Wellington Phoenix faces the arduous task of travelling to Adelaide this week as it takes on a revitalised Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium on Friday night.
Adelaide United was the form team for much of last year’s Hyundai A-League and lost the Grand Final 1-0 against the Melbourne Victory, however it has struggled with consistency this season and lie tenth on the table, albeit just one point behind the Phoenix in seventh.
Phoenix defender Tony Lochhead remembers last season’s 6-1 loss at Hindmarsh Stadium and is keen for his side to make more of an impression this year.
“I don’t think we’ve picked up a point in Adelaide. It’s always been a tough place for us to go and play,” he said.
“They’re a team growing in confidence, especially with the win they had over the weekend against the Roar at home in Brisbane.”
“They’re a good team all over the park but I think if we play the football that we know we can and put away our chances that we create, then we should be alright.”
Traditionally, Adelaide is at its warmest over the Christmas period, with temperatures of 40 degrees not entirely out of the question. However, Lochhead has done his homework and doesn’t expect the mercury to rise too high on Friday night.
“It’s supposed to be around 23 on the weekend so hopefully it stays cool. It’s just something that we have to do. It’s part and parcel of playing at home in Wellington. Everyone expects it to be warmer over there so we just have to get on with it.”
Lochhead admitted his side was upset at its performance in the 1-0 loss to Sydney FC in Palmerston North at the weekend where conditions made play extremely difficult.
“Everyone is a little disappointed. Obviously it wasn’t the prettiest game in the world and not the result we were after. We know we really need to win our home games so nobody was too happy about it,” he said.
“It made it difficult to play to be fair. The conditions were just awkward. It was pretty gusty so it made it pretty difficult and to be fair if any of the two teams had an excuse for not being used to it, it was Sydney.”
Lochhead’s involvement with the All Whites World Cup Qualification campaign means he has had an extremely busy year to date. He had the unfortunate experience of giving away a penalty when the All Whites had a 1-0 lead against Bahrain at Westpac Stadium. Since that match, however, his form has been noticeably error-free and he is keen to show his attacking flair.
“It’s been an interesting year with all the World Cup Qualifiers,” he said. “It’s been hard at times with all the travel involved but I’m just looking forward to the rest of the season in the A-League and putting together some a bunch of good results.”
“Personally, I’d like to get forward a bit more and get involved in the attack and contribute going forward. I think we’ve been pretty solid at the back the majority of the year.”
