Shattered Tratt predicts Phoenix to shine soon

Defender Jacob Tratt is confident it’s only a matter of time before the wins start flowing for Wellington Phoenix after they slumped to a third straight Hyundai A-League defeat on Sunday.

In a contest they controlled for much of the 90 minutes, Phoenix were sunk by a Sydney FC sucker-punch in the 92nd minute to lose 1-0 at Westpac Stadium.

Sky Blues playmaker Milos Ninkovic poked home from close range leaving Phoenix still searching for the first point and goal after three rounds.

REPORT: Sky Blues late show stuns Phoenix in NZ

“It’s very disappointing. We put in so much hard work and to not get the results is hard,” Tratt told ABC Radio.

“Everyone’s got a lot of belief in our squad and we have the team to win games. It’s just not falling for us at the moment.

“But I know if we keep putting in the hard work it’s going to come and we’re going to be a force to be reckoned with.”

Wellington will feel hard done by after seeing two goals ruled out in the first half for off-side.

One of those, tucked home by Roy Krishna, appeared to be harsh on the home side. It made the defeat even harder to take, according to Tratt.

“We felt like we were on top. We could see it in their [Sydney FC] eyes that we were dominating the game,” Tratt said.

“We just wanted to come out in the second half and stay dominant and to be fair we did that. It’s just one percenters that aren’t falling for us at the moment, but they are going to come.”

Things don’t get any easier for Ernie Merrick’s side with a trip to Melbourne next to take on Victory on Monday week.