Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper Lewis Italiano remains confident the Kiwi side can turn their season around following an upset win over the high-flying Newcastle Jets on Saturday night.
Phoenix overcame a slow start and a fast-finishing Jets outfit to record a confidence-boosting 3-2 win at McDonald Jones Stadium.
First-half goals to Matija Ljujic and Daniel Mullen laid the platform for an excellent performance, with Roy Krishna’s strike on the hour mark sealing a well-deserved victory.
Man-of-the-match Italiano made a series of crucial saves to keep Phoenix’s lead in tact and stood firm with Newcastle pushing for a late equaliser.
“Credit to the boys today they put absolutely 110% into their shift,” Italiano told Fox Sports.
“I couldn’t have done it without them. I wish I had a quiet game, I don’t like touching the ball at all.
“But full credit to the boys.”
Wellington have now collected seven points in their last three matches and moved to within five points of sixth-placed Wanderers.
Meanwhile, Jets attacker Andrew Nabbout said his side were wary of a rejuvenated Phoenix outfit but admitted his side’s missed chances in the first half ultimately proved decisive.
“They’ve had a few good results on the trot and from where they were at the start of the season to now is actually a big credit to them,” Nabbout told Fox Sports.
“They put us under a lot of pressure with Burnsy back in the side. It got tough at times for us.
“We had a few chances early that we could have really buried the game. Even towards the end we had a few chances to try and snatch something but it wasn’t to be.”
