Away trip ends in disappointment

Wellington Phoenix FC’s gruelling three-match away run ended in disappointment tonight, the Hyundai A-League’s newest team beaten 3-0 by the in-form Queensland Roar at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.



Having been beaten by Adelaide United in the first match of the away run before beating Perth Glory in Perth, the Phoenix were looking to pick up more on-the-road points against the Roar.



However, the Queenslanders overwhelmed the visitors following two key moments – the first when the Phoenix were reduced to 10 men midway through the first half when Ahmad Elrich was dismissed and the second when they conceded a penalty, coolly converted by Reinaldo in the 67th minute.



The Roar’s Brazilian striker bagged his brace against a tiring Phoenix outfit in the 79th minute before fellow Brazilian Marcinho fired up the Suncorp samba party in the 83rd.



Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert said the match turned on the two pivotal moments – Elrich’s red card for seemingly elbowing Roar midfielder Hyuk-Su Seo and the penalty awarded when defender Karl Dodd was adjudged to have handled the ball.



“The big turning point was the penalty. We’d defended well up till then and I thought the Roar were starting to run out of ideas. In terms of the sending off, I can’t comment on that, but needless to say it had a major impact. Even down to 10 men we held our shape well, but in these conditions it was always going to be a tough ask.



“It was disappointing to concede the penalty, I really thought it was going to be one of those nights when we might grind it out, hang tough, and come away with a 0-0 result. But we were one down and we had to push forward, and when you’re chasing a game like that you always run the risk of having teams coming back at you.



“We’re not going to sit back, 1-0 or 3-0 away at Queensland. If you’re going to stay in the race you’ve got to advance a bit and, being a player down, we thought we’d back ourselves a wee bit. So the extra two goals are pushed to one side. We were chasing.”



Captain Tim Brown said his team had to chalk the result up to experience.



“It was a difficult day but certainly there will be no excuses from the group. We’ve just got to pick ourselves up and get on with it.”



Having picked up three points from the possible nine on offer on their three-match trans-Tasman trip, the Phoenix now look forward to returning home to take on Sydney FC at Westpac Stadium on Saturday.



“I’d said before this trip that if we could pick up a point in each of the three matches we’d be doing pretty well,” Herbert said. “While it would have been nice to come away with a couple more, we can now look forward to getting back home. It’s been a long month since we last played at home and we’re all looking forward to getting back out there at Westpac Stadium. It’ll be a breath of fresh air for the players and they’re all looking forward to the incredible home support we have and how that support can make it tough for the opposition.”



The Phoenix remain in seventh spot on the Hyundai A-League 2007/08 table, while the Roar now sit alone in second place.



Match summary



Queensland Roar 3 (Reinaldo 67’ pen/79’, Marcinho 83’)

Wellington Phoenix 0

HT: 0-0

Crowd: 13,808 at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane