2018–19 Wellington Phoenix FC season

The 2018–19 Wellington Phoenix season was the club's 12th season since its establishment in 2007. The club participated in the A-League for the 12th time, the FFA Cup for the fifth time, and fielded a reserves squad in the ISPS Handa Premiership for the fifth time.

Wellington Phoenix

2018–19 season
Chairman	Rob Morrison
Manager	Marko Rudan
Stadium	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
A-League	6th
A-League Finals Series	Elimination-finals
FFA Cup	Round of 32
Top goalscorer	League: Roy Krishna (18 goals) All: Roy Krishna (19 goals)
Highest home attendance	23,648 vs. Melbourne Victory (15 February 2019)
Lowest home attendance	4,829 vs. Perth Glory (2 December 2018)
Average home league attendance	8,533
Home colours Away colours
← 2017–18 2019–20 →

Review

This season marked the club surpassing its record of 7 games unbeaten to 9 games unbeaten. Roy Krishna became Wellington Phoenix's all time leading goal scorer overtaking Paul Ifill's record of 33 and also broke the record for most goals in a single season for the club with 19. The club also broke its record of biggest home attendance for a non-final match with 23,648 people against Melbourne Victory in Eden Park on 15 February 2019. This season was the first time since 2015 the Phoenix played in the Finals Series. However, they lost 3-1 in the elimination final to Melbourne Victory.^[1]

Players

Squad information

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  POL Filip Kurto 3 DF  NZL Justin Gulley 4 MF  ESP Mandi 5 DF  AUS Ryan Lowry 7 FW  IRL Cillian Sheridan 9 FW  AUS Nathan Burns 11 FW  AUS David Williams 12 DF  AUS Antony Golec 13 DF  NZL Liberato Cacace 14 MF  NZL Alex Rufer 15 MF  POL Michał Kopczyński

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 DF  NZL Louis Fenton 17 MF  NZL Callan Elliot 18 MF  NZL Sarpreet Singh 19 DF  NZL Tom Doyle 20 GK  NZL Oliver Sail 21 FW  FIJ Roy Krishna 22 DF  NZL Andrew Durante (captain) 23 MF  AUS Max Burgess 27 DF  ENG Steven Taylor 31 FW  NZL Ben Waine (scholarship) 32 MF  AUS Gianni Stensness (scholarship)

From youth squad

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	Notes
13	DF		Liberato Cacace	17	2-year professional contract[2]
31	FW		Ben Waine	17	academy player[3]
32	MF		Gianni Stensness	20	1-year professional contract[4]

Transfers in

No.	Position	Player	Transferred from	Type/fee	Contract length	Date	Ref
27	DF	Steven Taylor	Peterborough United	Free transfer	1 year	10 July 2018	[5]
1	GK	Filip Kurto	Roda JC	Free transfer	1 year[6]	18 July 2018	[7]
16	MF	Louis Fenton		Free transfer	1 year	22 July 2018	[8]
8	MF	Mitch Nichols		Free transfer	2 years	23 July 2018	[9]
11	FW	David Williams		Free transfer	1 year	23 July 2018	[9]
15	MF	Michał Kopczyński	Legia Warsaw	Loan	1 year	25 July 2018	[10]
23	MF	Max Burgess	Sydney Olympic	Free transfer	1 year	11 October 2018	[11]
4	MF	Mandi	Almería	Free transfer	1 year	12 October 2018	[12]
3	MF	Reuben Way	Heidelberg United	Free transfer	1 year	17 October 2018	[13]
17	MF	Callan Elliot	Tasman United	Free transfer	1 year	17 October 2018	[13]
40	GK	Ante Covic		Injury replacement	1 week	6 December 2018	[14]
7	FW	Cillian Sheridan		Free transfer	1 year	3 January 2019	[15]
3	DF	Justin Gulley	Team Wellington	Free transfer		29 January 2019	[16]
12	DF	Antony Golec	Central Coast Mariners	Free transfer	1 year	30 January 2019	[17]

