2020–21 Wellington Phoenix FC season

The 2020–21 season was the Wellington Phoenix's 14th season since its establishment in 2007. The club participated in the A-League for the 14th time.

Wellington Phoenix

2020–21 season
Chairman	Rob Morrison
Manager	Ufuk Talay
Stadium	WIN Stadium (Due to Coronavirus travel restrictions)
A-League	7th
Top goalscorer	League: Tomer Hemed (11) All: Tomer Hemed (11)
Highest home attendance	24,105 (22 May 2021 vs. Western United
Lowest home attendance	1,184 (24 March 2021 vs. Melbourne Victory
Average home league attendance	5,329
← 2019–20 2021–22 →

Pre-season

On 27 August 2020, it was announced that Liberato Cacace had signed with Belgian club Sint-Truidense after they had paid a transfer fee of $2,100,000.^[1] On 6 September, the Phoenix announced that Callum McCowatt signed with Danish club Helsingør following the conclusion of his contract.^[2] On 12 September, it was announced that Gary Hooper had departed the club following the conclusion of his contract.^[3][4] On 14 September, the Phoenix announced the shock departure of captain Steven Taylor after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract.^[5] Both players joined the Indian Super League, signing with Kerala Blasters^[6] and Odisha,^[7] respectively. On 24 September, Phoenix youngster Callan Elliot signed a deal with Xanthi.^[8] On 18 October, it was reported that Matti Steinmann had signed with Indian club East Bengal despite no announcement from the Phoenix.^[9] On 19 October, it was announced that Brandon Wilson would be parting ways with the Phoenix.^[10] A week later, it was confirmed that Walter Scott would not extend his contract with the club, after he played as a trialist for Macarthur FC in a pre-season match.^[11]

On 15 October, it was announced that the 2020–21 A-League season would commence on 27 December. On 27 October, the Phoenix confirmed that their squad will move to Australia for the start of the new campaign.^[12][13] On 28 October 2020, the Phoenix announced the dual signings of All Whites Clayton Lewis and James McGarry on one-year deals.^[14][15] On 30 October, it was announced Joshua Laws had signed a one-year deal with the Phoenix.^[16] On 6 November, it was announced that Matthew Ridenton had returned to the Phoenix on a one-year deal.^[17] On 10 November, the Phoenix announced the signing of Mirza Muratovic on a one-year deal.^[18] On 30 November, the Phoenix announced the signing of Israeli International Tomer Hemed, as its marquee player on a one-year contract.^[19]

Players

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  NZL Stefan Marinovic 2 DF  AUS Liam McGing 3 DF  AUS Luke DeVere 4 DF  NZL Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi 5 MF  NZL James McGarry 6 MF  NZL Tim Payne 7 FW  AUS Reno Piscopo 8 MF  AUS Cameron Devlin 9 FW  ENG David Ball 10 MF  MEX Ulises Dávila (captain) 11 MF  AUS Jaushua Sotirio 12 MF  NZL Matthew Ridenton

No. Pos. Nation Player 13 FW  AUS Charles Lokolingoy 14 MF  NZL Alex Rufer (vice-captain) 15 MF  AUS Mirza Muratovic 16 DF  NZL Louis Fenton 17 FW  ISR Tomer Hemed 18 FW  NZL Ben Waine 19 MF  NZL Sam Sutton 20 GK  NZL Oliver Sail 21 MF  AUS Joshua Laws 23 MF  NZL Clayton Lewis 27 DF  ENG Steven Taylor

Transfers

From youth squad

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	Notes
19	MF		Sam Sutton	18	3-year senior contract[20]

Transfers in

No.	Position	Player	Transferred from	Type/fee	Contract length	Date	Ref
23	MF	Clayton Lewis	Auckland City	Free transfer	1 year	28 October 2020	[21]
5	DF	James McGarry	Unattached	Free transfer	1 year	28 October 2020	[22]
21	MF	Joshua Laws	Unattached	Free transfer	1 year	30 October 2020	[23]
12	MF	Matthew Ridenton	Unattached	Free transfer	1 year	6 November 2020	[24]
15	FW	Mirza Muratovic	Unattached	Free transfer	1 year	10 November 2020	[25]
17	FW	Tomer Hemed	Unattached	Free transfer	1 year	30 November 2020	[26]
13	FW	Charles Lokolingoy	Unattached	Free transfer	4 months	17 February 2021	[27]
27	DF	Steven Taylor	Odisha	Free transfer	3 months	5 March 2021	[28]

