There were mere seconds remaining when Sam Sutton lumped a hopeful ball forward. The allotted added-time had already been expended and it was up to the referee’s discretion how much longer this game would last. The ball from Sutton flew short of its target but that allowed Oskar van Hattum to win his aerial duel and flick the thing onwards towards to Kosta Barbarouses who was already in motion. At first it looked like what it was: a last-gasp prayer. But then the ball landed fortuitously between two defenders and suddenly there was some rolling momentum. Kosta got to the bouncing ball first. He nodded it across to Oskar Zawada. The big man caught it in stride. He slipped it past Paul Izzo. The net bulged. The crowd erupted. The commentary box erupted. Fans in front of television screens across the nation erupted.

Rick and Ilsa will always have Paris. Wellington Phoenix fans will always have Oskar Zawada’s goal in the ninth minute of stoppages. Equalising to force extra time in front of a record Wellington Phoenix home crowd. What followed didn’t quite go to script but that goal was something special. One of those moments of magical alchemy that only sport can provide.

But... the Welly Nix lost. Normally you expect the team that scores late to force extra time to run away with it on the back of that emotional injection but the Melbourne Victory do not operate like a normal opponent. They are immune to emotions. Instead it was they who popped up with the decisive goal and that was where the season ended for Giancarlo Italiano’s crew. A 2-1 defeat after extra time. The Victory progress to face Central Coast Mariners in the grand final next week. The Phoenix are left to ponder upon the most successful season in club history, with the cruelty being that the more successful they are, the closer they get to ultimate success. The closer they get to ultimate success, the more disappointing it feels not to claim it.

The Narrow Margin

Having seen these teams do battle on four occasions already (plus a preseason meeting), there wasn’t much left to figure out. Two great defensive sides locked horns across 210 minutes of footy and goals were exactly as scarce as we thought they might be. The first leg was a 0-0 draw. The second leg didn’t see a goal until the 81st minute. The margins were always going to be razor thin and that meant small instances would prove decisive. One small mistake could be fatal, even the type of error that you’d usually get away with in a normal match. Chances must be converted. That’s how games like this are won and lost.

Problem is, the Wellington Phoenix are not very good at converting chances. The Chief has rebuilt their attacking structures in order to get the best out of the players that he’s got but that doesn’t suddenly make them prime finishers. They’ve been more efficient in front of goal thanks to the ‘better shots not more shots’ strategy, that’s all. They were still the lowest scoring team to make the finals with only 42 goals from 27 matches – in fact, for as rubbish as they seemed to be at scoring goals last season, they only had four fewer than in this campaign. And that includes a couple of extra games this time around.

They also nearly halved their regular season goals against (from 45 to 26) so this ain’t to suggest that they were somehow a phony presence this deep in the competition. It’s instead to suggest that their spectacular defence is what has carried them this far. A spectacular defence which continued to reach those levels for most of this game... while the fellas simultaneously failed to put anything away up the other end. Bozhidar Kraev missed a fantastic chance with a header early second half. Ben Old struck the post at one stage. There were a couple of long-range Sam Sutton strikes that might have flown in on another day. Most deflating of all was Alex Rufer missing a penalty. All of those chances were while the game was at 0-0 just waiting for one of these sides to take control.

The penalty was the big one, even if it felt like an easy-come-easy-go situation given how soft that handball decision had been. Notice that this time Rufer went the other direction to his miss against Newcastle Jets a few weeks back. He did at least get this one on target, drawing a superb save out of Paul Izzo (who unfortunately is in prime form saving penalties at the moment – a bit like Alex Paulsen at the start of the season). That’s one penalty miss which would have earned a minor premiership title, and one penalty miss which could have earned a spot in the grand final. But then the Welly Nix would be nowhere near those honours were it not for the captain’s immense work elsewhere. And, in fairness, there weren’t too many other candidates on the pitch at the time. Zawada still had his bib on. Kraev and Kosta have missed them in the past too. David Ball didn’t score a goal all season. It had to be Rufer... and he simply missed. S’pose that’s something to work on for next season.

There were still plenty of great chances aside from that. Not wide open ones but good enough that you’d hope they’d have been able to convert one. Only one, that’s all it required. Instead it was Adama Traore on 81’ who was given slightly too much space on the edge of the area and he lashed in a wonderful goal. Same sort of half-chance that the Nix had been creating for much of the game only this bloke took the opportunity as it arose. He scored an excellent goal, the likes of which the home side was unable to match. That’s what we’re talking about: fine margins.