Transfers out

No.	Position	Player	Transferred to	Type/fee	Date	Ref
13	DF	Marco Rossi		Free transfer	18 April 2018	[18]
10	MF	Michael McGlinchey		Mutual contract termination	1 May 2018	[19]
30	GK	Keegan Smith	Lower Hutt City	Free transfer	4 May 2018	[20]
23	MF	Matthew Ridenton	Newcastle Jets	Free transfer	9 May 2018	[21]
8	MF	Matija Ljujić	Belenenses	Mutual contract termination	1 June 2018	[22]
4	MF	Goran Paracki		End of contract	13 June 2018	[23]
9	FW	Andrija Kaluđerović		End of contract	13 June 2018	[23]
40	GK	Tando Velaphi	Perth Glory	Free transfer	2 July 2018	[24]
15	MF	James McGarry	Willem II	Free transfer	12 July 2018	[25]
24	FW	Logan Rogerson	Carl Zeiss Jena	Free transfer	18 July 2018	[26]
1	GK	Lewis Italiano	Stirling Lions	Free transfer	19 July 2018	[27]
12	MF	Adam Parkhouse		Mutual contract termination	20 July 2018	[28]
40	GK	Ante Covic			13 December 2018	[29]
8	MF	Mitch Nichols		Mutual contract termination	15 January 2019	[30]
3	DF	Reuben Way			15 January 2019	[30]
6	DF	Dylan Fox		Mutual contract termination	13 March 2019	[31]

Contract extensions

No.	Name	Position	Duration	Date	Notes
22	Andrew Durante	Central defender	1 year	18 May 2018	[2]
14	Alex Rufer	Midfielder	1 year	6 August 2018	[32]
27	Steven Taylor	Defender	1 year	18 February 2019	[33]
16	Louis Fenton	Full-back	2 years	22 February 2019	[34]
14	Alex Rufer	Midfielder	1 year	27 February 2019	[35]
20	Oliver Sail	Goalkeeper	2 years	5 April 2019	[36]
17	Callan Elliot	Attacking midfielder	1 year	24 April 2019	[37]

Technical staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Marko Rudan
Assistant coach	Chris Greenacre
Goalkeeping coach	Paul Gothard
Reserves team coach	Steve Coleman
Strength & Conditioning coach	Aidan Wivell

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Total					A-League					FFA Cup
				Apps	Goals				Apps	Goals				Apps	Goals
1	GK		Filip Kurto	23	0	0	0	0	22+0	0	0	0	0	1+0	0	0	0	0
3	DF		Justin Gulley	0	0	0	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0
4	MF		Mandi	21	2	3	0	1	21+0	2	3	0	1	0+0	0	0	0	0
5	DF		Ryan Lowry	10	0	2	0	1	4+5	0	2	0	1	1+0	0	0	0	0
7	FW		Cillian Sheridan	13	1	2	0	0	1+12	1	2	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0
9	FW		Nathan Burns	11	0	1	0	0	6+4	0	1	0	0	1+0	0	0	0	0
11	FW		David Williams	23	11	1	0	0	18+5	11	1	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0
12	DF		Antony Golec	5	0	2	0	0	4+1	0	2	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0
13	MF		Liberato Cacace	23	1	3	0	0	22+0	1	3	0	0	1+0	0	0	0	0
14	MF		Alex Rufer	23	0	10	0	0	21+1	0	10	0	0	0+1	0	0	0	0
15	MF		Michał Kopczyński	20	0	1	0	0	14+5	0	1	0	0	1+0	0	0	0	0
16	DF		Louis Fenton	22	3	4	0	0	22+0	3	4	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0
17	MF		Callan Elliot	2	0	0	0	0	0+2	0	0	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0
18	MF		Sarpreet Singh	23	5	5	0	0	20+2	5	5	0	0	1+0	0	0	0	0
19	DF		Tom Doyle	16	0	4	0	0	13+2	0	4	0	0	0+1	0	0	0	0
20	GK		Oliver Sail	3	0	2	0	0	2+1	0	2	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0
21	FW		Roy Krishna	24	15	5	1	0	23+0	15	5	1	0	1+0	0	0	0	0
22	DF		Andrew Durante	24	0	7	0	0	23+0	0	7	0	0	1+0	0	0	0	0
23	MF		Max Burgess	19	0	2	0	0	4+15	0	2	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0
27	DF		Steven Taylor	19	1	4	0	0	18+0	1	4	0	0	1+0	0	0	0	0
31	FW		Ben Waine†	2	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0	0
32	MF		Gianni Stensness†	3	0	0	0	0	0+3	0	0	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0
Players no longer at the club:
3	DF		Reuben Way	1	0	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0
6	DF		Dylan Fox	7	0	0	0	0	3+3	0	0	0	0	1+0	0	0	0	0
8	MF		Mitch Nichols	8	0	1	0	0	3+4	0	1	0	0	1+0	0	0	0	0
40	GK		Ante Čović	0	0	0	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0	0+0	0	0	0	0

• Last updated: 7 April 2019
• Source: au.soccerway.com
• = Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.

† = Scholarship or reserves-listed player

Pre-season and friendlies

Wellington Phoenix v Miramar Rangers

11 July 2018 Friendly	Wellington Phoenix	2–1	Miramar Rangers	Lower Hutt, New Zealand
	Singh Sinclair		Allen	Stadium: Memorial Park

Wairarapa United v Wellington Phoenix

18 July 2018 Friendly	Wairarapa United	0–1	Wellington Phoenix	Masterton, New Zealand
		Report	Singh	Stadium: Trust House Memorial Park

Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar

31 July 2018 Friendly	Wellington Phoenix	1–2	Brisbane Roar	Gold Coast, Australia
	Burns		Bauthéac Taggart	Stadium: Cbus Super Stadium Referee: Chris Beath

Wellington Phoenix v Lower Hutt City

18 August 2018 Friendly	Wellington Phoenix	5–0	Lower Hutt City	Wellington, New Zealand
12:00 NZDT	Own Goal Taylor Singh Krishna Krishna	Report		Stadium: Martin Luckie Park

Napier City Rovers v Wellington Phoenix

25 August 2018 Friendly	Napier City Rovers	0–5	Wellington Phoenix	Palmerston North, New Zealand
12:00 NZDT		Report	Burns Krishna Yoo Doyle Krishna	Stadium: Central Energy Trust Arena

Central League Select XI v Wellington Phoenix

1 September 2018 Friendly	Central League Select XI	0–2	Wellington Phoenix	Raumati Beach, New Zealand
14:00 NZDT		Report	Krishna Burns	Stadium: Weka Park

Western Sydney Wanderers v Wellington Phoenix

23 September 2018	Western Sydney Wanderers	1–0	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney, Australia
	Fitzgerald 20'	Report		Stadium: Marconi Stadium Attendance: 3,000

Sydney FC v Wellington Phoenix

29 September 2018	Sydney FC	2–1	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney, Australia
11:30	Le Fondre ?' (pen.) Calver 73'	Report	Krishna ?' (pen.)	Stadium: Macquarie University Sports Fields Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors) Referee: Kurt Ams

Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory

6 October 2018	Wellington Phoenix	3–1	Melbourne Victory	Melbourne, Australia
	Krishna ?' (pen.), ?', ?'	Report	Honda ?'	Stadium: AAMI Park

Competitions

Overall

Competition	Started round	Final position / round	First match	Last match
A-League	—	6th	21 October 2018	28 April 2019
A-League Finals	Elimination-finals	Elimination-finals	3 May 2019	3 May 2019
FFA Cup	Round of 32	Round of 32	7 August 2018	7 August 2018

A-League

Main article: 2018–19 A-League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Perth Glory	27	18	6	3	56	23	+33	60	Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series[a]
2	Sydney FC (C)	27	16	4	7	43	29	+14	52
3	Melbourne Victory	27	15	5	7	50	32	+18	50	Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League preliminary round 2 and Finals series[a]
4	Adelaide United	27	12	8	7	37	32	+5	44	Qualification for Finals series[a]
5	Melbourne City	27	11	7	9	39	32	+7	40
6	Wellington Phoenix[b]	27	11	7	9	46	43	+3	40
7	Newcastle Jets	27	10	5	12	40	36	+4	35
8	Western Sydney Wanderers	27	6	6	15	42	54	−12	24
9	Brisbane Roar	27	4	6	17	38	71	−33	18
10	Central Coast Mariners	27	3	4	20	31	70	−39	13

Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:

1. The top two teams enter the Finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the Finals series at the elimination-finals.
2. Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
27	11	7	9	46	43	+3	40	8	2	3	25	17	+8	3	5	6	21	26	−5

