Mark Rudan looks like he did the Phoenix a favour when he left at the end of last season.
Rudan guided the Wellington club to the playoffs for the first time in four years and there was much wailing and gnashing ofteeth when he departed after just one season in charge.
Those cries got louder when he took several of his former side's best players with him to Western United, and then won 1-0 in Wellington in the new club's first-ever A-League game.
But after tonight's 3-1 win over Western United, there will be no tears for Rudan and the other defectors.
Rudan's replacement Ufuk Talay has constructed a better side in next to no time. After starting the season with four defeats, the Phoenix have now won four and drawn three of their last seven games to be sixth.
Western United coach Mark Rudan. Photo / Getty Images
No player embodies the new-look Phoenix better than Ulises Davila, who set up one goal and scored another — his eighth this season — in a win that was more one-sided than the score suggests.
Towards the end of a first half devoid of many scoring chances, the Mexican created the opener just before the break.
He turned Aaron Calver inside his own half and ran all the way to the United penalty area but there looked little on, with Davila and David Ball outnumbered by four Western defenders.
Somehow Davila found Ball, who guided the ball inside the far post for a 1-0 halftime lead.
Western started the second half strongly, with Stefan Marinovic making an excellent save to deny Scott McDonald, but their only brief period of domination lasted less than 10 minutes and was emphatically ended by another Wellington goal.
Davila has been a consistent standout this season but others are also impressing, including Rene Piscopo, who had a strong game and set up the second. He drove past two opponents, then slipped the ball to Callum McCowatt, who fired in a left-foot shot from the corner of the six-yard box for his first A-League goal.
Davila wrapped up the match with his 80th-minute goal, played in by Gary Hooper and taking advantage of a botched offside trap to expertly finish his one-on-one.
Ulises Davila impressed for the Phoenix. Photo / Getty Images
Western scored from an 89th-minute Alessandro Diamanti penalty but it was the classic consolation goal.
"We want four," chanted the sizeable Yellow Fever contingent among the crowd of 5000 at Ballarat and they nearly got it when Hooper ran from almost halfway and bravely headed the ball from 25m out over the stranded Filip Kurto but VAR ruled out his effort for offside.
Minutes after Davila's goal rolled in, the Australian commentators were questioning whether the Phoenix could be possible title contenders.
Wellington's next four games are all against teams below them. Talay is targeting at least nine points, and if achieved, the Phoenix will surely be part of the championship discussion.