Transfers out

No.	Position	Player	Transferred to	Type/fee	Date	Ref
13	DF	Liberato Cacace	Sint-Truidense	$2,100,000[1]	27 August 2020	[29]
21	FW	Callum McCowatt	Helsingør	End of contract	6 September 2020	[2]
88	FW	Gary Hooper	Kerala Blasters	End of contract	12 September 2020	[3][4]
27	DF	Steven Taylor	Odisha	Mutual contract termination	14 September 2020	[5][7]
17	DF	Callan Elliot	Xanthi	End of contract	24 September 2020	[8]
5	MF	Matti Steinmann	East Bengal	End of contract	18 October 2020	[9]
12	MF	Brandon Wilson	Perth Glory	Mutual contract termination	19 October 2020	[10]
23	DF	Walter Scott	Unattached	End of contract	25 October 2020	[11]

Contract extensions

No.	Name	Position	Duration	Date	Notes
9	David Ball	Striker	2 years	27 October 2020	[30]
4	Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi	Defender	2 years	29 October 2020	[31]
2	Liam McGing	Centre-back	1 year	2 November 2020	[32]
3	Luke DeVere	Centre-back	1 year	6 November 2020	[33]
23	Clayton Lewis	Attacking midfielder	2 years	18 May 2021	[34]
20	Oliver Sail	Goalkeeper	2 years	19 May 2021	[35]
18	Ben Waine	Forward	3 years	20 May 2021	[36]
27	Steven Taylor	Defender	1 year	4 June 2021	[37]
16	Louis Fenton	Full-back	1 year	10 June 2021	[38]

Technical staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Ufuk Talay
Assistant coach	Chris Greenacre
Assistant coach/Head analyst	Giancarlo Italiano
Goalkeeping coach	Paul Gothard
Head physiotherapist	Ben Venn
Strength & conditioning coach	Aidan Wivell

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

As of 25 April 2021

No.	Pos.	Player	A-League		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	Stefan Marinovic	6	0	6	0
2	DF	Liam McGing	6(1)	0	7	0
3	DF	Luke DeVere	6	0	6	0
4	DF	Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi	0(4)	0	4	0
5	DF	James McGarry	15(3)	0	18	0
6	DF	Tim Payne	19	0	19	0
7	FW	Reno Piscopo	8(1)	1	9	1
8	MF	Cameron Devlin	11(6)	1	17	1
9	FW	David Ball	17	4	17	4
10	MF	Ulises Dávila	18(1)	7	19	7
11	FW	Jaushua Sotirio	6(7)	3	13	3
12	MF	Matthew Ridenton	2(6)	0	8	0
13	FW	Charles Lokolingoy	0(7)	0	7	0
14	MF	Alex Rufer	15(1)	0	16	0
15	MF	Mirza Muratovic	3(5)	2	8	2
16	DF	Louis Fenton	12(5)	2	17	2
17	FW	Tomer Hemed	9(5)	5	14	5
18	FW	Ben Waine	9(6)	6	15	5
19	MF	Sam Sutton	3(2)	0	5	0
20	GK	Oliver Sail	13	0	13	0
21	DF	Joshua Laws	10(2)	0	12	0
23	MF	Clayton Lewis	17(2)	1	19	1
27	DF	Steven Taylor	3(2)	0	5	0

Friendlies

Blacktown Spartans v Wellington Phoenix

20 November 2020	Blacktown Spartans	1–8	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney, Australia
21:00 NZST	? ?'	Report	Sotirio 5' Ball 12', 14', 31' Muratovic 26' Trialist 46' Piscopo 55' Trialist 61'	Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

APIA Leichhardt v Wellington Phoenix

25 November 2020	APIA Leichhardt	1–5	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney, Australia
	? ?'	Report	Piscopo 17' Sotirio 39' Payne 42' Trialist 73' Trialist 85'	Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Macarthur FC v Wellington Phoenix

2 December 2020	Macarthur FC	1–0	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney, Australia
13:00 NZDT	Derbyshire 1'	Report		Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Central Coast Mariners v Wellington Phoenix

6 December 2020	Central Coast Mariners	0–2	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney, Australia
		Report	Waine 1' Piscopo 37'	Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Western Sydney Wanderers v Wellington Phoenix

12 December 2020	Western Sydney Wanderers	1–3	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney, Australia
	Pelekanos 80'	Report	DeVere 6' Sotirio 24' Ball 54'	Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix

19 December 2020	Newcastle Jets	3–4	Wellington Phoenix	Newcastle, Australia
	Yuel 53' Ugarkovic 80' (pen.) Yengi 89'	Report	Muratovic 12' Rufer 30' Lewis 45' Sotirio 57'	Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Wollongong Wolves v Wellington Phoenix

