The Wellington Phoenix will play their 200th A-League match when they host the Brisbane Roar at Westpac Stadium in the capital on Sunday. As they clock up another milestone, Daniel Richardson of the NZME. News Service takes a look back on five memorable Phoenix matches during their time in the competition.
Phoenix 2 Melbourne Victory 2; Westpac Stadium, August 26, 2007.
This is where it all began. After rising from the embers of the failed New Zealand Knights, professional football was given a new home courtesy of the ambitious Terry Serepisos. Down 2-0 with 15 minutes left against the defending A-League champions, the Phoenix showed the fighting spirit they would embody for years to come as they fought back to earn a credible 2-2 draw in their first game. Goals to Shane Smeltz and Daniel gave a crowd of 14,421 plenty to cheer about and football fans across the country were given the belief that this club could make a go of it in the A-League.
Phoenix 3 Newcastle Jets 1; Westpac Stadium, March 7, 2010.
Sold-out crowd of 32,792, Paul Ifill on fire and Eugene Dadi coming off the bench; what more could you ask for? The Phoenix moved to within one game of the A-League's grand final during this classic playoff encounter as they scored twice in extra-time to continue a memorable finals run. Ifill's 105th minute goal gave the Phoenix a deserved lead and Dadi finished the job 10 minutes later. Ifill, arguably the best player to have pulled on the yellow and black stripes of the Phoenix, was sublime throughout the contest as his attacking qualities proved too much for the Jets.
Phoenix 1 Newcastle Jets 0; Hunter Stadium, Newcastle, January 20, 2012.
Manny Muscat has played 154 games for the Phoenix and has only one goal to show for it but his solitary A-League strike was a screamer. The former Maltese international curled home a stunning left-foot shot against the Jets across the Tasman as Wellington won back-to-back away fixtures for the first time in their existence. It was a fine reward for the quietly-spoken Muscat, one of the club's most loyal servants.
Phoenix 3 Western Sydney Wanderers 1; Pirtek Stadium, Sydney, January 1, 2014.
There weren't any notable milestones here but this win signalled that the Phoenix had ushered in a new era under coach Ernie Merrick. During Ricki Herbert's tenure in charge of the Phoenix from 2007-2013 the side struggled across the Tasman. But Merrick preached endlessly to his men that it didn't matter where they played, they had the ability to match anyone in the league. During this New Year's Day clash, Wellington went behind 1-0 but scored three goals in the final 22 minutes as they stunned the Wanderers and their passionate fans. This win showed the Phoenix would no longer roll over just because they were playing in Australia.
Phoenix 5 Melbourne City 1; Westpac Stadium, November 30, 2014.
Finally, the drought was broken. It took 194 games for a Phoenix player to score a hat-trick and striker Nathan Burns became the first player to earn the match ball during this rout. There were a few nervous moments when Burns had to retake the penalty which gave him his treble due to players encroaching the box during his first attempt but the Socceroo remained cool under pressure. The milestone came a few days after Australian cricketer Phil Hughes died; Burns had played schoolboy cricket in New South Wales with Hughes.
