It is rare that a team does not register a shot on target and finishes a game with an xG of 0, yet earns a share of the spoils. But that’s exactly what Wellington Phoenix did in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
For the first time in their history, Wellington have gone unbeaten through the first four games of an A-League Men season after they visited AAMI Park and claimed 1-1 draw away to high-flying Melbourne Victory on Friday night.
Both teams preserved their unbeaten starts to the season through four rounds after Ryan Teague’s 14th-minute opener for Victory was cancelled out by Damien Da Silva’s own goal four minutes before half-time.
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‘Nix took a point with them back home to Wellington without taking a single shot. They also had an expected goals (xG) figure of 0, compared to Victory’s 1.24, while they were unable to register a big chance throughout the 90 minutes on the road.
Asked if he was aware of the 0 shots stat in his press conference, Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano told reporters: “I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t even know we hadn’t had a shot until full-time and I looked at the stats.
“I felt we had opportunities. For me, I gage the swing of the game with potential chances. I just felt it wasn’t happening for us. It wasn’t a concern, it didn’t play on my mind.
“I actually felt like there were times where if we were a bit smarter on the counter-attack, we probably could’ve got something a bit more.”
Victory counterpart Tony Popovic was also asked about the shots stat.
“I thought there may’ve been one but it just shows you, football – why we love this game. They didn’t have a shot on goal and go home with a point. Credit to them,” he said post-game.
“We also got a point and maintain four games now undefeated.”
Wellington entered the game on the back of consecutive home fixtures, having outlasted Brisbane Roar 5-2 at Sky Stadium in Round 3, having held off Perth Glory 2-1 the week prior.
On the road, the Phoenix are unbeaten with two draws away to Western Sydney Wanderers and Victory. However, they have only managed one shot on target across those two fixtures.
“I don’t see it as a problem at the moment,” Italiano said. “I think it’s more the fact we’re travelling. We’ve played against two really tough opponents where there’s been a home-crowd advantage.
“We’ve also played against the heat. For us, we’re still adjusting to that. It’s not an excuse but unfortunately, Wellington isn’t the hottest place in the world. It’s like 10-15 degrees where we train. Even for us coming in and experiencing a day like this, it takes a bit of adjustment.
“It does take the conditioning out of the leagues of the players. Sometimes it takes about 20 minutes for them to settle and once they get their wind, if a team has their heads up like today, it’s a real tough place to adapt.
“I’m hoping over the next three-four away games, we start building and improving how we build-up. I think there’s been signs…. It’s going to take time. These things don’t happen straight away because if they did, everyone would be playing unbelievably.”
Italiano was promoted from his role as assistant to replace Ufuk Talay heading into 2023-24 and on his watch, the Phoenix have kept two clean sheets this season away to the Wanderers and Victory.
Wellington have also conceded four goals in four games and they look an improved outfit defensively.
“The change in structure,” Italiano said of their improvement. “There’s been a bigger emphasis at training about defending and the competitiveness of the overall week. Hardening the players a bit.
“But credit goes to my assistant coach Adam Griffiths. He does a great job with our goalkeeper coach. Not only on the defensive set-pieces but how we defend in the box.
“There’s a lot of time spent on that. You can see the results.
I was probably a little bit more comfortable in the Wanderers game and I think we were under the same pressure. (Against Victory) I changed the defensive setup at half-time because I felt Victory were getting in behind us a little bit more.
“Second half, even though they had the majority of the ball and were shooting from outside of the box, I felt we restricted them to dangerous areas.”
As for Popovic, he was asked about Daniel Arzani after the Victory winger was withdrawn just past the hour mark in Melbourne.
The fringe Socceroo cut a dejected figure on the bench following his substitution, but Popovic allayed any injury fears.
“I think it was just cramps. We’ve had two games now where they’ve been six-day turnarounds. The conditions were probably the warmest we’ve had so far.
“He hasn’t had a lot of regular football for a long time and he’s backing up and performing. We’re seeing that his first-half performances are getting better and better. We need a bit more end product from him – whether it’s more assists or goals.
“Then the second half, he will continue to improve. That’s part of the journey for him. He hasn’t come off injured which is key. A couple of weeks now, I expect an even better Daniel.”
