Hectic departure, unheralded arrival for Phoenix

KENT BLECHYNDEN/The Dominion Post

FIND FAREWELL: Phoenix's Paul Ifill shakes hands with a fan at Wellington Airport yesterday.

The contrast was stark.

Phoenix touched down in Sydney last night with as little fanfare as imaginable – a sole Fox Sports camera on hand to greet the Kiwis and ask goalkeeper Liam Reddy a couple of quick questions ahead of tomorrow night's A-league preliminary final against Sydney FC.

It suits their low-key style but it was quite a contrast to the atmosphere they left behind in Wellington just four hours earlier.

There, dozens of fans turned out at Wellington Airport to farewell the team, one hopeful young man carrying a sign saying, "Will carry bags for tickets."

Stuff.co.nz will have full coverage, including live blog and photos of the Wellington Phoenix's bid for a place in the A-League grand final on Saturday night.

Qantas staff were decked out in Phoenix polo shirts and there were posters emblazoned on the airport walls – "Come on Phoenix", "Rocket Reddy" and "Andrew Durante, Captain Fantastic", to name but a few.

Reddy appeared slightly overwhelmed by the support for the team that has manifested itself during the past few weeks.

"Everyone is decked out in Phoenix gear, which is great to see. The town has been abuzz for the last few weeks so hopefully we can get a result."

Reddy himself was the subject of a story in the Sydney Morning Herald pointing out the rather ironic situation he faces tomorrow night.

Since he left Brisbane in December and joined the Phoenix on a short-term deal, he has been strongly linked to a move to Sydney FC.

His family wants to move back to Australia and with Sydney No1 Clint Bolton having signed with new team Melbourne Heart, Reddy's move is almost taken for granted.

It won't be made official until the end of the season, but for now he's attempting to thwart his probable future employers tomorrow at the Sydney Football Stadium.

"At the end of the day the people I have to impress are the players I am playing with at the moment and Ricki [Herbert], Luc [Trani] and Gouldy [Jonathan Gould]. That's all I'm worried about," he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News