Rudan hails 'huge result' for Phoenix
Wellington Phoenix head coach Mark Rudan feels the point his side earned at Newcastle Jets could be crucial to their chances of making the A-League Finals Series.
The New Zealand side were held 1-1 at McDonald Jones Stadium, where their former keeper Glen Moss saved Roy Krishna's late penalty.
Victory would have taken the Phoenix 11 points clear of the seventh-placed Jets, with nine rounds to go, but the gap may well be enough as it stands, Rudan feels, particularly with Newcastle having to contend with an Asian Champions League campaign at the same time as the A-League run-in.
Ernie Merrick's side, who were runners-up in the league last season, potentially have two ACL play-offs and then four more group games to play alongside their domestic fixtures.
"It's a big gap, eight points," said Rudan, who is in his first season as Wellington coach. "Knowing that they are in the ACL now as well, it was important.
"We obviously wanted to win the game and could have done so easily, but from a mentality point of view that's a huge result as far as we're concerned, because eight points is a lot of points to catch up there."
Wellington and the Jets both have five home games left out of their nine matches, but the Phoenix look to have the better run-in as two of their away matches are against the bottom two sides Central Coast and Brisbane Roar.
Merrick commented after the game that the dressing room had been "like a morgue", with players feeling they had dropped two points after taking the lead through Ronald Vargas.
"Now to finish in the top six and qualify for the group stage, which is the challenge we've set ourselves, it's going to be very tough physically on the boys, but they are very resilient," added Merrick.
The Phoenix are 9/4 to win their next game against Melbourne Victory, who are 21/20, with the draw 11/4.
View all Soccer betting
Wellington Phoenix head coach Mark Rudan feels the point his side earned at Newcastle Jets could be crucial to their chances of making the A-League Finals Series.
The New Zealand side were held 1-1 at McDonald Jones Stadium, where their former keeper Glen Moss saved Roy Krishna's late penalty.
Victory would have taken the Phoenix 11 points clear of the seventh-placed Jets, with nine rounds to go, but the gap may well be enough as it stands, Rudan feels, particularly with Newcastle having to contend with an Asian Champions League campaign at the same time as the A-League run-in.
Ernie Merrick's side, who were runners-up in the league last season, potentially have two ACL play-offs and then four more group games to play alongside their domestic fixtures.
"It's a big gap, eight points," said Rudan, who is in his first season as Wellington coach. "Knowing that they are in the ACL now as well, it was important.
"We obviously wanted to win the game and could have done so easily, but from a mentality point of view that's a huge result as far as we're concerned, because eight points is a lot of points to catch up there."
Wellington and the Jets both have five home games left out of their nine matches, but the Phoenix look to have the better run-in as two of their away matches are against the bottom two sides Central Coast and Brisbane Roar.
Merrick commented after the game that the dressing room had been "like a morgue", with players feeling they had dropped two points after taking the lead through Ronald Vargas.
"Now to finish in the top six and qualify for the group stage, which is the challenge we've set ourselves, it's going to be very tough physically on the boys, but they are very resilient," added Merrick.
The Phoenix are 9/4 to win their next game against Melbourne Victory, who are 21/20, with the draw 11/4.
View all Soccer betting
Source: bet365.com
Comments
This article has 0 comment(s) , give your comment