Last updated: 7 April 2019.
Source: ultimatealeauge.com

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27
Ground	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A
Result	W	D	L	L	L	D	W	W	W	D	D	W	W	D	L	W	L	D	D	L	W	W	W	L	L	W	L
Position	1	4	4	7	9	9	8	6	5	4	6	5	5	5	6	5	6	6	6	6	4	4	4	4	5	5	6

Updated to match(es) played on 7 April 2019. Source: ultimatealeague.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss

Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets

21 October 2018 1	Wellington Phoenix	2–1	Newcastle Jets	Wellington
17:00 NZDT	Georgievski 32' (o.g.) Krishna 90'	Report	D. Petratos 90+5'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 9,174 Referee: Daniel Elder

Brisbane Roar v Wellington Phoenix

28 October 2018 2	Brisbane Roar	0–0	Wellington Phoenix	Brisbane
16:00 AEST		Report		Stadium: Suncorp Stadium Attendance: 15,129 Referee: Alex King

Wellington Phoenix v Western Sydney Wanderers

3 November 2018 3	Wellington Phoenix	0–3	Western Sydney Wanderers	Wellington
19:35 NZDT		Report	Baumjohann 11' Riera 55' (pen.) O'Doherty 90+2'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 5,339 Referee: Jarred Gillett

Melbourne City v Wellington Phoenix

9 November 2018 4	Melbourne City	2–0	Wellington Phoenix	Melbourne
19:50 AEDT	De Laet 9' Fornaroli 59'	Report		Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 6,041 Referee: Adam Fielding

Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United

24 November 2018 5	Wellington Phoenix	1–3	Adelaide United	Wellington
19:35 NZDT	Mandi 14'	Report	Doyle 45' (o.g.) Ilsø 47', 64'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 4,831 Referee: Kurt Ams

Wellington Phoenix v Perth Glory

2 December 2018 6	Wellington Phoenix	1–1	Perth Glory	Wellington
19:00 NZDT	Krishna 44'	Report	Castro 82'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 4,829 Referee: Adam Kersey

Sydney FC v Wellington Phoenix

8 December 2018 7	Sydney FC	1–3	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney
17:35 AEDT	Zullo 89'	Report	Krishna 21', 30' Taylor 38'	Stadium: Jubilee Stadium Attendance: 10,101 Referee: Jonathan Barreiro

Wellington Phoenix v Central Coast Mariners

15 December 2018 8	Wellington Phoenix	2–0	Central Coast Mariners	Wellington
19:35 NZDT	Fenton 9' Singh 45'	Report		Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 6,970 Referee: Shaun Evans

Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar

22 December 2018 9	Wellington Phoenix	4–1	Brisbane Roar	Wellington
19:35 NZDT	Papadopoulos 35' (o.g.) Williams 75' Krishna 80' (pen.) Singh 90+3'	Report	Henrique 45+1'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 6,841 Referee: Kurt Ams

Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix

28 December 2018 10	Melbourne Victory	1–1	Wellington Phoenix	Melbourne
19:50 AEST	Toivonen 77'	Report	Williams 62'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 20,066 Referee: Daniel Elder

Adelaide United v Wellington Phoenix

5 January 2019 11	Adelaide United	0–0	Wellington Phoenix	Adelaide
17:05 ACDT		Report		Stadium: Coopers Stadium Attendance: 8,954 Referee: Stephen Lucas

Western Sydney Wanderers v Wellington Phoenix

8 January 2019 12	Western Sydney Wanderers	2–3	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney
19:50 AEDT	Hamill 42' Baccus 84'	Report	Fenton 36' Krishna 82', 89'	Stadium: ANZ Stadium Attendance: 7,228 Referee: Jonathan Barreiro

Wellington Phoenix v Central Coast Mariners

12 January 2019 13	Wellington Phoenix	3–2	Central Coast Mariners	Wellington
19:35 NZDT	Krishna 48' (pen.), 58' (pen.) Williams 65'	Report	Simon 8' (pen.) Hoole 21'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 10,186 Referee: Alex King

Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix

20 January 2019 14	Melbourne Victory	3–3	Wellington Phoenix	Melbourne
17:00 AEST	Toivonen 5' Troisi 56' Barbarouses 88'	Report	Williams 7' Krishna 20' (pen.), 28'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 18,136 Referee: Jarred Gillett

