If there’s one player who mirrors Wellington Phoenix’s incredible re-birth this season, it would have to be attacker David Williams.
The 31-year-old was probably off the radar of Australian football fans over the last couple of years as he plied his trade with Hungarian club Haladas.
But his return to the Hyundai A-League and Wellington Phoenix has not only coincided with some of the best football of his career, but also some heady days for the Phoenix.
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So it was only fitting that on a night where Wellington re-affirmed their title credentials, Williams was the man that stole the show.
Williams’ hattrick in the Phoenix’s 4-1 drubbing of the Newcastle Jets – which took his season tally to 11 – has Mark Rudan’s men in the box seat for a top-four finish.
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Incredibly, all-but-one of those goals have come since the turn of the New Year.
Filling in for the club’s suspended leading scorer Roy Krishna, the two-cap Caltex Socceroo displayed all his skills and finishing ability to bury the Jets.
Heralded as a potential superstar as a teenager, it would probably fair to say Williams hasn’t quite reached the lofty heights that were expected of him.
But the Brisbane-born flyer seems to be peaking perfectly since returning to the Hyundai A-League and working under Rudan.
And if Williams can maintain his stunning form and help Wellington go on to win an elusive piece of silverware, it could just be the crowning moment of his career.
While Williams’ man-of-the-match display is just what the Phoenix order, it’s dealt a probable fatal blow to the Jets’ hopes of making the top six.
Ernie Merrick’s men are still five points adrift of sixth-placed Adelaide, who have a chance to extend that gap when they play Central Coast Mariners on Sunday.
“It’s a bad day at the office for us, as simple as that,” Jets striker Roy O’Donovan told Fox Sports.
“Pick ourselves up, we’ve got four games [to go], the pressure is on the teams above us.
“We just have to do our business. We didn’t do our business tonight and that’s the big concern.”
