Ufuk Talay era with Wellington Phoenix ends with another anticlimactic playoff defeat

Ufuk Talay said it still had not sunk in that his tenure as Wellington Phoenix coach was over as he dissected what went wrong in their A-League Men elimination final.

The Phoenix were bundled out of the first round in the playoffs for the third time during Talay’s reign after losing 2-0 to Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium on Friday night.

Although the Phoenix consistently punched above their weight and made the finals three times in four years with Talay at the helm, despite the challenge of being based in Australia for two of those years, a playoff win eluded the former Sydney FC assistant.

“I don’t think it’s hit [me] yet. I guess we’ll find out in the next few hours or we’ll find out tomorrow,” Talay said.

“I’ll be on the flight back tomorrow with the group so we’ll have a couple of days to sort things out and to see everybody and say thank you for their effort and energy.

“And then life goes on, unfortunately.”

After sneaking into the top six, the Phoenix barely landed a punch in their do-or-die match against Adelaide.

Captain Alex Rufer was denied by the post right before halftime but clear-cut chances were far and few between.

Star striker Oskar Zawada fired an early warning shot at goalkeeper Joe Gauci after seizing on a mistake inside the first 60 seconds, but it would take 90 minutes for Gauci to be tested again.

At that stage the game was long gone.

Adelaide’s star winger Craig Goodwin scored both of his team’s goals in a stellar individual performance after punishing the Phoenix for two costly defensive mistakes.

The Socceroos winger, who scored against France at last year’s World Cup, landed the first blow in the 19th minute, cutting inside and beating Oli Sail with a curled right-footed shot after Callan Elliot failed to deal with a dangerous cross to the back post.

The clincher came via a 67th minute penalty.

Elliot was once again at fault. He got himself in a tangle trying to deal with Goodwin, tripped over and brought his opponent down with him.

Goodwin blasted his shot straight down the middle.

The second goal was a sucker-punch. The Phoenix had an attacking corner down the other end but Gauci claimed the cross and sent rampaging 17-year-old Nestory Irankunda free.

Lucas Mauragis had the opportunity to foul the teenager and halt the attack, but he elected not to. Perhaps his inexperience showed.

Irankunda sprinted clear and released Goodwin out wide.

“Two mistakes cost us two goals,” Talay said.

Friday’s loss brought an anticlimactic end to Talay’s four-year stint as Phoenix coach.

They also lost the 2020 and 2022 elimination finals, suffering identical 1-0 defeats to Perth Glory and Western United.

Talay replaced Marko Rudan on May 4, 2019 after they were knocked out at the same stage of the playoffs.

It was Talay’s first job as an A-League head coach and he said he was indebted to the Phoenix for taking a punt on him.

Talay will leave with the highest winning percentage (40.19%) of any Phoenix coach and the best regular season finish (third in 2020).

He should go onto bigger and better things after stating a desire to work overseas.

Although Talay remained coy on his own future, he said he would continue to follow the Phoenix from afar.

“It’s been a challenging four seasons to be honest, being away for two seasons based in Australia due to Covid was a challenging time.

“But there were a lot of moments of growth during the uncertain times.

“For me, I have a lot of gratitude towards this club. They gave me my first opportunity as a head coach and to be able to showcase my talents, like the players like to do on the field.”

With his right-hand man Giancarlo Italiano set to take over and a core group of players coming back, including star man Zawada, Talay said he was confident the future was bright for New Zealand’s only professional football club.

“The club is in a fantastic spot at the moment with the team, they have got a good core group of players they are retaining for next season.

“That is something to build on for next season.

“Facilities-wise and academy-wise, I think the club is in a fantastic space in developing their own. The club is heading in the right direction.”