Home playoff for the taking

Phoenix down Gold Coast to grab fourth spot

BY FRED WOODCOCK

There is good news and better news for Wellington Phoenix fans.

Their team has qualified for the A-League finals series with a round to play, the first time a New Zealand club has made the playoffs in an Australian national football league.

Ricki Herbert's men did so before they kicked a ball at the weekend because both North Queensland and Brisbane, the only teams that could have overhauled them, lost respective matches to Melbourne and Adelaide.

The top six was also locked in at the weekend.

Melbourne (47 points), Sydney (45) and Gold Coast (42) will battle for the top three spots, while the Phoenix (37), Perth (36) and Newcastle (34) will jostle for positions four through six.

Fourth is highly coveted. Whoever prevails will get a home playoff match in the first round and, with it, a significant advantage.

Teams that finish fifth and sixth would have to win three straight matches on the road to qualify for the grand final.

Which brings us to the better news.

The Phoenix appear to be hitting form at the right time and last night scored an upset 1-0 win against high- flying Gold Coast United at Skilled Park in Robina, a result that sees the Phoenix jump into that fourth spot.

It also means they hold their destiny in their own hands.

Win at home against ninth-placed Central Coast Mariners on Friday night at Westpac Stadium, a venue they have not lost at in 16 matches since October 2008, and fourth is theirs.

Newcastle could also get to 40 points if they beat Central Coast in Gosford tonight (their match on Saturday was postponed because of heavy rain) and Adelaide in Newcastle on Friday, but the Phoenix have a +5 goal difference and the Jets -8.

A Paul Ifill penalty on the stroke of halftime last night - and some pressure defending in the second half - was all it took for the Phoenix to remain unbeaten against Gold Coast this season.

Ifill threaded a lovely ball into the penalty box for Tim Brown, who was contentiously adjudged to have been fouled by United defender Bas van den Brink. Ifill slotted the penalty, his 10th goal of the season.

Gold Coast pressed in the second half but the Phoenix were confident and assured.

Captain Andrew Durante read play superbly and, with Jon McKain, led the way from central defence yet again.

Shane Smeltz was kept quiet. The All Whites gun has scored 19 goals this season but none against the Phoenix. He had a great chance in the first half but Brown tracked him expertly.

Vince Lia's return to the midfield added further stability, while Ifill provided the touches of class up front.

In Friday's match, Melbourne took a major step toward claiming the minor premiership with a 2-0 home win against North Queensland.

An 87th-minute winner from Socceroos striker John Aloisi handed Sydney a crucial 3-2 win against Perth in Sydney.

A win against Melbourne in the final round, in Sydney, would see the Sky Blues take the minor premiership.

Bottom-placed Adelaide beat Brisbane 2-0 in Adelaide on Saturday.

- © Fairfax NZ News