Football: Phoenix too strong for Newcastle

Wellington Phoenix players celebrate during their 4-1 win over the Newcastle Jets in Wellington. Photo / Getty Images

Wellington Phoenix 4
Newcastle Jets 1

Things are starting to click for the Wellington Phoenix.

After a sloppy first outing where they were tipped over by Perth a fortnight ago, Ernie Merrick's side have won two games on the bounce, the second of which came today as they dispatched Newcastle 4-1 at Westpac Stadium.

A wet, cold and windy Cake Tin greeted the visitors but that didn't bother the Phoenix as they played an entertaining brand of football that was easy on the eye.

Nathan Burns, playing his 50th A-League game, set the tone for Wellington with two goals in the opening spell as the home side built a useful lead.

The 26-year-old has been one of the Phoenix's best players to start the season and is a regular threat in front of goal.

Scoring goals was often a problem for Wellington last season but having the fringe Socceroo in their front three gives the Phoenix a dangerous edge.

No Phoenix player has ever scored a hat-trick and Burns wasn't able to become the first man to do it but he did lay on Michael McGlinchey's goal in the 64th minute, which made the game safe.

McGlinchey, part of a lengthy tug-of-war during the off-season with the Central Coast Mariners, has also been impressive for the Phoenix to start the 2014-2015 campaign.
His goal marked his third in as many games and he became the first Phoenix player to score in his first three appearances for the club.

Fullback continues to be one of Merrick's concerns but Manny Muscat and Tom Doyle were generally sound for the Phoenix today.

Doyle, who enjoyed a strong pre-season campaign during the Football United Tour, experienced an indifferent start to his A-League career but appeared more comfortable against Newcastle before he was eventually substituted in the second half.

Newcastle managed to score a consolation goal in the 90th minute, which would have frustrated the Phoenix who are yet to keep a clean sheet this season.

After conceding a league-worst 51 goals last summer they have made a point of trying to tighten up their defence this year and they were generally solid today despite giving away the goal to Joel Griffiths.

Phoenix skipper Andrew Durante was one of the best on show for Wellington and he made his presence felt with a couple of well-timed tackles during the game. The veteran defender was rewarded with the game's final goal in injury time.

The result put the Phoenix firmly inside the top six, although it is early days in the 27-round regular season.

Wellington's crowds have been a hot topic of discussion in the media recently and 7802 were in attendance for today's contest.

The dodgy weather wouldn't have helped the walk-up crowd but that figure should increase if the Phoenix continue to produce positive results.

The Phoenix's next game is against the red-hot Melbourne Victory across the Tasman on Monday, November 3, the day before the Melbourne Cup.

Wellington Phoenix 4 (Nathan Burns 4, 42, Michael McGlinchey 64, Andrew Durante 90+2) Newcastle Jets 1 (Joel Griffiths 90) halftime: 2-0
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