17 January 2021	Wollongong Wolves	4–0	Wellington Phoenix	Wollongong, Australia
		Report		Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Competitions

  Win   Draw   Loss

Overview

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
A-League	2 January 2021	4 June 2021	Matchday 1	7th	26	10	8	8	44	34	+10	038.46
Total					26	10	8	8	44	34	+10	038.46

Source: Soccerway

A-League

Main article: 2020–21 A-League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
5	Adelaide United	26	11	6	9	39	41	−2	39	Qualification for finals series[a]
6	Macarthur FC	26	11	6	9	33	36	−3	39
7	Wellington Phoenix[b]	26	10	8	8	44	34	+10	38
8	Western Sydney Wanderers	26	9	8	9	45	43	+2	35
9	Perth Glory	26	9	7	10	44	44	0	34	Qualification for 2021 FFA Cup play-offs[c]

Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Least red cards; 5) Least yellow cards; 6) Toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
Notes:

1. The top two teams entered the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth entered the finals series at the elimination-finals.
2. Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is under the Oceania Football Confederation.
3. The top 8 teams qualified for the round of 32, while the bottom four teams participated in a playoff round.^[39]

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
26	10	8	8	44	34	+10	38	5	3	5	24	19	+5	5	5	3	20	15	+5

Source: ultimatealeague.com

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss

Wellington Phoenix v Sydney FC

2 January 2021 2	Wellington Phoenix	1–2	Sydney FC	Wollongong
17:00 AEDT	Muratovic 45+1'	Report	Nieuwenhof 29' Brattan 55'	Stadium: WIN Stadium Attendance: 3,637 Referee: Alex King

Macarthur FC v Wellington Phoenix

9 January 2021 3	Macarthur FC	1–1	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney
17:00 AEDT	Susaeta 67'	Report	Ball 39'	Stadium: Campbelltown Stadium Attendance: 2,609 Referee: Stephen Lucas

Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets

24 January 2021 5	Wellington Phoenix	1–2	Newcastle Jets	Wollongong
19:00 AEST	Dávila 85' (pen.)	Report	Yuel 8' O'Donovan 51'	Stadium: WIN Stadium Attendance: 1,742 Referee: Alex King

Central Coast Mariners v Wellington Phoenix

31 January 2021 6	Central Coast Mariners	1–2	Wellington Phoenix	Gosford
16:00 AEST	Kuol 41'	Report	Dávila 15' Sotirio 88'	Stadium: Central Coast Stadium Attendance: 4,748 Referee: Daniel Elder

Sydney FC v Wellington Phoenix

8 February 2021 7	Sydney FC	2–1	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney
19:10 AEST	Barbarouses 32', 64'	Report	Dávila 90'	Stadium: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium Attendance: 5,220 Referee: Chris Beath

Wellington Phoenix v Central Coast Mariners

14 February 2021 8	Wellington Phoenix	0–2	Central Coast Mariners	Wollongong
16:05 AEST		Report	Simon 40' Bozanic 50' (pen.)	Stadium: WIN Stadium Attendance: 2,248 Referee: Daniel Elder

Wellington Phoenix v Western Sydney Wanderers

21 February 2021 9	Wellington Phoenix	2–2	Western Sydney Wanderers	Wollongong
18:10 AEST	Muratovic 9' Fenton 79'	Report	Yeboah 71' Kamau 76'	Stadium: WIN Stadium Attendance: 3,383 Referee: Alireza Faghani

Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix

24 February 2021 9	Melbourne Victory	2–0	Wellington Phoenix	Melbourne
19:05 AEST	Gestede 45+3', 48'	Report		Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 3,424 Referee: Shaun Evans

Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix

28 February 2021 10	Newcastle Jets	0–2	Wellington Phoenix	Newcastle
18:10 AEST		Report	Ball 22' Waine 53'	Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium Attendance: 4,576 Referee: Jonathan Barreiro

Wellington Phoenix v Perth Glory

7 March 2021 11	Wellington Phoenix	3–0	Perth Glory	Wollongong
16:00 AEST	Piscopo 30' Ball 35' Waine 59'	Report		Stadium: WIN Stadium Attendance: 2,331 Referee: Adam Kersey

Western Sydney Wanderers v Wellington Phoenix

15 March 2021 12	Western Sydney Wanderers	4–3	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney
19:05 AEST	Wilmering 23' Mutch 52' Duke 65' Yeboah 84'	Report	Dávila 7' Devlin 32' Hemed 64' (pen.)	Stadium: Bankwest Stadium Attendance: 5,477 Referee: Shaun Evans

Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar

21 March 2021 13	Wellington Phoenix	1–1	Brisbane Roar	Newcastle
16:00 AEST	Hemed 42'	Report	Mebrahtu 86'	Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium Attendance: 1,432 Referee: Stephen Lucas

Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory

24 March 2021 13	Wellington Phoenix	4–1	Melbourne Victory	Wollongong
19:05 AEST	Hemed 11' Ball 36' Dávila 62' Lewis 68'	Report	Kamsoba 76'	Stadium: WIN Stadium Attendance: 1,184 Referee: Shaun Evans

Wellington Phoenix v Macarthur FC

28 March 2021 14	Wellington Phoenix	0–1	Macarthur FC	Wollongong
16:00 AEST		Report	Genreau 65'	Stadium: WIN Stadium Attendance: 2,516 Referee: Adam Fielding

Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City

5 April 2021 15	Wellington Phoenix	2–3	Melbourne City	Wollongong
19:00 AEST	Hemed 39' Dávila 56'	Report	Good 17' Maclaren 45' Tilio 83'	Stadium: WIN Stadium Attendance: 1,343 Referee: Alireza Faghani

Wellington Phoenix v Western United

11 April 2021 16	Wellington Phoenix	3–2	Western United	Wollongong
19:00 AEST	Dávila 45+1' (pen.) Sotirio 53' Waine 90'	Report	Berisha 32' (pen.) Guarrotxena 56'	Stadium: WIN Stadium Attendance: 1,226 Referee: Chris Beath

Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix

18 April 2021 17	Perth Glory	1–3	Wellington Phoenix	Perth
18:15 AWST	Chianese 58'	Report	Waine 56' Fenton 66' Sotirio 75'	Stadium: HBF Park Attendance: 9,229 Referee: Daniel Elder

Western United v Wellington Phoenix

22 April 2021 17	Western United	1–1	Wellington Phoenix	Tasmania
19:00 AEDT	Wales 27'	Report	Waine 7'	Stadium: UTAS Stadium Attendance: 2,528 Referee: Alex King

Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United

25 April 2021 18	Wellington Phoenix	2–1	Adelaide United	Wollongong
16:10 AEST	Waine 58' Hemed 90+7' (pen.)	Report	Mauk 51'	Stadium: WIN Stadium Attendance: 1,903 Referee: Adam Kersey

Brisbane Roar v Wellington Phoenix

1 May 2021 19	Brisbane Roar	0–0	Wellington Phoenix	Brisbane
17:05 AEDT		Report		Stadium: Dolphin Oval Attendance: 5,897 Referee: Tim Danaskos

Adelaide United v Wellington Phoenix

7 May 2021 20	Adelaide United	0–0	Wellington Phoenix	Adelaide
19:35 ACDT		Report		Stadium: Coopers Stadium Attendance: 7,172 Referee: Alireza Faghani

Melbourne City v Wellington Phoenix

16 May 2021 21	Melbourne City	2–2	Wellington Phoenix	Melbourne
16:05 AEST	Tsubaki 58' Maclaren 81'	Report	Hemed 37' (pen.), 88'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 4,586 Referee: Alireza Faghani

Wellington Phoenix v Western United

22 May 2021 22	Wellington Phoenix	3–0	Western United	Wellington
14:05 NZDT	Lewis 38' Piscopo 57' Hemed 63'	Report		Stadium: Sky Stadium Attendance: 24,105 Referee: Daniel Elder

Western Sydney Wanderers v Wellington Phoenix

26 May 2021 22	Western Sydney Wanderers	1–2	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney
19:05 AEST	Baccus 28'	Report	Ball 24' Hemed 42'	Stadium: Bankwest Stadium Attendance: 5,068 Referee: Kurt Ams

Wellington Phoenix v Perth Glory

30 May 2021 23	Wellington Phoenix	2–2	Perth Glory	Auckland
13:35 NZDT	Hemed 24' Sotirio 80'	Report	Fornaroli 61' Timmins 75'	Stadium: Eden Park Attendance: 22,233 Referee: Alex King

Macarthur FC v Wellington Phoenix

4 June 2021 24	Macarthur FC	0–3	Wellington Phoenix	Campbelltown
19:05 AEST		Report	Ball 45+1' Hemed 46' Waine 90+2'	Stadium: Campbelltown Stadium Attendance: 5,126 Referee: Daniel Elder