Wellington Phoenix v Sydney FC

23 January 2019 15	Wellington Phoenix	0–1	Sydney FC	Wellington
19:35 NZDT		Report	de Jong 25'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 8,961 Referee: Daniel Elder

Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City

26 January 2019 16	Wellington Phoenix	1–0	Melbourne City	Wellington
19:35 NZDT	Williams 5'	Report		Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 8,554 Referee: Jonathan Barreiro

Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix

2 February 2019 17	Perth Glory	3–0	Wellington Phoenix	Perth
19:00 AWST	Lowry 19' Ikonomidis 35' Keogh 64'	Report		Stadium: HBF Park Attendance: 9,148 Referee: Shaun Evans

Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix

7 February 2019 18	Newcastle Jets	1–1	Wellington Phoenix	Newcastle
19:50 AEDT	Vargas 33'	Report	Williams 58'	Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium Attendance: 7,394 Referee: Stephan Lucas

Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory

15 February 2019 19	Wellington Phoenix	1–1	Melbourne Victory	Auckland
19:35 NZDT	Krishna 57'	Report	Honda 67' (pen.)	Stadium: Eden Park Attendance: 23,648 Referee: Peter Green

Wellington Phoenix v Sydney FC

23 February 2019 20	Wellington Phoenix	0–1	Sydney FC	Sydney
19:35 NZDT		Report	Le Fondre 65' (pen.)	Stadium: Campbelltown Stadium Attendance: 5,115 Referee: Shaun Evans

Central Coast Mariners v Wellington Phoenix

9 March 2019 21	Central Coast Mariners	2–8	Wellington Phoenix	Gosford
19:50 AEDT	Clisby 61' Mallon 69'	Report	Graham 8' (o.g.) Krishna 12', 45+1' Williams 21' Cacace 51' Fenton 59' Singh 57', 88'	Stadium: Central Coast Stadium Attendance: 3,703 Referee: Chris Beath

Wellington Phoenix v Western Sydney Wanderers

17 March 2019 22	Wellington Phoenix	3–1	Western Sydney Wanderers	Wellington
19:00 NZDT	Krishna 12' Mandi 23' Williams 33'	Report	Duke 86'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 7,685 Referee: Alex King

Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets

30 March 2019 23	Wellington Phoenix	4–1	Newcastle Jets	Wellington
19:35 NZDT	Williams 1', 60', 65' (pen.) Singh 73'	Report	O'Donovan 62'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 9,028 Referee: Matthew Conger

Adelaide United v Wellington Phoenix

7 April 2019 24	Adelaide United	3–1	Wellington Phoenix	Adelaide
16:30 ACDT	Marrone 10' Stamatelopoulos 17', 44'	Report	Sheridan 73'	Stadium: Coopers Stadium Attendance: 8,343 Referee: Jonathan Barreiro

Brisbane Roar v Wellington Phoenix

12 April 2019 25	Brisbane Roar	2–1	Wellington Phoenix	Brisbane
19:50 AEST	Bauthéac 37', 42'	Report	Taylor 53'	Stadium: Suncorp Stadium Attendance: 6,084 Referee: Peter Green

Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City

21 April 2019 26	Wellington Phoenix	3–2	Melbourne City	Wellington
19:35 NZDT	Krishna 27', 51', 90+4'	Report	McGree 42', 66'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 8,294 Referee: Shaun Evans

Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix

28 April 2019 27	Perth Glory	5–0	Wellington Phoenix	Perth
17:00 AWST	Keogh 24', 31' Castro 51' Ikonomidis 65' Santalab 83'	Report		Stadium: HBF Park Attendance: 9,875 Referee: Stephen Lucas

Finals series

Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix

3 May 2019 Elimination-final	Melbourne Victory	3–1	Wellington Phoenix	Melbourne
19:50 AEST	Niedermeier 42' Toivonen 53' Barbarouses 71'	Report	Krishna 64'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 16,010 Referee: Shaun Evans

FFA Cup

Main article: 2018 FFA Cup

Bentleigh Greens v Wellington Phoenix

7 August 2018 Round of 32	Bentleigh Greens	1–0	Wellington Phoenix	Melbourne
19:30 AEST	Jankovic 23'	Report		Stadium: Kingston Heath Soccer Complex Attendance: 1283