Soccer: Herbert praises his travel-weary heroes

Tim Brown (L) was one of four Phoenix players who backed up just 72 hours after playing for the All Whites in Los Angeles. Photo / Getty Images

Wellington Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert couldn't hide his pride in the All Whites players in the team who churned out 120 minutes of heroic soccer yesterday to carry them deep into the A-League playoffs.

Midfielders Tim Brown and Leo Bertos and defenders Ben Sigmund and Tony Lochhead ran out for Sunday's 3-1 minor semifinal defeat of Newcastle Jets in Wellington less then 72 hours after New Zealand's draining 0-2 loss to Mexico in Los Angeles.

Kickoff was barely a day after they touched down in the capital following a 13-hour flight.

All but Bertos saw out the extra time victory which carries the club into next week's preliminary final.

"Absolutely outstanding," Herbert beamed.

"There's just such an application from these boys. They're not going to disappoint. I don't think any of them tired, Leo maybe drifted in and out of the game a wee bit.

"But I'd hate to track the distance Tim Brown ran today, it was a phenomenal performance."

Captain Andrew Durante was equal in his admiration and had no doubt weary legs would be a problem when the scores were locked 1-1 after regulation time.

"I just said we had to dig deep. There were no excuses, we're at home. When it goes to extra time like that, it's nothing but a mental game, it's all psychological," he said.

"I said that no matter what you're feeling, you've got to do that extra tackle, that extra hard yard, even if you don't think you can do it any more.

"You would have thought some of the Newcastle players had done the trip to (play) Mexico.

"We lifted, Brownie, Leo, everyone. They never stopped running. We had some counter attack chances towards the end which showed how fit and determined we were."

Some critics had questioned whether Herbert, also the national coach, should have taken the players to Los Angeles in the first place, let alone give them a full role in the game.

He struck back sharply, pointing to their professionalism of their preparation soon after the final whistle against Mexico.

"Why wouldn't you want international players representing your club? This club's going to grow and those things are going to happen. Internally we had no doubt."

He sensed another big performance was imminent as the players quietly went through their final buildup on Saturday, his first chance to oversee the troops since their playoff win over Perth a fortnight ago.

"I thought the boys were great yesterday. We didn't do a lot but you could sense they were up for this one," Herbert said.

"It's just another chapter for the club tonight really, it's fantastic."

- NZPA