Sunday.

Winless in three previous season openers under Talay, a round one draw against Macarthur FC last November was their best result.

“We want to start the season on a high and hopefully get three points against Adelaide,” Talay said.

“We haven’t always had a great start. Obviously my first season we brought in a lot of players and then we were a little bit disjointed in pre-season with us being based in Australia the last two seasons.

“I think we’ve had a decent pre-season this year and we want to get off on a good run. We’ve got two very important home games and we want to maximise that as much as we can.”

Beyond the opening fortnight the Nix are targeting the first half a dozen fixtures, before the A-League breaks for the FIFA World Cup.

“I think the first six games are very important to put us in a good place,” Talay said.

David Ball will benefit from the A-League’s break for the Football World Cup.
Photo: PhotoSport / Andrew Cornaga

“With the break coming in also it’s going to help us bring players back like Bally (David Ball) and Rufs (Alex Rufer). The first six games are very important to maximise the amount of points we can get from them.”

Ufuk Talay has guided the Phoenix to the finals in two of his three seasons and the top six is again the men’s aim in 2023.

“If we get into the top six, we give ourselves a chance to play finals football.

“Obviously if we can push even further and finish in the top four even better, but the aim is always to make the top six and play finals football.”

Few across the Tasman are picking the Phoenix to make the finals this season.

“People write us off every year regardless and I don’t mind that. We fly under the radar, we do our jobs and we still end up making the top six.

“I think we’ve got some talented players. I think we’ve got players that can actually hurt opponents and we’ve created a good balance in the squad.

“I’ll push the boys as hard as we can to get the outcome that we want, which is to play finals football.”

All Whites forward Kosta Barbarouses is back for the Wellington Phoenix.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

All Whites forward Kosta Barbarouses, highly-regarded Australian midfielder Steven Ugarkovic, Bulgarian international Bozhidar Kraev, Brazilian playmaker Yan Sasse, Polish striker Oskar Zawada and Australian defender Lucas Mauragis have joined the Phoenix for the new season and all are in line to feature against Adelaide United.

Zawada was the latest signing and has had a relatively limited build-up to the season, but is likely to start against the Reds.

“The reality is Oskar came late into pre-season so we have to build him up with games and matches. The only way we can get him fit is by playing a game so we’ll play him against Adelaide and we’ll push him as far as he can go.

“When he blows a gasket, we’ll take him off and we’ve got enough players and depth to make those changes.”

All Whites midfielder Clayton Lewis is also available for selection again, after recovering from a hamstring injury.

Sunday’s opponents have a good record in Wellington. Adelaide United are unbeaten in their last five A-League matches against the Phoenix in the capital, with their last defeat in November 2015.

But the Nix have won seven of their last nine games at Sky Stadium, with their only defeat coming in their most recent match against the Central Coast Mariners in April.