2008–09 Wellington Phoenix season

Wellington Phoenix FC

2008-09 season
CEO	Tony Pignata
Manager	Ricki Herbert
A-League	6th
Preseason Cup	Runner-up
Top goalscorer	S. Smeltz - 12
Highest home attendance	10,516 v Queensland Roar on 17 August 2008
Lowest home attendance	5,500 v Newcastle Jets on 23 November 2008
Home colours Away colours
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The 2008–09 season was Wellington Phoenix's second season of football (soccer) in the A-League.

Contents 1 Pre-season review 2 Players 2.1 First Team Squad 2.2 Transfers 2.2.1 In 2.2.2 Out 2.3 Technical staff 3 Matches 3.1 2008 Pre-Season Cup fixtures 3.2 2008-09 Hyundai A-League fixtures 4 Statistics 4.1 Appearances and goals 4.2 Goal scorers 4.3 Goal assists 4.4 Disciplinary record 4.5 Home Attendances 4.6 Club End of Season Awards 5 Ladder 6 References 7 External links

Pre-season review

After its first full pre-season and extensive recruiting, Wellington started the season in positive fashion reaching the final of the Pre-Season Cup. However after dominating a 0-0 draw against Melbourne Victory, the Phoenix lost on penalties 8-7. Although the Phoenix had a chance to qualify for the finals on the last day of the season, it finished 6th on 26 points. Two out of the finals, and tied with Sydney FC on points, The Phoenix finished sixth due to the lower goal difference.

Players

First Team Squad

No.	Name	Nationality	Position	Date Of Birth (Age)	Signed From	Notes
Goalkeepers
1	Mark Paston		GK	December 13, 1976 (aged 31)	New Zealand Knights
20	Glen Moss		GK	January 19, 1983 (aged 25)	Dinamo Bucharest
30	Scott Higgins		GK	June 9, 1976 (aged 32)	Adelaide United	Injury replacement player
Defenders
3	Tony Lochhead		LB	January 12, 1982 (aged 26)	New England Revolution
4	Jon McKain		CB	September 21, 1982 (aged 25)	Politehnica Timişoara
5	Karl Dodd		CB	November 13, 1980 (aged 27)	Falkirk F.C.
16	David Mulligan		RB	March 24, 1982 (aged 26)	Port Vale
18	Ben Sigmund		CB	February 3, 1981 (aged 27)	Auckland City
22	Andrew Durante		CB	May 3, 1982 (aged 26)	Newcastle Jets	Captain
25	Manny Muscat		RB	December 7, 1984 (aged 23)	Green Gully Cavaliers
Midfielders
2	Jeremy Christie		CDM	May 22, 1983 (aged 25)	Auckland City
6	Tim Brown		CDM	March 6, 1981 (aged 27)	Newcastle Jets	Vice-captain
7	Leo Bertos		RW	December 20, 1981 (aged 26)	Perth Glory
10	Michael Ferrante		CM	April 28, 1981 (aged 27)	Melbourne Victory
11	Daniel		LW	December 12, 1979 (aged 28)	Madureira Esporte Clube
12	Richard Johnson		CM	April 27, 1974 (aged 34)	New Zealand Knights
13	Troy Hearfield		AM	October 31, 1987 (aged 20)	Newcastle Jets
17	Vince Lia		CM	March 18, 1985 (aged 23)	Melbourne Victory
21	Leilei Gao		AM	July 15, 1980 (aged 27)	MyPa
26	Fred		AM	August 18, 1979 (aged 28)	DC United
Strikers
8	Vaughan Coveny		ST	December 13, 1971 (aged 36)	Newcastle Jets
9	Shane Smeltz		ST	September 29, 1981 (aged 26)	Halifax Town
15	Adam Kwasnik		ST	May 31, 1983 (aged 25)	Central Coast Mariners
19	Greg Draper		ST	August 13, 1989 (aged 18)	Ferrymead Bays	Youth
23	Costa Barbarouses		ST	February 19, 1990 (aged 18)	Team Wellington	Youth

