Soccer: Golden boot contenders chase precious points

Paul Ifill has bagged four goals in the opening ten games of the A-League. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Four of the five players locked together at the top of the golden boot race will square-off in tonight's A-League match in Adelaide but those goalscoring deeds have meant vastly different things for their respective teams.

Mathew Leckie and Sergio Van Dijk have scored four each for table-topping Adelaide and played a big part in their unbeaten run through the opening 10 games and in helping them to a handy 17-9 in goal differential.

Paul Ifill and Chris Greenacre have matched the Adelaide duo in bagging four each for the Wellington Phoenix but it is their team's poor defensive effort - leaking 1.5 goals a game which has cost them four defeats and a mid-table spot.

Last season the Phoenix ended the season with an impressive 10 clean sheets. So far this season they have managed just two. Only Melbourne Heart (16), North Queensland Fury (17) and Sydney FC (19) - all teams lower on the table - have conceded more goals than the Phoenix.

Returning to Adelaide might not be the best place for the Phoenix to turn things around. Not only are they up against the league's only unbeaten team but for some players the sour taste of the club's worst hiding - 6-1 in December 2008 - lingers.

Goalkeeper Mark Paston has bitter memories of that game when he suffered badly bruised ribs and was subbed at halftime.

Paston forced his way ahead of Danny Vukovic to get a start in last Sunday's 2-2 draw with Melbourne Heart and is keen for more.

"I was disappointed to concede a couple but they weren't the easiest to keep out, to be fair," said Paston. "I had a couple of games with the All Whites before that and I feel like I've been playing pretty well and that my form's good at the moment.

"I'd only just come back from injury the last time I played there [in Adelaide] in 2008 and I ended up taking a knock and coming off at halftime. We were poor that day, so I don't have the best memories of the place. But this time around it's a good opportunity for us. They're the league leaders, they're unbeaten, and what better place to go?

"That's what you play the game for, these sorts of challenges."

Also troubling the Phoenix is their poor away record this season. In five transtasman trips they have picked up just one point - the 0-0 draw with Melbourne Victory.

In those matches - they have lost to Brisbane Roar, Perth Glory, Melbourne Heart and Gold Coast United - they have scored only three goals (and no more than one a game) while conceding eight.

"We've got good players and it's just a matter of putting a solid 90 minutes together," said Paston.

"We haven't really played for the full 90 and we've lost concentration at times. In a place like Adelaide if that happens you're going to concede."

Defender Ben Sigmund is all-too-aware of the shortcomings.

"We've coughed up a few soft goals," admitted Sigmund.

"All over the park we're a little bit loose and if we can really focus on being a tight unit and compact and get back to not giving away such easy goals we'll be a difficult team to beat because we can score goals."

The interest now will be in coach Ricki Herbert's line-up.

He switched to a three-at-the-back strategy for the first half against the Heart and watched his team go to the break 2-1 down. He reverted to a more conventional four-man defence for the second half and got a deserved point and went close to claiming all three.

There can be no room for experimenting tonight if the visitors are to take the points and maybe leap as high as third on the table.

ADELAIDE UNITED V WELLINGTON PHOENIX

Hindmarsh Stadium, 10pm today (live SS1)