Wellington Phoenix midfielder Nicholas Pennington is drawing inspiration from the number of A-League Men players earning Socceroos call-ups to fuel his own national team ambitions.
An Australian under-23 representative, Pennington has been given limited opportunities at the Phoenix this season but made his mark last weekend with a winning goal seven minutes into stoppage time against struggling Perth Glory.
In an Isuzu UTE A-League season in which several young Australians Nicholas D’Agostino, Ben Folami, Marco Tilio, Connor Metcalfe and Joel King have either debuted for the Socceroos or been called into the national squad, Pennington says it is motivating to know domestic achievement isn’t being overlooked.
“Seeing that people are being given a chance from the league, it shows you that it can be done,” the 23-year-old said. “The thing is, it’s in the future.
“I just have to do very well with Wellington and maybe one day we’ll see, but, yeah, it’s something I definitely aspire to.”
Pennington’s dramatic winner against the Glory came in just his second start of this campaign, despite being a regular during the Phoenix’s run to the FFA Cup semi-finals.
New Zealand international Clayton Lewis suffered a serious ankle injury in last Saturday’s win, joining captain Alex Rufer (knee) on the sidelines.
Rufer is out for the season while the extent of Lewis’s problem is still unknown, but it’s likely to rule him out for a few weeks at the very least, opening a door for Pennington to prove his worth as the seventh-placed Phoenix push for a finals berth.
That opportunity starts with Wednesday’s trip to face struggling Brisbane Roar at Moreton Daily Stadium and the Italian-born Pennington, who had never been to Australia before signing with the Phoenix in the middle of last year, is backing himself to grab the chance.
“I’ve always had the confidence that I can be a leader in that position,” Pennington said.
“Clayton and Ruf have been doing really well obviously, they’ve done amazing to get us where we are now, fighting for a good position.
“I’m confident I can step up now and that’s what I’m here to do, just step up and play football.”
The Phoenix will travel to Queensland without head coach Ufuk Talay, who remains in isolation after testing positive to COVID-19 last week, but have been boosted with Olyroos midfielder Reno Piscopo set to return to the substitute’s bench having been sidelined since February due to a calf injury.
Second-last Brisbane will be without goalkeeper Jordan Holmes after he was sent off in their dramatic 3-2 loss to Western United on Saturday with Macklin Freke likely to deputise.
