One of the most striking elements about the Wellington Phoenix's abject performance in a 1-0 loss to Melbourne Victory last Friday night was that it actually came off the back of a relatively positive period of form for Giancarlo Italiano's side. The Nix entered the round's curtain-raising clash at AAMI Park undefeated in four matches, with six points, two clean sheets, and only two goals conceded across that entire quartet of games. Given what came before that – a dire stretch of five losses in six games – it looked as if the Phoenix had, if not turned a corner, at least halted their vertiginous slide down the table. So, are there positives for Nix fans? Of course. Below, Front Page Football's Rob Binns looks beyond Friday night's Victory-shaped cloud to explore four key silver linings for the Phoenix faithful to cling to ahead of a challenging trip to league leaders Auckland FC this weekend.
Young goalkeeper Alby Kelly-Heald has been one of Wellington's better performers in recent weeks. (Image: Photomac)
Alby Kelly-Heald: Steadying a sinking ship
The introduction of Alby Kelly-Heald – who replaced Josh Oluwayemi between the sticks after January’s home loss to Adelaide United – seems to have breathed life and confidence into a backline with a self-destructive proclivity to play out from the back at all costs. Nikos Vergos’ powerful header was just the third time Kelly-Heald’s goal had been breached – four if you count Harry Sawyer’s strike to send the Nix out of the Australia Cup – and the change-up looks to have worked wonders for the defence.
Arguably the chief beneficiary? Isaac Hughes. Before Kelly-Heald usurped his English teammate for the No. 1 jersey, Hughes sometimes seemed not to know which side he was playing for. The Phoenix centre-back scored an own goal one week, conceded a penalty the next, and was at fault a week later for the opening goal the Nix conceded in what ended up a 4-1 rout by the Western Sydney Wanderers. After being dropped for the next game against the Newcastle Jets – which the Phoenix won – he was re-introduced for a drab performance against Melbourne City and the visit of Adelaide. His confidence was crushed.
But since Kelly-Heald’s introduction – which included that barnstorming debut in which the 19-year-old kept a clean sheet, played eight accurate long balls, and made four close-range saves against a Joe Lolley-equipped Sydney FC – Hughes has been part of that solid defence. He even scored the goal that secured a precious home point for Wellington against strugglers Brisbane Roar.
Now, he looks refreshed and buoyant in a back four that – while still a pale, malnourished shadow of the steamship it was last season – at least looks to have patched up the most significant leaks in its bow.
Luke Brooke-Smith's not just 'one for the future'
It’s a damning indictment of the Phoenix’s performance last Friday night that their best player – and perhaps already one of the shining lights in what’s looking increasingly like a write-off of a season – was 16-year-old Luke Brooke-Smith. A player almost as young as the club, Brooke-Smith has made only two starts for the Phoenix and hasn’t yet made up two and a half hours of minutes played. Yet after his mid-match introduction against Melbourne Victory, the young Kiwi looked like the only player likely to produce anything.
Taking the occasion by the scruff of the neck, the pacey winger – born in the same year that Lady Gaga’s Poker Face was released – made a mazy, magnificent run down the Victory’s right flank, flitting past players and getting an unlikely shot away that had Melbourne custodian Mitch Langerak scrambling.
Despite a season in which Corban Piper, Matthew Sheridan, and Nathan Walker have all featured prominently – and in which the fresh-faced Lachlan Candy made his debut just a week ago against Brisbane – Italiano has been judicious with the minutes he’s afforded to some of his younger players.
Now, as his side remain grounded in the purgatorial quagmire that is 10th place on the A-League Men ladder, Chiefy must surely roll the dice and place more faith in the less experienced contingent of his squad – and, despite only recently becoming the youngest ever player to take to the field in a league game for Wellington, Brooke-Smith has earned his spot at the front of the queue.
Corban Piper's a wrecking ball in human form
With the physique of a middleweight boxer and the haircut of an AFL player, Corban Piper cuts a distinctive figure on the pitch – and, like Brooke-Smith, has been one of the shining lights in a season characterised by a marked lack of them.
Watching Piper barrel, bulldog-like, around the pitch, my overriding thought – as someone who plays football, albeit at an astronomically lower level – was: I would not want to play against this guy.
With a goal and three clean sheets to his name already, 22-year-old Piper has had a breakout season to remember, but – more importantly – brings a sense of power, energy, and raw unpredictability that has given Wellington an extra dimension when he plays. And, while his long throw isn’t at Rory Delap levels yet, the sight of him standing near the opposition’s byline – towelling down the ball and getting ready to launch it unceremoniously into the box – is still a sight to behold.
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Tim Payne's welcome return to the Wellington Phoenix XI
He was visibly rusty, but even a half-fit Tim Payne – returning from injury after being forced off against Melbourne City almost six weeks ago – feels like more of an asset than any of his deputies in that right-back position since.
Like Piper, Payne has an indefinable relentlessness, a savagery that’s both a defensive and an attacking weapon. Payne laid on the ball for Kosta Barbarouses to shoot from a dangerous area – narrowly saved by Langerak and the Phoenix’s best chance of the night – and was a constant threat to Adam Traore’s left side.
Italiano and Phoenix assistant coach Adam Griffiths must prioritise managing his minutes, if necessary, to avoid any relapse into injury; on his night, he is the Phoenix’s best player. And one final silver lining – he extended his Wellington contract for another three seasons just two months ago.
The Wellington Phoenix are next in action at Go Media Stadium on 22 February to take on Auckland FC in the third New Zealand Derby – and hoping to claim at least a point against their table-topping rivals after two early-season losses to Steve Corica’s side. Front Page Football will be analysing the game – see you then.
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