message OF WELCOME from General Manager David Dome Welcome to our third-to-last match of the regular season, as we take on the Western Sydney Wanderers on their home turf. It’s a great feeling to be in the coveted top two, and realistically we’ll need to win all three remaining matches to stay in this spot; which guarantees the Phoenix a semifinal berth for only the fourth time in club history. Thanks to everyone who came to our fan event at the Harbourside Function Centre last Saturday; we’ve received great feedback so far and are keen to do it again in the future – so please stay tuned. Special thanks have to go to our partners who made it all happen: Kapura, AV Media, Tana Scaffolding and Hell’s Pizza. Without them, it would not have happened! Our match versus Adelaide was a great chance to see some of our younger players in action too; it saw the starting debuts for Sam Sutton, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi and Callan Elliot, and they all performed well in the spotlight and allowed several of our veterans some much-needed rest. It was also fantastic to see three Wellington Phoenix Academy graduates in Ben Waine, Sutton and Liberato Cacace, playing a key role in this match. The future of the
PHOTOGRAPHY: DESIGN / LAYOUT: Printing: TBD Design
Academy – and in turn the Phoenix and football in New Zealand – is looking bright. Back to tonight’s match; we’ve had some great battles against Western Sydney this season and no doubt they’ll be looking for payback after we beat them 2-0 at home earlier this year. They’re a dangerous side and Coach Ufuk Talay has indicated we’ll field a full-strength line-up against them - there’s every chance we could meet them again in the Finals, so this match is important for us for a range of reasons. As always, thanks for supporting your Wellington Phoenix. Thank you too for the messages of support many of you have been sending in for the players; we know they really appreciate it and it reminds them that there’s a whole country supporting their efforts in Sydney! COYN!
David Dome General Manager, Wellington Phoenix
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3
CATCH THE ‘NIX HOME AND AWAY Grab a Sky Sport NOW Pass to watch the Phoenix home and away this season. Sky Sport Now not only lets you follow the Phoenix but also gives you access to other great football with the A-League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1. You will also be able to watch all the other great sport across 10 SKY Sport and 2 ESPN channels.
Go to skysportnow.co.nz for details
Home of the PHoenix Catch all the Phoenix matches live at The Churchill this season - the home and heart of the Nix! 132 Lambton Quay, Wellington
Wellington Phoenix season draw 2019/20
R29 - Nix vs. W.S. Wanderers VS.
VS.
VS.
Team 4 v Team 5 OR Team 3 v Team 6 Team 1 v Lowest EF Winner OR Team 2 v Highest EF Winner
Fri 31 July, 9.30pm NZT Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
R28 - Brisbane Roar vs. Nix Wed 5 August, 8pm NZT Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
R24 - Nix vs. Newcastle Jets
Sun 13 August, 9.30pm NZT Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney
Elimination Finals Sat 22 August - Time & Venue TBC Sun 23 August - Time & Venue TBC
Semi Finals Wed 26 August - Time & Venue TBC Wed 26 August - Time & Venue TBC
Grand Final Winner SF 1 v Winner SF 2
Sun 30 August - Time & Venue TBC
5
season 2019/20 LADDER CLUB
P
W
D
L
PTS
Sydney FC
22
16
3
3
51
Wgtn Phoenix
23
12
4
7
40
Melbourne City
23
12
4
7
40
Brisbane Roar
24
11
5
8
38
Perth Glory
22
9
7
6
34
Adelaide United
23
10
1
12
31
Western United
21
9
3
9
30
Newcastle Jets
24
7
7
10
28
Western Sydney
22
7
6
9
27
Melbourne Victory
23
5
5
13
20
Central Coast
25
4
3
18
15
Current as at 30 July 2020 6
season 2019/20 team statistics #
Goals
Goals
#
Conversion Rate
%
