Soccer: Phoenix see signficance of Jets match

Paul Ifill and either Chris Greenacre or Dylan Macallister will play up front against Newcastle. Photo / Getty Images

Wellington Phoenix are in a mid-table logjam as they enter the final third of the A-League soccer season so there were no surprises when the dreaded must-win tag was thrown up ahead of tomorrow's match here against the red-hot Newcastle Jets.

Of course, with 30 points still up for grabs this season, the match is not technically a must-win for the Phoenix, though a glance at the table suggests it will have a major bearing on the final playoff mix.

Wellington are seventh on 22 points with 10 matches remaining, one point behind sixth-placed Melbourne Victory and three behind the fifth-placed Jets.

The top four teams - Brisbane, Adelaide, Gold Coast and Central Coast - all have a jump on the field, so overhauling either the Victory or Jets presents the Phoenix with their best chance of making the top six playoffs.

Worryingly for Wellington, who continue to frustrate their followers with inconsistency, those two teams are in good form, particularly the Jets who have won seven consecutive matches after winning just one of their first 11, and have not conceded a first half goal for three months.

Newcastle also have two games in hand over the Phoenix - Victory have one - which is why Wellington players were talking of a must-win match.

"We need to beat them, really," Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert said.

"There are 30 points to go but certainly this is a very, very important game for us."

Both teams will be missing key players.

The home team are without goalkeeper Mark Paston, out for the season through injury and replaced by Danny Vukovic, while central defender Andrew Durante is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in last Saturday's 0-2 loss at Gold Coast United.

The captain's absence sparks a reshuffle and a change of formation.

Ben Sigmund moves into centre back to cover for Durante, who has played every minute of the past 50 Phoenix matches, while midfielder Manny Muscat moves to right back in place of Sigmund.

Marco Rojas and Leo Bertos are set to go into the starting team and play wide on either side of midfield, with Tim Brown and Vince Lia in the middle.

Paul Ifill and either Chris Greenacre or Dylan Macallister will play up front.

Brown, who will play a club record 75th A-League match, is expected to take over as captain.

Newcastle are without centre back Ljubo Milicevic and midfield leader Kasey Wehrman, a former Socceroo who has returned after a lengthy stint in Norway and been one of the standout players in the league this season.

Both were suspended after Wednesday night's 2-0 home defeat of Gold Coast.

The competition's form team will still have plenty of firepower, notably former Arsenal striker Francis Jeffers who has been instrumental in their streak.

But the short turnaround from Wednesday's match and a depleted lineup has left coach Branko Culina concerned.

He will also know the Jets also have a poor record in Wellington - they have scored two goals and conceded 11 from four losses and a win here.

"I'm a bit worried about Wellington," Culina told the Newcastle Herald.

"It certainly will test us (but) we've had enough tests this year."

- NZPA