Wellington Phoenix secured their place in the 2025 Australia Cup Round of 32 after downing Brisbane Roar in Wednesday night’s play-off.
Kosta Barbarouses was the hero in Darwin, where the Phoenix great settled the midweek contest in the 39th minute.
After scoring 10 goals in 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season, history-making Barbarouses proved decisive once more for Wellington at the expense of Brisbane in Michael Valkanis’ first competitive fixture since replacing Roar boss Ruben Zadkovich last week.
CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR TICKETS TO THE ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE FINALS SERIES
It was a pleasing performance in the eyes of ‘Nix head coach Giancarlo ‘Chiefy’ Italiano, who oversaw an historic run to the 2023-24 Isuzu UTE A-League Semi-Finals before a challenging campaign this term.
CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR TICKETS TO THE ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE FINALS SERIES
“I was really happy because it felt like we went back to things that worked for us for a long period,” Italiano said post-match as the Phoenix joined Perth Glory in the Round of 32 after play-off wins.
“I was a bit worried travelling out here. It was like a full day of travel the other day. We’ve had a pretty poor run of form the past month. So it was a good reason for a lot of boys to give up and not give it everything.
“But they did give it everything which was the most important part.”