Flipping The Script

Of course, the Phoenix did eventually score thanks to Oskar Zawada. A goal which broke a five year drought without scoring in the finals. Four straight scoreless games finally ended in the 90+9th minute of the fifth. A reminder that three of the four goals that the Nix scored against Melbourne Victory this season came in the fifth minute of second half stoppage time or later.

But then one slip-up from a defensive set piece undid the comeback. Roderick Miranda flicked it on at the near post, winning the first contact, then Chris Ikonomidis nodded it over the line having snuck goal-side of his marker. You just don’t usually see this Nix defence caught passive like that, let alone from a set piece. They’ve not conceded a goal like that all season but pressure does weird things to folks. Fatigue doesn’t help either. Mental or physical. Maybe even spiritual too. Such an uncharacteristic way to concede.

A lot of this game was uncharacteristic though. Across the first four meetings between these teams, the Victory had been the team taking heaps of shots but struggling to score. 78 shots for 5.8 xG and only two goals to show for it. Incredibly, 35 of those shots were blocked. On the flipside, the Welly Nix had taken 27 shots against MVC for 3.26 xG but scored three times (that’s 0.074 xG/shot for MVC and 0.121 xG/shot for WPX). Albeit one of those goals was an own goal and another a penalty.

In this game it was the opposite as the Phoenix took 27 shots and the Victory only 13. Yes, the Nix almost matched their four-game tally in 120 minutes, while the Victory scored twice by being more selective with their shooting opportunities. Wouldn’t go as far as to say that they beat the Phoenix at their own game because most of that difference was caused by the Nix playing desperation footy late in regulation and during extra time with their season on the line. But the way it ended up does kinda paint that picture.

Look at Zawada’s goal... it came from a long ball down the middle. They would never bother with that under normal circumstances. Scoreboard pressure got them playing Freaky Friday football hurling long balls and crosses into the mixer which Roderick Miranda and Damian Da Silva dealt with as commandingly as Finn Surman and Scott Wootton did when the Victory resorted to direct means in those other games. No team crossed the ball less often than the Wellington Phoenix this season... but in frantic need of a goal with the Victory sitting deep that’s largely what we saw from the Nix.

Did they stray from their attacking identity when it mattered most? Yes... but mostly because the clock was ticking down and they didn’t have the option to be patient. There was not much of a choice. Also, that approach is way more effective when Oskar Zawada is on the pitch which was only the case for less than a quarter of the season so we might have seen it more had he been healthier.

Giancarlo Italiano said afterwards that he felt like this team needed to experience defeat like this in order to continue progressing. He’s right. A win would have been preferable, obviously, but it’s the losses which offer the most valuable lessons. This is where the motivation springs from for next season and beyond. It’s also the sort of experience that can only be gained first-hand. There’s no simulating these games. You have to go through them in order to understand what’s required to win them.

Melbourne Victory are stacked with veteran players who understand that, not to mention an outstanding head coach who is as good in these situations as any. In an otherwise dead-even contest, they got the better of the big moments. They saved a penalty. They scored a great goal from a half-chance. They punished the one defensive lapse that they saw. They also, crucially, dusted themselves off after conceding that Zawada goal and were able to defy the raucous crowd to spoil the day, scoring with what was basically their only chance of an extra time period that was otherwise thoroughly bossed by the Nix (who held 74% of possession through extras). Precision football. Credit where it’s due. The more you consider that perspective, the more legendary the win appears for the Melbourne Victory.

That Crowd

We knew it was going to be big. Ticket sales were trending towards a sellout from the very start but especially so after the first leg set things up as neatly as it did. We also knew it was going to be loud because Nix fans have long been trained to get the party going even in small away sections so a capacity home crowd was beyond next level. As it happens it was also beyond the club’s previous record.

Welly Nix Record Home Attendances

1. 33,297 vs Melbourne Victory (L 2-1 aet) Sky Stadium on 18 May 2024

2. 32,792 vs Newcastle Jets (W 3-1) Sky Stadium on 7 March 2010

3. 24,278 vs Perth Glory (D 1-1) Sky Stadium on 21 February 2010

4. 24,105 vs Western United FC (W 3-0) Sky Stadium, on 22 May 2021

5. 23,648 vs Melbourne Victory (D 1-1) Eden Park on 15 February 2019

The first three are all finals games. The fourth was the first game in Wellington post-covid, ending a stretch of 433 days without a match in Aotearoa. The fifth (and also the sixth) was hosted in Auckland where the bigger population and relative scarcity (up until very soon) always seems to draw a big turnout.

