Wellington Phoenix

The Wellington Phoenix seemed to be living up to their billing as rank wooden spooners in this seasons A-League after clawing their way back from two down last week only to lose it at the death away to the Newcastle Jets.

Apparently the pundits had installed Wellington as most likely to finish last this season before a ball had even been kicked.

The first round result was cause for optimism in the Phoenix camp and would have definitely caused some surprises with the way the Phoenix were able to come back from two goals down too come within moments of snatching a precious away point.

Even though it was a loss the boys from the windy city would have felt they were extremely unlucky not to come away with something from the match.

Sunday nights game in New Zealand's capital has changed all that with the Phoenix able to take their first three pointer courtesy of a star turn from one of their local lads, Leo Bertos, who in a delightful twist was playing against his former club.

The diminutive Wellingtonian was in excellent form that saw him set up former Crystal Palace striker Paul Ifil with the equalizer and then snatch the points for the home side with a stonking free kick in the 85th minute.

Though it took a slight deflection it was still a goal that any player would want to score, at home in front of a good vocal crowd and at such a time that it decided the outcome of an entertaining game.

Though the Perth Glory will feel aggrieved that they came away from the game with nothing, they have no one to blame but themselves for the result. Though they perhaps enjoyed longer periods of dominance they were fought with ferocity in the midfield and given no quarter by a Wellington side desperate to prove the pundits wrong.

This result will no doubt boost the Phoenix in their upcoming matches and another huge positive is that Ifil was able to open his account which means both of the Wellington sides imported strikers have now gotten off the mark.

Chris Greenacre is the other striker they have brought in from abroad and he was able to open his account in the defeat to Newcastle in the opening game of the season.

Positive signs for the Phoenix faithful and three points in the bank in what will be a defining season for the Wellington side.

Bertos will take the plaudits for a great game against his old team and deserves them for his belief in his ability and giving the Wellington fans a moment they will remember for many years to come.

With a tough away trip to face the Queensland Roar next up, the Phoenix will be hoping that their tenacity and skill will again come to the fore in what will be a challenging match up. The Roar are without a victory so far with a defeat in the opening weekend and a draw in the last round.

Picked to be a form team this season it will be interesting to see how the Wellington side are able to compete with the Brisbane outfit.

Recently I was able to attend a game football at a big modern ground with a reasonable fan base and watch a team that had played a bit of good football at times in the games previous to the one I witnessed.

I had been visiting Wellington, the capital of New Zealand at the time I attended the fixture, and had been there for a few days hanging out looking at how structured and orderly the city had become in comparison to previous incarnations of culture I had seen there. It was strange at times but strangely comfortable.

We had planned to go to the football for weeks and had previously decided we must ready ourselves for the yelling and cheering by imbibing large amounts of liquid refreshment in a lovely old bar near the Beehive.

After all sorts of theorising football around the tables as we did our best to entertain each other we made our way to the ground.

There may have been herbs in the air on the way to the ground and I was perhaps under the influence of an intoxicating substance other than the alcohol when I arrived at the gates to procure the tickets.

The people were all caricatures of themselves, there was a hum of anticipation but it was not buzzing. This was something which was quite an important factor in the events to follow.

People milled about, talking, smoking, shuffling along in strange lines that went through areas where everyone could quite comfortably walk without lining up.

We made our way to our seats, with refreshment. The ground was a picture when we went in, and the stadium looked contained as a structure, well constructed.

The game started and it was, unfortunately for the crowd, played very unimaginatively by both teams. There was no doubt they were both reasonable sides because both had played some good football in games previous.

The crowd had been influenced to a large extent by the weather and many had stayed away. The crowd that did show were visibly impaired by the weather, restricted by large coats, hats, and bags with supplies.

I enjoy playing football and watching the game played to a reasonable level of competency. The game had all that, but because of the apathy of the crowd, the team's never really got going enough to really play any really good attacking football.

Something almost started a few times but then it would fizz out like the atmosphere did after the opposition scored. The Phoenix were trailing soon after the half and chasing the game. The half was reasonably stale until a few chances near the end and one particular chance that was missed right on the whistle.

The crowd were nonplussed. It was strange leaving the ground, the disappointment and swirling of colour and sound. I was in a slight state when I left the game, I think I had accidentally drunk some sort of strange concoction.

The city rolled before me like a living thing, the crowd's chanting slowly quieting in my head. Football was the winner on the day, I forgot to say.

We walked through the city to Ghuznee St and had some beers.

Rising from the ashes of the Auckland Kings and the New Zealand Knights, the Wellington Phoenix are causing a few eyebrows to be raised as they look to their second season in Australia's professional football A-League.

In terms of footballing history the Wellington Phoenix are a club that does not have a lot to look back on. The club was formed only last year after almost not finding the financial backing to even come into being.

The first season was up and down as they adjusted to the league. Though there were a few standout performances they finished well out of the playoff spots.

With the new season near they look to be progressing well toward becoming a real contender though after the completion of the A-League preseason competition and their runners-up status.

The reason for optimism is clear. They completed the preseason cup undefeated in normal time and took the final to the wire before losing on penalties.

During the final itself they were only denied the win through the heroics of the Melbourne Victory's Anchorman Theoklitos, who quite literally had a blinder.

New signings McKain, Bertos, and Lei Lei Gao all contributed well to a strong performance, with McKain at the back showing some silky touches not normally seen from a central defender.

Bertos and Gao also caused problems for the Victory defence with several good crosses and some tricky maneuvering.

The introduction of crowd favourite Daniel in the second half set pulses racing straight away as the Brazilian sparked a series of attacks that almost led to the break through.

The performances of these players would of course not be worth mentioning if they were not backed up by confident play and ball retention from their teammates.

With this only the beginning of the team's time together it looks as though Phoenix Manager Ricky Herbert is living up to his billing as one of New Zealand's top coaches.

From what I have seen so far it looks to me as though the Phoenix fans will have much to cheer about this season and I would not at all be surprised to see the team challenging for top honours in only its second season as a professional club.

In these situations it is always easy to get carried away speculating on the possible success of a team. But there seems to be a buzz in the air in footballing circles in Wellington and it has a lot to do with the rise of the Phoenix.