Wellington Phoenix latest victim of plucky Victorian team
Photo:
Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Wellington Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano says his side has a lot of work to do after becoming the latest A-League side to fall victim to Heidelberg United in the
Hahn Australia Cup
.
The National Premier Leagues (NPL) Victoria side beat the Phoenix 4-0 in the first of the Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday night, a week after dispatching Western Sydney Wanderers 3-0 in the round of 16.
Heidelberg led 1-0 at half-time courtesy of an unfortunate Wellington own goal and took command of the tie with two goals early in the second half before adding a fourth in the 85th minute.
Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano was disappointed to bow out of the Cup in such fashion.
"For large parts we dominated that match ...the first half we should have capitalised on those two/three big chances that we had," Italiano said.
"[We] scored an own goal against the run of play but the big thing that killed us was the first 10 minutes of the second half. We got caught twice on the counter, poor second ball recovery and we got punished for it, and then the fourth goal just topped off the whole performance.
"But the positive was that the boys didn't give up, the subs came on and we were a little bit more on the front foot, but again that game changes if we score earlier."
He concedes they have a lot of work to do before the start of the A-League season in eight weeks, especially in regards to the squad's fitness.
"If we're going to be on the front foot for the whole season, to play like that is high risk, high reward. We need to be fit for 90 minutes that's the most important thing and then build confidence by playing as many games as we can.
"The signs have been positive but obviously if you're going to play like this you'll get anomaly scores like that."
The Nix had little to show for their dominance in the first half and were unable to properly test Heidelberg's goalkeeper.
The hosts were fortunate to take the lead in the 34th minute when Wellington defender Isaac Hughes found the back of his own net. The Phoenix then found themselves three goals down little over five minutes into the second half.
The Bergers doubled their lead in the 47th minute courtesy of a quality strike from Max Bisetto before Asahi Yokokawa made it 3-0 four minutes later.
The Wellington Phoenix will return home on Wednesday and have two months to get ready for the 2025-26 A-League season.
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