Soccer: Struggling Phoenix look for spark

Feeling his pain: Paul Ifill's face says it all for the Wellington Phoenix' start to the season. Photo / Getty Images.

In a twisted sort of way, Wednesday night's 1-4 drubbing at home by Brisbane Roar might be just what Wellington Phoenix require as they seek to awaken from a slumbering start to the A-League soccer season.

The talent-laden Phoenix, touted in Australia and New Zealand as serious title contenders after a preliminary final finish last season and what appeared to be good off-season recruiting, have not put together a 90-minute performance over the opening 12 rounds of the 30-match season.

Wellington are seventh with 12 points (three wins, three draws and six losses) and five points outside the top six.

They have relied on an air of invincibility at home to stay in touch but Brisbane's dismantling of them at Wellington Stadium has brought that remarkable two-year, 24-match unbeaten home run to an end, and coach Ricki Herbert will be hoping it provides a reality check for a team which have lacked spark for most of the season.

There is plenty of time remaining and the Phoenix have shown the ability to run hot - they won eight of their 10 last season before falling one match short of the grand final - but repeating that dose in such a tightly contested league will be tough.

Herbert, who has tinkered with his starting team and formation all season, has several concerns as they head to West Australia for Sunday's match against Perth Glory (9pm NZT).

His key players are not performing, his midfield is regularly being outplayed, there is too much reliance on wide players Leo Bertos and Paul Ifill to create opportunities and not enough attacking options through the middle, and his international back four has leaked 22 goals, including 12 in the past four matches.

Highly touted imports such as Australian international Jade North, Nick Ward, Dylan Macallister and Toto have all been benched to various degrees, and Herbert has again raised eyebrows by leaving midfielder Ward, who was initially thought to be the answer in central midfield, at home for the Perth trip, instead preferring teenager Marco Rojas.

But striker Chris Greenacre, who has found a way to score four goals despite lacking service, said the team felt they were not far away from a form reversal.

"The feeling in the camp is that collective mistakes are costing us," he told NZPA.

"We don't clear a ball or we don't take a chance, and we've found in recent weeks that we've been punished for it. Other times, when luck is on your side, those sort of mistakes don't have an impact on the result.

"We're not doing the little things right and we're get punished. But in this league a turnaround is never far away and a couple of wins gets you back in the top four."

Greenacre said there had been plenty of soul-searching but it was too simplistic to point the finger at the back four.

"We could probably defend better from the front backwards, it's a collective thing. We've got to look to put that right."

Perth have their own issues but they snapped a seven-match losing streak with a 0-0 draw at home to Melbourne Heart on Wednesday and are now level with Wellington, who have lost their past four matches in Perth, scoring one goal and conceding seven.

- NZPA