KEY POINTS:
Wellington Phoenix moved to the top of their Pre-Season Cup soccer group after a 1-1 draw with the Queensland Roar on the Sunshine Coast yesterday.
New recruit Adam Kwasnik scored the equaliser with 16 minutes remaining to hand the Phoenix another result to follow their 1-0 home defeat
of the Central Coast Mariners last weekend.
Today's match was a niggly one and dominated by the Roar in the early stages.
It paid off in the 18th minute when Sergio Van Djik struck from the edge of the box.
The Phoenix found their pattern and for the remainder of the first half and were even better after the break, forcing Roar goalkeeper Liam Reddy to make a string of saves.
The breakthrough came when Kwasnik pounced on a poor defensive clearance.
Striker Shane Smeltz nearly put the Phoenix ahead soon afterwards but his driving shot was just wide.
Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert was pleased with his side's continuing development, though he admitted to concerns about their slow start.
"I think we were a little lethargic early and slow to get going. They didn't have a tonne of chances but we just couldn't get the ball," he said.
Several canny substitutions by Herbert swung the momentum for the visitors and the introduction of Kwasnik in the 65th minute made the crucial difference.
" I wanted to use Adam for 20-25 minutes and we weren't too far wrong," Herbert said.
"He was blowing a wee bit at the end but he looked very comfortable and used his pace to get into good positions."
The match provided valuable playing time for several others, with midfielder Richard Johnson, striker Vaughan Coveny, right back Ben Sigmund and goalkeeper Mark Paston all getting valuable minutes under their belts.
"The best thing to come out of this match was to see how we could come out in the second half, get control and show what we're capable of," Herbert said.
"There are now only a few players in the squad who haven't had time on the park and next weekend will offer us another opportunity to give them a run."
Yesterday's other group result saw the Mariners 3-0 winners over Sydney FC, who will be the Phoenix's next opponennts, at Wollongong on Saturday.
Result: Queensland Roar 1 (Sergio Van Djik) Wellington Phoenix 1 (Adam Kwasnik 74). Halftime: 1-0.
- NZPA