Melbourne Victory celebrate as the Phoenix are left heartbroken. Photo / Photosport
By Michael Burgess in Wellington
As Wellington Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano waited on the field for a post-match interview, the rain began to fall. It wasn’t heavy - more of a drizzle - but felt appropriate, given the damp mood.
Around him, Phoenix players didn’t quite know where to look, or what to do. Goalkeeper Alex Paulsen took some photos with his extended family, while Ben Old shook hands and posed for selfies, though it was hard to raise a smile.
Striker Oskar Zawada was signing autographs near the players’ tunnel, the same place he had almost ended up 40 minutes earlier in the chaotic celebrations that followed his 99th-minute equaliser, while fellow forward Kosta Barbarouses walked around with his young daughter in tow.
Fans were still milling around but the singing had stopped, and most of the crowd had disappeared into the Wellington night. The Herald stopped to shake hands with Italiano.
”Congratulations on the season,” I said. “But that was tough, really tough.”
”Yeah, that’s football,” he said. “That’s the sport. But after that goal, I thought we had it, I thought it was ours”.
So did everyone, Chiefy, so did everyone.
Earlier, Wellington was primed for a party. Even on Saturday morning, there were Phoenix scarves and flags and shirts everywhere, with plenty on the flight down from Auckland.
“I’m confident - very confident” said one fan, before her husband interjected, saying with a grin, “I’m worried it will go to penalties.”
In the afternoon, Cuba St, Courtenay Place and Lambton Quay were covered in yellow and black. The game had been sold out since Friday and the club estimated that more than 8000 fans were coming from outside the Wellington region for the historic match.
There were “Retro Ricki” T-shirts, along with shirts bearing other names of the past like Andrew Durante, Paul Ifill and Roy Krishna. The concourse was already packed a full hour before kickoff while down below the Phoenix team were going through final preparations, with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon stopping by.
The players entered the field to a hearty applause, though the biggest cheers were reserved for Italiano, who has become a cult figure. The Yellow Fever unfurled a massive “Hail the Chief” banner, while the superstitious Italiano stopped to shake hands with the groundsman.
The noise ahead of kickoff was almost unprecedented, probably comparable only to those finals matches of 2010. But the Phoenix settled quickly; Alex Rufer won his headers, Old scorched defenders with his first run, Barbarouses got an early shot away.
However, the Victory squad, who had much more finals experience, coped well, especially the grizzly veterans in their defence. The Phoenix had more chances but couldn’t convert, while the visitors gradually grew more confident. Bozhidar Kraev thought he had scored early in the second half – after slippery work from Old – but his header glanced wide.
Then came the first big flashpoint, with another strange penalty decision to add to the VAR hall of fame. The Phoenix couldn’t capitalise on their lucky break, with Rufer’s penalty anticipated by Paul Izzo. It was Rufer’s second recent miss, after another went astray in the penultimate league game against Newcastle.
”He is brave to take it,” Italiano would say later in the post-match press conference. “After Newcastle, the fact that he wanted to step up and do it. I’m never going to question a professional player that has to be scrutinised by 34,000 people in a stadium, and on top of that all the idiots on social media that think they know better. If someone wants to step up and they miss, they miss. It happens all the time.”
That stung but the Phoenix recovered well. Old produced a beautiful feint and was suddenly alone in the box, but his shot - which beat Izzo - crashed off the post. It was a big moment, magnified with Adama Traore’s bullet hit, his first A-League goal in a decade.
From there, the Phoenix were fighting the clock. They tried to stay composed and stick to their patterns, but started to fling in more crosses, knowing that had to be direct. Victory were sitting deeper, soaking up the punches. Just when hope was almost gone came the moment that will live forever in club folklore.
The long pass from Sam Sutton, the header from Oskar van Hattum, another flick from Barbarouses and then Zawada’s calm finish. Cue mayhem. Cue pandemonium. Paulsen raced the length of the field to celebrate. It was probably the biggest outpouring of joy at Wellington stadium since the All Whites beat Bahrain in 2009, the kind of unscripted moment no one can quite believe. Even in the packed media box there was an explosion of joy and almost hugs.
“That was the best feeling, scoring in the last minute, I think I have experienced in my life,” said Italiano. “It was something I will never forget, hopefully the fans will never forget. It was amazing.”
Seconds later the full-time whistle blew and surely there was only one option now. Victory coach Tony Popovic tried to rally his troops for extra time but heads were down, knowing how close they had been to a grand final ticket, while the Phoenix were bouncing.
”All the momentum at the end of the game, I’ve never felt a buzz like that in my life,” said Italiano. “I just told the boys, ‘That’s it, we have got it. It is just a matter of keep applying yourselves, keep working the ball’.”
But the sequel never came. The Phoenix dominated the first period of extra time before another sucker punch, with the scrappy Chris Ikonomidis goal from a set piece in the 102nd minute. It was well worked but messy defending, from a team who have been the best in the league without the ball.
Time seemed to race after that and there would be no second champagne moment, despite chances falling to Youstin Salas, Zawada and Old. The crowd never stopped singing, even increasing in volume, not wanting the moment to end. But it did, as Phoenix players fell to their knees, knowing that the wait for a grand final appearance would go on.
The final word went to Italiano, in front of a crowded room of journalists and cameras. After shaking everyone’s hand upon entry – his tradition – he managed to sum up what everyone was feeling.
”It’s a bit numbing,” said Italiano. “It’s disappointing. If we had come here and didn’t make chances and we weren’t in the game, I could accept that, but the fact that we had so much of the ball, we made so many chances, we were brave in a lot of our decisions.
“[But] you watch enough football, you realise the best thing about this game, is that [not always] does the best team win. It’s a beautiful part.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. A football aficionado, Burgess will never forget the noise that greeted Rory Fallon’s goal against Bahrain in Wellington in 2009.
The pitch-invading pup managed to evade capture for almost a minute.