Wellington Phoenix coach Chris Greenacre says his side have finally made a dent in Auckland FC’s derby dominance after a goalless draw in adverse conditions at Go Media Stadium.
The point ended Auckland’s run of six straight wins in the fixture, and Greenacre said it had been coming:
“We have to stop the rot and not allow it to be totally one-sided and with all due respect to Auckland, it’s been totally one-sided,” he said. “I’d like to think we got some credit back.”
While a win would have given Phoenix a five-point gap at the top of the table, he said “a point away from home is a good point”, and praised his players for keeping a clean sheet in a match that “had everything, had blood and guts”.
Greenacre said the wet conditions had been forecast all week and his side were ready for them. As the team struggled to find impac tin the second half, Greenacre said staff discussed bringing on more pace for the counter-attack late in the game, but he decided against it. “Was it the right call? Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t,” he said.
Goalkeeper Henry Gray made several key saves, though Greenacre admitted he missed the best of them. “I thought he’d actually hit the ball wide and I was a bit perturbed why it was a corner,” he said.
He praised Gray, who is on loan at the club, labelling him “magnificent since he came in” and that he had deserved his place in the All Whites squad.
“I don’t think it’ll be very long before we see him, you know, in the Premier League.”
The Phoenix stay unbeaten and a the top of the table. The sides meet again at Hnry Stadium in Wellington on December 19.
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