Chris Rattue: Great result, but it's the excitement that counts

Striker Paul Ifill scores the decisive goal last night, giving the Phoenix their ticket to the preliminary final across the Tasman next Saturday. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The miracle of the Phoenix isn't just that they are now a game away from making the A-league grand final.

After the agony of the two hopeless professional franchises in Auckland, this proximity to the title would have been good enough at this stage of the Phoenix's history.

No, the miracle is also the attacking quality of their game, the end-to-end thrills that two playoff games have brought, and of course the barely believable atmosphere generated in the Westpac Stadium. Soccer is on the march in New Zealand.

Ricki Herbert and the team owners have recruited superbly, from Paul Ifill to stand-in goalkeeper Liam Reddy, whose influence has quickly spread upfield.

A squad of Australasian players bolstered and enlivened by exotic names from exotic places has stolen the public's heart.

Yesterday's 3-1 extra-time win over Newcastle matched the penalty shootout thriller against Perth. At every point, Herbert's side attacked, even daring to send troops upfield when ahead in extra time.

Newcastle hung in with a fairly static long ball game which created a few clear chances, but the visitors in no way, shape or form deserved victory.

The Phoenix owned this game and yet the way Ifill, the Englishman whose magic is at the heart of this amazing New Zealand soccer revival, struggled to put his chances away made you fear this could be one of those weird soccer times when the best team lost.

Thankfully, no. At least the Phoenix's outstanding captain, Aussie Andrew Durante, finally admitted that a build-up disrupted by the All Whites' international against Mexico was not ideal.

This wasn't the party line.

New Zealand soccer ran the gauntlet, with the All Whites taking Herbert and four players to Los Angeles and back during the week, and survived in style.

Tim Brown, the national captain, may have flagged a bit, but it was he who made the driving run forward from which Ifill angled the go-ahead goal into the net on 105 minutes.

"How they got through it I don't know," said Ifill, of Brown and the three other travel-weary All Whites.

Newcastle did not look enough to win the title, but the Phoenix certainly do.

Here's hoping they can do it away from their stupendous home crowd support.