Wellington Phoenix fans, you’ve done it again.
Goalkeeper Alex Paulsen has collected his second Player of the Month award for the 2023-24 Isuzu UTE A-League season, earning the honours for March after a fan vote.
Paulsen was named Player of the Month for October/November, starting a chain of Phoenix victories in the monthly voting. Kosta Barbarouses went back-to-back in December and January, then young defender Isaac Hughes claimed the fan-voted award in February.
Paulsen’s March win makes it five on the bounce for Wellington players as the Phoenix faithful continue to vote in numbers in support of their star players.
Each month the 10-player shortlist of nominees for Player of the Month is selected via the Opta Index.
Paulsen earned his nomination with an Opta index score of 86.9 recorded in March. The Phoenix keeper made four appearances throughout the month, making 24 saves, keeping one clean sheet and conceding just four goals.
His Opta index total was the second-highest in March behind Adelaide United’s Nestory Irankunda (89.1).
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The Opta Index is based on totals in a variety of statistics for each player. The index score uses subcomponents (such as shooting, passing, defending), corresponding to different qualitative aspects of a player’s performance.
These component scores are combined to create an overall rating for each player. The formula that works out the overall match rating have been developed by Opta’s own team of data scientists in conjunction with our award-winning Data Editorial team.
Paulsen and the Phoenix are next in action in the Isuzu UTE A-League on Friday, April 12 as they play host to Melbourne Victory in a clash between second and third at Sky Stadium.
