Wairarapa Times-Age E-Edition

Frustration for Phoenix

The Wellington Phoenix have endured another frustrating night following a 0-0 draw with Adelaide United, their second straight goalless stalemate in the A-league.

Even when the home side went down to 10 men with 16 minutes to play, the Phoenix were unable to capitalise.

The Phoenix remain in ninth place on the table, three points outside the playoffs, with Adelaide now second.

The Phoenix dominated the second half of the match, recording 12 shots on goal to the Reds’ five, but tight defence from both sides denied either of thee typically high-scoring sides from registering a goal.

The result did extend the Wellington side’s unbeaten streak to six games, but coach Ufuk Talay wanted more.

“It’s disappointing, it’s a game we needed to win with where we sit on the table; at the end of the day not losing in Adelaide is a positive, but for us we needed the three points,” said Talay.

“It’s been a challenging season for us in the sense that we’ve had no home games, no home fans, and especially when you’re chasing a game I believe the crowd does help.

“We are resilient, you can see that in the way that we play and the way we perform, and the players will grow from this and they’ll learn a lot from the challenges we’ve had this season.”

The Phoenix next game is against Melbourne City in Melbourne on May 16. They then head back to New Zealand.

SPORT

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2021-05-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-05-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

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