Transfers

In

No.	Name	Nationality	Position	Signed From	League	Transfer Fee
30	Scott Higgins		GK	Adelaide United	A-League	Short term Injury replacement
16	David Mulligan		RB	Port Vale	Football League Two
25	Manny Muscat		RB	Green Gully Cavaliers	Victorian Premier League	Free
4	Jon McKain		CB	FCU Politehnica Timişoara	Liga I	Free
22	Andrew Durante		CB	Newcastle Jets	A-League	Free
7	Leo Bertos		RW	Perth Glory	A-League	Free
13	Troy Hearfield		AM	Newcastle Jets	A-League	Free
21	Leilei Gao		AM	MyPa	Veikkausliiga	Free
26	Fred		AM	DC United	MLS	Loan

Out

No.	Name	Nationality	Position	Leaving To	League	Transfer Fee
14	Steven O'Dor		CB	Released
4	Cleberson		CB	Contract Terminated
15	George		AM	Contract Terminated
30	Jacob Spoonley		GK	Auckland City FC	New Zealand Football Championship	Free
13	Steven Old		CB	Macarthur Rams	New South Wales Super League	Free
16	Kristian Rees		CB	Released
18	Ahmad Elrich		RW	Central Coast Mariners	A-League	Free
21	Felipe		AM	Wisla Krakow	Ekstraklasa	Free
26	Fred		AM	DC United	MLS	Loan Expired
22	Royce Brownlie		ST	Released

Technical staff

• First team Coach: Ricki Herbert
• Assistant Coach: Stu Jacobs
• First team Physiotherapist: Adam Crump
• Masseur: Dene Carroll
• Strength & Conditioning Coach: Ed Baranowski

Matches

2008 Pre-Season Cup fixtures

See Also: 2008 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup

Table Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Wellington Phoenix	3	2	1	0	5	3	7
Central Coast Mariners	3	2	0	1	5	2	6
Sydney FC	3	1	0	2	4	7	3
Queensland Roar	3	0	1	2	3	5	1

Group Stage 20 August 2008	Wellington Phoenix	1 : 0	Central Coast Mariners	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
16:00 NZST	Daniel  72'	(0:0) Report		Attendance: 4,853

Group Stage 27 August 2008	Queensland Roar	1 : 1	Wellington Phoenix	Stockland Park, Sunshine Coast
15:00 NZST	S. van Dijk  18'	(1:0) Report	74' A. Kwasnik	Attendance: 3,832

Group Stage 2 September 2008	Sydney FC	2 : 3	Wellington Phoenix	WIN Stadium, Wollongong
16:00 NZST	A. Brosque  16' I. Fyfe  39'	(2:0) Report	57' T. Hearfield  62' S. Smeltz  82' L. Gao	Attendance: 6,124

Final 6 August 2008	Wellington Phoenix	0 : 0 (a.e.t.)	Melbourne Victory	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
19:30 NZST		(7-8 pen) Report		Attendance: 9,208 Referee: Peter O'Leary

2008-09 Hyundai A-League fixtures

17 August 2008	Wellington Phoenix	1 : 1	Queensland Roar	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Round 1	Smeltz  53'	Report Summary	Miller	Attendance: 10,561 Referee: Ben Williams

24 August 2008	Wellington Phoenix	2 : 4	Melbourne Victory	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Round 2	Smeltz  29'  65' (pen)	Report Summary	Allsopp  16'  35' Fabiano  47' Muscat  68' (pen)	Attendance: 6,110 Referee: Strebre Delovski

30 August 2008	Adelaide United	3 : 0	Wellington Phoenix	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
Round 3	Pantelis  15' Cristiano  48'  60'	Report Summary		Attendance: 7,832 Referee: Matthew Breeze

14 September 2008	Wellington Phoenix	0 : 0	Central Coast Mariners	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Round 4		Report Summary		Attendance: 6,928 Referee: Strebre Delovski

21 September 2008	Perth Glory	1 : 0	Wellington Phoenix	Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Round 5	Dadi  78' (pen)	Report Summary		Attendance: 4,433 Referee: Strebre Delovski

28 September 2008	Wellington Phoenix	2 : 1	Sydney FC	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Round 6	Smeltz  42' Tim Brown  76'	Report Summary	Brosque  20'	Attendance: 6,729 Referee: Chris Beath

