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A-League Men, elimination final: Adelaide United v Wellington Phoenix Where: Coopers Stadium, Adelaide When: Friday, 9.45pm (NZT) Coverage: Live on Sky Sport 7, updates on Stuff
There was a sense of relief after the game as Wellington Phoenix cleared the final hurdle and dragged themselves across the finish line.
The Phoenix beat Macarthur 1-0 in their final regular season game to finish sixth on 35 points and qualify for the A-League Men finals series for the fourth time in five years.
Ufuk Talay’s men will now meet Adelaide United, who finished seven points above them in third, in a do-or-die elimination final at Coopers Stadium in Adelaide this Friday night.
WELLINGTON PHOENIX
Wellington Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay confirms departure.
There is no denying that Adelaide will be the heavy favourites, especially at home, having beaten the Phoenix 5-1 in their last meeting.
However, both teams have experienced a slump in form at the back of the season and have won just one of their past five games.
If the Phoenix do beat Adelaide they will advance to a home-and-away semifinal against premiers Melbourne City the following week, giving them another game back in Wellington.
If they lose, it will bring the curtain down on Talay’s four-year tenure at the helm of the Phoenix, having already confirmed his exit at the end of the season.
The Phoenix have made the finals three times in his four seasons in charge, but have not made it past the first round.
It has been 11 years since they last won a playoff match, beating Sydney FC 3-2 in a dramatic penalty shootout in 2012.
TAB odds:
Adelaide $1.72, Wellington $4, draw $3.75
How they got here:
Adelaide 3rd, 42 points; won 11, drew 9, lost 6
Wellington 6th, 35 points; won 9, drew 8, lost 9
Form guide:
Wellington WLDLL
Adelaide LDLDW
Both of Friday’s opponents have hit a wall at the back end of the season and will be disappointed they did not finish higher on the table, but momentum is with the Phoenix. They head into the finals on the back of a 1-0 win over Macarthur while Adelaide will be hurting after suffering a comprehensive 4-1 loss at home to Central Coast Mariners.
Head-to-head:
October 9; Sky Stadium, Wellington: Wellington 1 Adelaide 1
The Phoenix held on for a draw in the opening game of the season after losing midfielder Yan Sasse to an early red card.
December 17; Sky Stadium, Wellington: Wellington 3 Adelaide 1
Imports Sasse, Oskar Zawada and Bozhidar Kraev all got on the scoresheet as the Phoenix made the most of their numerical advantage after Adelaide forward Ben Halloran was given his marching orders.
March 17; Coopers Stadium, Adelaide: Adelaide 5 Wellington 1
The Phoenix crashed to their heaviest defeat of the season but actually out-shot Adelaide 19-14.
Lineup prediction:
Phoenix: Oli Sail; Callan Elliot, Scott Wootton, Tim Payne, Lucas Mauragis; Alex Rufer, Steven Ugarkovic; Kosta Barbarouses, Yan Sasse; David Ball, Oskar Zawada.
Bozhidar Kraev’s eye-catching cameo off the bench in the win over Macarthur signalled a welcome return to form but barring any injuries you can expect Talay to roll with the same 11 that started their final round match.
Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Phoenix striker Oskar Zawada has scored a team-high 15 goals.
Key men:
Polish target man Oskar Zawada has hit career-best form for the Phoenix, scoring 15 goals in 25 appearances. He missed the 5-1 defeat in March due to the birth of his first son.
Socceroos winger Craig Goodwin has been directly involved in 24 of Adelaide’s goals, scoring 12 and assisting 10. Goodwin scored a spectacular long-range free-kick in a losing effort in their second meeting in December.
Pre-match chat:
Phoenix captain Alex Rufer: “People are saying it’s job accomplished, but it’s only getting started. It’s really important we keep the momentum going. It’s a big game and it’s always tough going there. They have good fans, a good stadium and everything is against you, but these are the games you want to play in.”
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