Ufuk Talay insists Wellington can trouble Adelaide United after securing their passage to an Isuzu UTE A-League Elimination Final against the Reds as a result of a 1-0 win over Macarthur FC.
Oskar Zawada’s 11th minute goal at a rainsoaked Campbelltown Stadium helped the Phoenix snap a five-game winless run.
Talay’s men only needed to draw to lock up a finals spot on Saturday with Zawada’s goal – his 15th of the season – setting up a winner-takes-all final with the Reds next Friday.
READ: Top six CONFIRMED! All set for historic Sydney Derby as week one Finals Series fixtures locked in
MORE: Top four LOCKED IN after epic Friday night
Wellington were thrashed 5-1 by Carl Veart’s men last month, but Talay said they would spend the week pouring over Adelaide’s shortcomings.
“In the 5-1, I thought we actually play some good football, we just didn’t capitalise on the opportunities that we created,” Talay said.
“They’re a team that plays very open football and we saw that in their last game against Central Coast (which Adelaide lost 4-1).
“So there are strengths and weaknesses that we need to exploit and stop at the same time.
“We’ll prepare the boys with a good frame of mind and make sure they’re fresh and ready to go.”
Wellington will go back to New Zealand on Sunday before returning to Australia on Wednesday for a game which could be Talay’s last at the club.
The outgoing Phoenix boss is hopeful his side have turned a corner after a disastrous run over the last month that left their finals hopes hanging by a thread.
“The belief in the group was still there,” Talay said.
“It was just about getting the results that we needed to play finals football.
“Today, I was very pleased with the attitude – we showed a lot more desperation, defensively, which was great.”
Zawada’s goal was the highlight of a drab match which condemned Macarthur to the first wooden spoon in their three-year ALM existence.
Ever since Dwight Yorke’s departure they have struggled for consistency and injuries to Daniel Arzani and Ulises Davila have hampered Mile Sterjovski’s first shot at coaching at ALM level.
Sterjovski described his first season in the hotseat as “tough” but said he could see green shoots at the Bulls.
“I think we’re heading in the right direction,” he said.
“With the players coming back from injury and building a strong spot, I think we’ll be fine for next year.
“I think the good thing has been that we have found out about a lot of the character of the people at the club.”