6 October 2008	Newcastle Jets	2 : 2	Wellington Phoenix	Energy Australia Stadium, Newcastle
Round 7	Smeltz  52' (pen)  89' (pen)	Report Summary	Elrich  59' Patafta  68'	Attendance: 8,492 Referee: Craig Zetter

19 October 2008	Central Coast Mariners	0 : 1	Wellington Phoenix	Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
Round 8		Summary	Dodd  53'	Attendance: 9,011 Referee: Ben Williams

26 October 2008	Wellington Phoenix	0 : 1	Queensland Roar	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Round 9		Summary		Attendance: 6,543 Referee: Peter O'Leary

2 November 2008	Perth Glory	2 : 0	Wellington Phoenix	Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Round 10		Summary		Attendance: 7,228 Referee: Chris Beath

7 November 2008	Sydney FC	1 : 2	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Round 11		Summary	Bertos  33' Smeltz  89' (pen)	Attendance: 9,011 Referee: Ben Williams

23 November 2008	Wellington Phoenix	2 : 0	Newcastle Jets	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Round 12	Smeltz  79' Hearfield  86'	Summary		Attendance: 5,500 Referee: Matthew Breeze

28 November 2008	Wellington Phoenix	2 : 1	Melbourne Victory	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Round 13	Brown  22' Smeltz  58'	Summary Highlights	Allsopp  20'	Attendance: 7,953 Referee: Craig Zetter

5 December 2008	Adelaide United	6 : 1	Wellington Phoenix	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
Round 14	Ognenovski  20' Cristiano  42'  74' Cassio  57'  69' Dodd  90+1'	Summary	Fred  55'	Attendance: 9,442 Referee: Matthew Breeze

13 December 2008	Wellington Phoenix	1 : 1	Perth Glory	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Round 15	Brown  83'	Summary	Dadi  76'	Attendance: 6,053 Referee: Srebre Delovski

19 December 2008	Wellington Phoenix	1 : 0	Central Coast Mariners	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Round 16	Smeltz  2'	Summary		Attendance: 6,762 Referee: Chris Beath

28 December 2008	Queensland Roar	3 : 2	Wellington Phoenix	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Round 17	McKay  38' van Dijk  48' Oar  90+1'	Summary	DeVere  11' (o.g.) Hearfield  46'	Attendance: 13,115 Referee: Ben Williams

4 January 2009	Wellington Phoenix	3 : 0	Newcastle Jets	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Round 18	Bertos  62' Smeltz  67'  86' (pen)	Summary		Attendance: 7,520 Referee: Craig Zetter

11 January 2009	Sydney FC	1 : 0	Wellington Phoenix	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Round 19	Danning  85'	Summary		Attendance: 9,605 Referee: Ben Williams

18 January 2009	Wellington Phoenix	1 : 1	Adelaide United	Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Round 20	Barbarouses  31'	Summary	Reid  9'	Attendance: 8,241 Referee: Chris Beath

23 January 2009	Melbourne Victory	2 : 0	Wellington Phoenix	Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
Round 21	Muscat  40' (pen) Thompson  90'	Summary		Attendance: 28,905 Referee: Srebre Delovski

Statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Nat	Pos	Player	Total		A-League		Finals
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1		GK	Mark Paston	9	0	9+0	0	0+0	0
2		DF	Jeremy Christie	10	0	0+10	0	0+0	0
3		DF	Tony Lochhead	21	0	21+0	0	0+0	0
4		DF	Jon McKain	18	0	18+0	0	0+0	0
5		DF	Karl Dodd	17	1	15+2	1	0+0	0
6		MF	Tim Brown	17	3	15+2	3	0+0	0
7		MF	Leo Bertos	16	2	14+2	2	0+0	0
8		FW	Vaughan Coveny	9	0	6+3	0	0+0	0
9		FW	Shane Smeltz	20	12	20+0	12	0+0	0
10		MF	Michael Ferrante	19	0	14+5	0	0+0	0
11		MF	Daniel	17	0	7+10	0	0+0	0
12		MF	Richard Johnson	7	0	6+1	0	0+0	0
13		MF	Troy Hearfield	14	2	10+4	2	0+0	0
15		FW	Adam Kwasnik	12	0	7+5	0	0+0	0
16		DF	David Mulligan	3	0	3+0	0	0+0	0
17		DF	Vince Lia	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
18		DF	Ben Sigmund	15	0	13+2	0	0+0	0
19		FW	Greg Draper	0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
20		GK	Glen Moss	13	0	12+1	0	0+0	0
21		MF	Leilei Gao	8	0	7+1	0	0+0	0
22		DF	Andrew Durante	16	0	15+1	0	0+0	0
23		FW	Kosta Barbarouses	5	1	2+3	1	0+0	0
25		DF	Manny Muscat	14	0	14+0	0	0+0	0
27		MF	Fred	3	1	3+0	1	0+0	0

