Soccer: Phoenix hopes rest on beating Heart

Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert. Photo / Getty Images

The Wellington Phoenix have an early desperately-needed chance to reverse their slide down the slippery slope in the A-League when they play Melbourne Heart at home on Wednesday night in the second of four games in a tough 11-day schedule.

Lose to the Heart - they have lost 2-1 and drawn 2-2 with the league's newcomers already - and their teetering play-off hopes will be further eroded. On Saturday they face Melbourne Victory - again at Westpac Stadium - before recrossing the Tasman to play defending champions Sydney FC on December 1.

This on the back of four losses in five games since the draw with the Heart in week 10 of the Hyundai-sponsored league.

Losing 1-0 to Newcastle Jets at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Saturday night will have done nothing for their wavering confidence.

The win continued a good run by the Jets who have surged from the bottom into seventh place - ahead of the Phoenix on goal difference - as they prepare for this weekend's date with David Beckham and the LA Galaxy.

Dejected Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert is at a loss to find a reason for the drop in form.

"We just looked like a side that can't win at the moment which is frustrating," said Herbert. "It was an important game for us and to come away with nothing is disappointing."

The game was hardly an attack fest.

There were less than a dozen shots in anger with only five (three from the Phoenix) on target.

After a scoreless first half Marko Jesic capitalised on sloppy defensive work by the Phoenix to get the only goal in the 56th minute.

He beat the offside trap and then watched as Troy Hearfield slipped in his attempt to shut him down, his shot getting help from the far post.

It was an ominous sign for the Phoenix. In the seven previous matches in which they had fallen behind to the first goal of the match they went on to lose. Make that eight.

The Phoenix came to life in the dying minutes. They went close with headed efforts from Paul Ifill and substitute Mirjan Pavlovic but could not snatch what would have been a heartening equaliser as the Jets held on for their third win of the season.