KEY POINTS:
Tony Lochhead likes playing at Wellington's Cake Tin but if he had his way, he would have been lacing his boots up at Anfield, one of the most famous grounds in the world, this weekend.
The Phoenix left-back came within touching distance of being just the fifth New
Zealander to play in the English top flight when he went on trial with Middlesbrough. Overnight, the Wearside outfit took on Liverpool at Anfield.
Trials can sometimes be largely meaningless affairs but Boro manager Gareth Southgate desperately needed a left-back and hoped he might have another Ryan Nelsen on his hands when Lochhead dropped in for a 10-day trial on the back of a recommendation from Phoenix and All Whites coach Ricki Herbert.
It didn't quite work out. As much as he tried, Lochhead couldn't convince Southgate he was the man he was looking for. It was close but there was no cigar to collect at the end of it.
"I'm disappointed," Lochhead admits. "You are always disappointed when you get rejected. But it was an exciting opportunity and it was good to see where you're at against guys you see playing on TV.
"I realised that they're not that much better than us. Maybe next time if I get another opportunity.
"He [Southgate] said he thought I could play at his level but that I would need time to adjust to the speed of the game because it's a big step up from the A-League. They needed someone to step in straight away and it was a bit of a risk taking me on."
What made Lochhead's task all the more difficult was the fact he wasn't allowed to take the pitch for any Middlesbrough side because he was a Phoenix player.
The left-back tried to impress in largely three-on-three exercises but one of his strengths is his fitness. Games are his way to show this.
For those 10 days, though, Lochhead found out what it's like to be a Premiership player. He leads a privileged existence as a professional in New Zealand but it doesn't compare to how players are treated in the home of football.
At 26, time is still on his side and he left England with the words of Southgate rattling around.
"They said they would keep an eye on me," Lochhead says. "Realistically, I think I have had my chance with Middlesbrough but they said they would be happy to recommend me to other clubs so my name is out there now.
"I'm just keen to have a good season with the Phoenix and not think about what might happen.
"New Zealand is also not far away from qualifying for next year's Confederations Cup so I could be in the shop window again."
Wellington would have loved to have let Lochhead go to Middlesbrough because it would have put the club in the spotlight and earned them a transfer fee but for purely selfish reasons are pleased to welcome him back.
Herbert rates Lochhead the best left-back in the A-League and he is seen as crucial to the Phoenix's chances of making the top-four playoffs. That quest continues today when Melbourne return to Westpac Stadium, the scene of their penalty shootout win in the Pre-Season Cup final recently.
Wellington will be without Leilei Gao (hamstring) and Leo Bertos (groin), who both failed fitness tests yesterday. Troy Hearfield will start, along with Richard Johnson, who replaces Karl Dodd.