Goal scorers

Rank	Player	Goals per Round																					Total
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
1	Shane Smeltz		x2					x2											x2				12
2	Tim Brown																						3
3	Troy Hearfield																						2
	Leo Bertos																						2
5	Fred																						1
	Karl Dodd																						1
	Kosta Barbarouses																						1
	Own goal																						1

	A goal was scored from a penalty kick
	2 were scored from penalty kicks

Goal assists

Rank	Player	Assists per Round																					Total
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
1	Leo Bertos																						6
2	Troy Hearfield																		x2				3
3	Daniel																						2
	Tony Lochhead																						2
	Jon McKain																						2
6	Tim Brown																						1
	Vaughan Coveny																						1
	Leilei Gao																						1
	Ben Sigmund																						1
	Shane Smeltz																						1

Disciplinary record

Rank	Player	Cards per Round																					Total
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
1	Jon McKain																						7
2	Troy Hearfield																						2		1
	Tim Brown																						3	1
	Karl Dodd																						5
5	Andrew Durante																						2	1
6	Michael Ferrante																						3
	Leilei Gao																						3
	Manny Muscat																						3
9	Leo Bertos																						2
	Tony Lochhead																						2
	Richard Johnson																						2
	Shane Smeltz																						2
13	Vaughan Coveny																						1
	Daniel																						1
	David Mulligan																						1
	Ben Sigmund																						1
	Adam Kwasnik																						1
	Fred																						1

Home Attendances

• 1st home match: 10,516 v Queensland Roar on 17 August 2008
• 2nd home match: 6,110 v Melbourne Victory on 24 August 2008
• 3rd home match: 6,926 v Central Coast Mariners on 14 September 2008
• 4th home match: 6,729 v Sydney FC on 28 September 2008
• 5th home match: 6,543 v Queensland Roar on 26 October 2008
• 6th home match: 5,500 v Newcastle Jets on 23 November 2008
• 7th home match: 7,953 v Melbourne Victory on 28 November 2008
• 8th home match: 6,362 v Perth Glory on 14 December 2008
• 9th home match: 6,722 v Central Coast Mariners on 19 December 2008
• 10th home match: 7,520 v Newcastle Jets on 4 January 2009
• 11th home match: 8,241 v Adelaide United on 18 January 2009

Season 2 Home Average: 7,193

Club End of Season Awards

See also List of Wellington Phoenix FC End of Season Awards

• Sony Player of the Year: Leo Bertos
• Members’ Player of the Year: Ben Sigmund
• Players’ Player of the Year: Shane Smeltz
• Media Player of the Year: Shane Smeltz
• Golden Boot: Shane Smeltz - 12 goals

Ladder

#	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Melbourne Victory	21	12	2	7	39	27	+12sm=n	38
2	Adelaide United	21	11	5	5	31	19	+12sm=n	38
3	Queensland Roar	21	10	6	5	36	25	+11sm=n	36
4	Central Coast Mariners	21	7	7	7	35	32	+3sm=n	28
5	Sydney FC	21	7	5	9	33	32	+1sm=n	26
6	Wellington Phoenix	21	7	5	9	23	31	-8sm=n	26
7	Perth Glory	21	6	4	11	31	44	-13sm=n	22
8	Newcastle Jets	21	4	6	11	21	39	-18sm=n	18

References

External links

• Wellington Phoenix - Official Website

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