Wellington Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay has refused to lay blame at the feet of Ulises Davila following the attacker’s costly miss against Sydney FC.
The resurgent ‘Nix fought back from a goal down – and dominated extended periods of the match – before ultimately settling for a 2-2 draw with the defending Hyundai A-League Champions on Saturday afternoon.
However, the hosts spurned a golden chance to claim an upset in the final quarter hour when Davila inexplicably failed to find the target from point-blank range after being teed up by Liberato Cacace.
The miss blighted an otherwise impressive showing from Davila, whose tidy 37th minute volley proved the pick of the goals at Westpac Stadium.
Talay refused to single out his star import, nor any other player, for his side’s failure to secure a win for second straight week.
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“That’s part of football,” Talay said of the Mexican’s miscued attempt on goal.
“I’m sure he wants to score. He’s been doing a great job so far this season.
“The players are going to have opportunities. The most important thing for me is that they’re in that area because, if you’re not in there, then we can’t even talk about it.”
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In the first half, Wellington conceded an early opener to Adam Le Fondre in the 14th minute, before Reno Piscopo levelled terms prior to Davila giving his side the half-time advantage.
However, the Sky Blues drew level shortly before the hour on the back of an own goal from Phoenix captain Steven Taylor.
Talay remained pragmatic when discussing the lapses that led to conceding both goals.
“It happens. It’s two goals that we wouldn’t have liked to concede at home and we walk away 2-0 obviously,” Talay said.
“But that happens. A bit of a mix-up with the first goal with Le Fondre scoring and an unfortunate own goal for the second one.
“The main focus for me was we played some really good football against the league leaders and we played for three points.
“I’m very happy with the performance,” he concluded.
Talay’s side are now undefeated in their last six Hyundai A-League matches, with three wins and three draws in that span.
The Phoenix remain just inside the top six on the Hyundai A-League ladder ahead of a trip to Ballarat to face Western United after Christmas.
Round 12
Western United v Wellington Phoenix
Date: Saturday, 28 December
Venue: Mars Stadium
Kick-Off: 5PM AEDT
