KEY POINTS:
The Wellington Phoenix are shaping up to be a competitive side in the A-league soccer championship, Newcastle coach Gary Van Egmond says.
Newcastle won a penalty shootout 4-2 after both teams drew 0-0 in regulation time in the Pre-Season Cup playoff for fifth placing in Wellington on Friday.
"Their brand of football, even in the trying conditions was a lot more pleasing to the eye," Van Egmond said.
"(Forwards) Daniel Cortes and Shane Smeltz are obviously a handful for any opposition."
With Wellington blasted by strong winds last night, it was difficult to play the ball accurately but the Phoenix, supported by a vocal crowd of about 4500, dominated the game.
However, they failed to gain a psychological boost for the upcoming A-League soccer campaign after squandering a number of chances to break the deadlock.
In the shootout, striker Smeltz, who left his shooting boots in the locker room, missed the first shot to end a miserable night.
The other to miss was Richard Johnson's as Newcastle's Joel Griffiths, Matt Thompson, Mark Bridge and Tarek Elrich all scored from the penalty spot.
Phoenix' scorers in the shootout were Jeremy Christie and skipper Ross Aloisi.
Despite a wealth of possession and a tad more running in the legs in the latter stages, the Phoenix were unable to find the back of the net.
They won the first-half corner count 4-1 but came away empty handed on each occasion.
Midfielder Felipe Campos had a lively game and created the best chance of the half.
He cut the ball back on the edge of the 6m box but found no takers for what would have been a sure goal in the 40th minute.
Neither side found any fluency in attacks and Newcastle, in particular, relied heavily on central striker Griffiths feeding off scraps from occasional loose defending by the Phoenix.
He twice forced Phoenix goalkeeper Mark Paston to dive at his feet to take the ball after blunders by his defence.
Upfront, Campos, fellow Brazilian Cortes, Jeremy Christie and Smeltz combined well in patches but lacked the final touch to create real danger.
None of the Phoenix shots were on target and Newcastle goalkeeper Anton Covic was not overworked, with his defenders blocking shots by Tony Lochhead and Steven O'Dor.
The Phoenix started the second half brightly, cleverly using early passes to put the ball behind the Newcastle defence.
Smeltz was not having a good night. He shot just wide off the left post after Cortes nudged the ball quickly into the box and minutes later opted to cross when an adventurous shot from a narrow angle might have produced a better result.
He duffed another chance with 8min remaining when he shot into the goalkeeper after Tony Lochhead split the defence with a quick pass.
Smeltz had a final chance to score the winner in injury time but with just Covic to beat again, he hit over the bar.
Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert was relatively pleased with his team's performance.
It showed how far the team had come since being formed a few short months ago and the depth in his squad after a number of players got the chance to display their wares tonight.
"I think we have shown again that we were totally dominant - (But it was) one of those games where if we had taken one of the many chances, we would have won."
- NZPA
