Phoenix keeper hoping for back seat

Phoenix at Wellington Airport - March 11

1 of 8

MICHAEL FOX/Stuff.co.nz Zoom

An airport fire service officer takes his chance to get a signature from Tony Lochhead.

Relevant offers

Football

Four All Whites internationals to be televised Gold Coast suspend A-League coach Give us a fair crack, Herbert tells refs boss Mancini rejects Carlos Tevez 'dog' accusation Sorry Arsenal hammered 4-0 by AC Milan All Whites slide, Jamaica rise in FIFA rankings Oly Whites handed Saudi Arabia litmus test Barcelona put three past Bayer Leverkusen Rangers into administration; cede SPL title Teenager to captain Gold Coast on debut

Phoenix goal keeper Liam Reddy has tasted glory as the one-time saviour of his team's title aspirations but says he's happy to let everyone else do it this weekend.

Three weeks ago in front of a packed-out Westpac Stadium crowd, he saved back-to-back penalties in a shoot out against Perth Glory, bringing the stadium to its feet and putting his name in lights.

In spite of that eye-catching display, the man who will play for Phoenix opponents Sydney FC next season is hopeful it won't come to that.

"No, I'm secretly hoping for a Paul Ifill hat-trick and a Chris Greenacre tap-in to make it four-nil," he said.

"Hopefully we can get the win in the 90 minutes. The last two games we've obviously gone into extra time both times and I think probably the boys could do with a 90-minute game."

Reddy, 28, said he wasn't thinking about going out to impress his future employers and was focused on the team as they fought for the club's first A-League finals appearance.

"At the end of the day, the people I've got to impress are the players I play with and [the coaches] so I won't even be thinking about that to be honest."

"I've got a big game this week for the club and the players and you know, I'll be concentrating on that."

Speaking at Wellington airport ahead of the team's departure for Sydney, Mark Paston, who was a mid-season replacement for the injured Phoenix and All Whites goalkeeper, said the team was "full of confidence"

"We need to win this week or it's going to come to an end so we'll definitely be putting our best foot forward."

The team was thriving on the buzz around the Phoenix and hoped the fans would meet them at the airport again on their return.

Clad in his Phoenix t-shirt, with a flag and a billboard declaring he'd carry bags for finals tickets, one fan was pleased to see his team in person.

Ahmad, who declined to give his surname, was also at the airport waiting on his flight to Dunedin.

"Obviously I'm hoping that they'll do well," he said, adding that it was finals football and anything could happen.

- © Fairfax NZ News