The Wellington Phoenix still hold on to hope of the last playoff spot, despite their limp 0-2 away loss to Brisbane on Sunday leaving them six points adrift of sixth place.
The Phoenix should be buoyed by their run to the finish.
Of their six remaining games, four are at home with the trip to Perth one of their remaining transtasman crossings. The other is against high-flying debutants Western Sydney on March 10.
The anticipation in having four games at home - three at Westpac Stadium and one under the roof at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium - against Melbourne Heart on March 3 - is tempered in that the first three will be played in an eight-day stretch from Sunday with the brought forward game against Newcastle sandwiched between clashes with Adelaide and the Heart.
The Newcastle game was brought forward at the Phoenix request to avoid the All Whites World Cup qualifier against New Caledonia scheduled for March 22, also in Dunedin.