Soccer: Phoenix close in on playoffs

Phoenix captain Andrew Durante celebrates a goal against Adelaide. Photo / Getty Images

The Phoenix almost guaranteed themselves an A-League playoff place for the first time when they beat Adelaide United in Christchurch last night.

Jon McKain's first-half goal was enough to earn the Phoenix their first ever win against Adelaide and at least temporarily fourth place on the table - a position that would earn them a home game in the playoffs.

The top six teams make the playoffs.

Wellington moved seven points ahead of seventh-placed Central Coast, who meet Perth today, with two matches remaining but Brisbane had the chance to close the gap to four points in their match against Sydney late last night.

A crowd of more than 19,000 packed the newly rebuilt AMI Stadium to watch the Phoenix - a record for an A-League match in this country and more than the 16,000 who turned out to watch David Beckham play in Auckland.

And they were rewarded with a tense contest, where Adelaide played some of the better football but the Phoenix defended stoutly and restricted the visitors' chances.

Adelaide are bottom of the league and weakened by injuries but there was never a chance they were going to be easy beats.

The early stages were more physical than skilful and referee Peter O'Leary tried to calm the tensions with a couple of drop balls when the action threatened to turn into open warfare.

The Phoenix goal came in the 21st minute after some good work by Adrian Caceres on the left. His strike on goal was tipped over by goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic but the resulting corner fell to McKain, who lashed a left-footed shot into the net.

That was largely the sum of the Wellington side's attacking ploys in the half as Adelaide, backed by a freshening breeze, dominated much of the possession for the rest of the half.

Their passing was sharper and they kept the pressure on the Phoenix, forcing 10 corners to two but rarely forcing Liam Reddy to make a save.

The best chances were created by Lucas Pantelis on the left and finally in the 38th minute he found Matthew Leckie's head, drawing a good save from the Wellington goalkeeper.

Four minutes later some aerial ping-pong among the Adelaide players saw Travis Dodd's header tipped over by Reddy.

Eugene Dadi, who had barely been involved in the first half, had an early chance in the second half but his shot drifted wide when a pass might have been a better option.

Adelaide were still playing some pretty football on the close-cropped surface but they rarely opted to go for goal.

In the 67th minute Dadi was replaced by Leo Bertos, allowing Paul Ifill to move forward. Eight minutes later Daniel replaced Caceres, giving the Phoenix more attacking options at a time when they were a goal up.

But it was Wellington who had some nervous moments in the final minutes as Leckie's strike was well saved by Reddy and then a header by Francesco Monterosso flashed just wide of the upright.

The Phoenix hung on, however. History, it seems, beckons.