1st
Sydney FC
46
1st
Sydney FC
22%
2nd
Melbourne City
42
2nd
Perth Glory
19%
3rd=
Wgtn Phoenix
37
3rd
Western United
18%
3rd=
Perth Glory
37
4th
Wgtn Phoenix
17%
5th=
Adelaide United
36
5th
Melbourne City
16%
Goals
#
#
Goals Conceded*
Passing Accuracy
%
1st
Sydney FC
21
1st
Wgtn Phoenix
84%
2nd
Perth Glory
24
2nd=
Brisbane Roar
83%
3rd
Brisbane Roar
26
2nd=
Sydney FC
83%
4th
Wgtn Phoenix
28
2nd=
Western United
83%
5th
Western United
29
5th=
Melbourne City
82%
All stats current as at 30 July 2020 *Sorted from least to most
7
WELLINGTON PHOENIX FC
Hyundai A-League 2019/20 Squad
#1 stefan marinovic
#2
goal k eeper
#5 matti steinmann
david ball
#6
liberato cacace D E FE N DE R
8
tim payne
#10
ulises dĂ vila
#7
ALEX rufer MIDF IEL DER
Atawhai #4 Te Hudson-Wihongi
reno piscopo
D EFEND ER
#8
cameron devlin
MIDF IE LD ER
MID FIELD ER
#11 jaushua sotirio
#12 Brandon Wilson
F O RWAR D
midfielder
F O RWA RD
#14
luke devere DEF END ER
MIDF IEL DER
FO R WA R D
#13
#3
DEF EN DER
M ID F I EL DE R
#9
liam mcging
#16
louis fenton DEF END ER
#17
callan elliot D EFEND ER
WELLINGTON PHOENIX FC
Hyundai A-League 2019/20 Squad
#20
oliver sail
#21 callum mccowatt
goal k eeper
F O RWA RD
#30
zac Jones
G OAL K EEP ER
#31
ben waine
#23
#27
walter scott DEF END ER
#32
F O RWA RD
10
SAM SUTTON
steven taylor D EFEND ER
#88
Gary Hooper
MIDF IE LD ER
FOR WAR D
Radoslaw Majewski
Midfielder
11
Bruce Kamau
Forward
13
Tass Mourdoukoutas
Defender
16
Mattieu Cordier
Defender
17
Keanu Baccus
Midfielder
19
Pirmin Schwegler
Midfielder
22
Nicholas Sullivan
Midfielder
23
Kostandinos Grozos
Midfielder
27
Kwame Yeboah
Forward
28
Fabian Monge
Midfielder
4
Dylan McGowan
Defender
29
Daniel Wilmering
Defender
5
Daniel Georgievski
Defender
31
Noah Pagden
Defender
6
Matthew Jurman
Defender
33
Tate Russell
Defender
7
Mitchell Duke (c)
Forward
34
Patrick Ziegler
Defender
Mohamed Adam
8
Jordan O'Doherty
Midfielder
35
9
Nicolai Muller
Midfielder
40 Nicholas Suman
Goalkeeper
10
Simon Cox
Forward
50 Tristan Prendergast
Goalkeeper
Forward
9
liberato #13, defender Age: 19 Height: 170cm Previous Clubs: Phoenix Reserves
2019/20 Stats Games played: 21 Minutes played: 1,880
Defense Blocks: 7 Clearances: 52 Interceptions: 22 Tackles: 57.7% success rate Duels: 56.4% success rate Aerial Duels: 43.8% success rate
Distribution Total Passes: 1,031 Pass Success Rate: 83.5% Key Passes: 27 Assists: 1
Attack Goals Scored: 3 Goal Conversion Rate: 16.7%
Curre
o cacace bio When you look at Wellington Phoenix fullback Liberato Cacace and how important he is to the team’s success this season, it’s easy to forget that he’s only 19 years old. Cacace has become indispensable for the Phoenix in his third season, electrifying the crowd on a regular basis with his gamechanging runs and sublime footwork to become arguably the best left-back in the competition. His path to the Phoenix saw him come through the youth ranks at Island Bay and Capital Football, before making the move to Ricky Herbert’s Junior Elite Academy. He would go on to play for St Patricks College, helping them win the Wellington Premier Youth football league. In the 2016/17 season, Cacace began playing for the Wellington Phoenix reserves squad, making his A-League debut in Feb 2018 - all the while still at school. After signing a two-year professional contract with the Phoenix, Cacace had a breakout 2018/19 season as he led the team in minutes and solidified himself as Wellington’s first-choice left-back. Cacace also scored his maiden A-League goal, in an 8-2 win over Central Coast Mariners, and had a memorable run against Melbourne Victory that left Japanese star Keisuke Honda trailing in his wake. Cacace was also consistently one of New Zealand’s best players at the World Cup that year, as he debuted for the All Whites.
ent as at 31 July 2020
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