It gets better. That crowd was not only huge by Wellington standards... it’s actually the largest crowd of the entire A-League season and it’s not even close. Second-place was Sydney FC vs Western Sydney back in November which drew in 28,152 spectators... more than five thousand fewer than what the Nix had on Saturday night. Even a Melbourne Derby elimination final only got to 21,358 (sixth overall). The grand final is being hosted by Central Coast whose stadium is smaller than this so nothing’s going to change with the decider. Across the past four seasons, there’s only been one instance of a larger crowd than what we saw at Sky Stadium on Saturday evening. A magnificent effort. An emphatic statement.

Stray Notes

Roly Bonevacia pretty much tracked Alex Rufer everywhere, the blimmin’ pest. He did an excellent job of it too, although the funkiest aspect of this is the instruction itself. Popovich put his attacking midfielder into a shadow assignment. That alone is recognition of how valuable that Rufer role is for the Nix.

The Victory responded to conceding late much better than the Phoenix responded to missing a penalty. It was a bit easier given there’s time for a teamtalk and all that, whereas the pause around the penalty happened before the instance itself. Long VAR wait. Players standing around hoping. The decision was very lucky but the pressure that led to it was as sustained as it had been all game... then the steam leaked out the window and things got chilly again after Rufer’s miss. Wasn’t until they conceded that they began to bring the heat back up again.

Way more Ben Old in this game. Love to see it. He was quiet in Melbourne but here the Nix made more of an emphasis of getting him his touches and Oldy was seeking to run all day. Some thrilling dribbles in there. Five shots, including that one off the post. His crossing still needs as much work as his finishing but he was the main spark for 120 minutes of football, capping a breakthrough season. If he can raise his end product and some of that final third decision-making then there’s a first eleven All Whites player in there someday. Also, gotta amp up his tackling/pressing too. He’s got all the skills for that to become a major aspect of his game but it’s nowhere near there yet. He’s in the All Stars and should be going to the Olympics so the chance to play against Newcastle United and the French U23s should give us more of a clue as to whether he’s ready for a transfer now or if he needs another season in the A-League.

By the way, Ben Old was the fourth-most fouled player in the ALM this season. 48 fouls at 2.62 per ninety minutes. Ulises Davila was number one... no comment.

Finn Surman was subbed for the last ten or so minutes of extra time – the first minutes he’s missed all season. Scott Wootton and Alex Paulsen saw the whole thing through to remain everpresent. Lukas Kelly-Heald and Isaac Hughes made ALM finals debuts off the bench.

Traore’s goal was only the third that the Nix have conceded from outside the penalty area all season. The previous one was Doka’s winner for CCM in stoppage time of that top-of-the-table clash. Doesn’t happen often, in fact the Nix pretty much encourage folks to shoot from there (and the Victory naively obliged in the first leg with 14 shots from outside the area). Even if we exclude the numerous blocked shots and the wild ones that missed the frame, Alex Paulsen has faced 46 shots on target from outside the box this season. Only been beaten three times. Two of them were amongst the most critical goals this team conceded... it takes something rare to get past him. Sadly the best teams are most capable of bringing the rarities.

Oskar Zawada scored seven goals in 600 minutes of action this season. He only started five out of 29 matches and they were all within the first two months of the term. For all of the what-ifs along the way, the one that should linger most is what might have happened had OZ been able to stay fit like he did last time (15 goals in 2095 minutes).

There’ll be another article looking forward into next season at some stage soon. For now, suffice it to say that the only players coming off-contract are: Kosta Barbarouses, Bozhidar Kraev, Oskar Zawada, Nico Pennington, Jack Duncan, and Youstin Salas. All the young lads are signed up. Granted, there is also a strong possibility of player sales given the form that some of the academy blokes showed. Maybe even a necessity of player sales given that league funding is expected to be slashed next season. But Central Coast sold half of their championship team (and switched managers) and are now one win away from a treble. The Phoenix are built to rebuild. The academy is designed to replenish. This is how it’s supposed to work.

PFA Team of the Year

Say would ya look at this...

Fair play, this is a fantastic team. Very representative of the best of the league. No complaints. Alex Paulsen was named as captain which means he got more votes from the players’ association members – aka his footballing peers – than anyone else. Scott Wootton, Tim Payne, and Alex Rufer also got picked in the starting eleven. First PFA XI honours for each of them. Kosta Barbarouses is on the bench, his third season being recognised. And Giancarlo Italiano is the head coach, repeating the feat that his predecessor Ufuk Talay managed in 2019-20.

On top of that, there will be five Wellington Phoenix players in the ALM All Stars team to face Newcastle United. Still seems very weird for Premier League clubs to be playing end-season friendlies rather than pre-season ones but here we are. Alex Paulsen, Scott Wootton, Tin Payne, Bozhidar Kraev, and Ben Old are the fellas named. That game is on Friday night in Melbourne.

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