2021–22 Wellington Phoenix FC season

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Wellington Phoenix
2021–22 season
ChairmanRob Morrison
ManagerUfuk Talay
StadiumWIN Stadium
(Due to Coronavirus travel restrictions)
Sky Stadium
Eden Park
A-League10th
FFA CupQuarter-finals
Top goalscorerLeague: Gary Hooper (2)
All: Jaushua Sotirio
Ben Waine
(3 each)
Highest home attendance1,948 (vs. Western Sydney Wanderers, 3 December 2021, A-League)
Lowest home attendance1,512 (vs. Central Coast Mariners, 27 November 2021, A-League)
Average home league attendance1,730
Biggest win4–1
(vs. Avondale FC (A), 14 December 2021, FFA Cup)
Biggest defeat0–4
(vs. Newcastle Jets (A), 10 December 2021, A-League)
← 2020–21
2022–23 →
All statistics correct as of 19 December 2021.

The 2021–22 season will be Wellington Phoenix's 15th season since its establishment in 2007. The club will be participating in the A-League for the 15th time.

Pre-season[]

The Phoenix finished 7th in the 2020-21 A-League season, one point short of finals series.[1] On 21 May, the Phoenix announced that head coach Ufuk Talay had signed a 2-year contract extension with the club.[2]

June[]

On 9 June, the Phoenix confirmed the departure of captain Ulises Dávila in spite of the club's record-setting efforts to retain him. He would later sign for Macarthur FC.[3][4] On 10 June, the departure of Stefan Marinovic was confirmed by the Phoenix after he had signed with Israeli club Hapoel Nof HaGalil.[5][6] On 15 June, the Phoenix announced the return of Gary Hooper on a two-year deal.[7] On 23 June, the Phoenix re-signed Joshua Laws on a two-year contract.[8] Following the conclusion of the 2020-21 A-League season, on 25 June, the Phoenix confirmed the departure of Cameron Devlin, Liam McGing, Luke DeVere, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, Matthew Ridenton, Charles Lokolingoy, and Mirza Muratovic.[9] On 30 June, it was announced that left-back James McGarry signed a one-year contract extension.[10]

July[]

On 10 July, it was announced that Tomer Hemed would not be re-signing with the club for the 2021-22 A-League season. Hemed had finished as the Phoenix's top goal-scorer with 11 goals. He would later sign for Western Sydney Wanderers.[11][12] On 29 July, it was announced that defender Callan Elliot, who had previously played for the club, had returned on a two-year deal.[13] On 30 July, the Phoenix announced the signing of Australian midfielder Nicholas Pennington on a two-year deal.[14]

September[]

On 13 September, the Phoenix announced that academy players Ben Old and Alex Paulsen had signed three-year professional contracts with the club.[15] On 27 September, Steven Taylor announced his shock retirement just days after being named captain.[16]

October[]

On 13 October, the Phoenix bolstered their defensive stocks by securing a season-long loan deal for 20-year-old Melbourne Victory centre-back Matthew Bozinovski.[17] On 18 October, the Phoenix announced the signing of Olyroo Luka Prso on a one-year deal.[18] On 22 October, the Phoenix signed reserve team players George Ott and Kurtis Mogg on one-year scholarship contracts ahead of the A-League Men season.[19]

November[]

Players[]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF North Macedonia MKD Matthew Bozinovski (on loan from Melbourne Victory)
5 DF New Zealand NZL James McGarry
6 DF New Zealand NZL Tim Payne
7 MF Mexico MEX Gael Sandoval (on loan from Guadalajara)
8 MF New Zealand NZL Ben Old
9 FW England ENG David Ball
10 FW Australia AUS Reno Piscopo
11 MF Australia AUS Jaushua Sotirio
12 MF Australia AUS Luka Prso
13 MF Australia AUS Nicholas Pennington
14 MF New Zealand NZL Alex Rufer (captain)
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 DF New Zealand NZL Louis Fenton
17 DF New Zealand NZL Callan Elliot
18 FW New Zealand NZL Ben Waine
19 MF New Zealand NZL Sam Sutton
20 GK New Zealand NZL Oliver Sail (vice-captain)
21 DF Australia AUS Joshua Laws
23 MF New Zealand NZL Clayton Lewis
31 DF England ENG Kurtis Mogg (scholarship)
32 FW New Zealand NZL (scholarship)
40 GK New Zealand NZL Alex Paulsen
88 FW England ENG Gary Hooper

Other players with first-team appearances

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
33 DF New Zealand NZL Finn Surman
34 MF New Zealand NZL
43 FW New Zealand NZL Oskar van Hattum

Transfers[]

From youth squad[]

N
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Notes
8 MF New Zealand Ben Old 19 3-year senior contract[15]
40 GK New Zealand Alex Paulsen 19 3-year senior contract[15]
31 DF England Kurtis Mogg 20 1-year scholarship contract[19]
32 FW New Zealand 20 1-year scholarship contract[19]

Transfers in[]

No. Position Player Transferred from Type/fee Contract length Date Ref
88 FW England Gary Hooper Unattached Free transfer 2 years 15 June 2021 [7]
17 DF Callan Elliot Greece Xanthi Free transfer 2 years 29 July 2021 [13]
13 MF Australia Nicholas Pennington Italy Olbia Free transfer 2 years 30 July 2021 [14]
3 DF North Macedonia Matthew Bozinovski Melbourne Victory Loan 1 year 13 October 2021 [17]
12 MF Australia Luka Prso Croatia Osijek Free transfer 1 year 18 October 2021 [18]
7 MF Mexico Gael Sandoval Mexico Guadalajara Loan 1 year 21 December 2021 [20]

Transfers out[]

No. Position Player Transferred to Type/fee Date Ref
10 MF Mexico Ulises Dávila Macarthur FC End of contract 20 May 2021 [4]
1 GK Stefan Marinovic Israel Hapoel Nof HaGalil End of contract 31 May 2021 [6]
2 DF Australia Liam McGing Unattached End of contract 25 June 2021 [9]
3 DF Australia Luke DeVere Unattached End of contract 25 June 2021 [9]
4 DF Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi Unattached Mutual contract termination 25 June 2021 [9]
8 MF Australia Cameron Devlin Unattached End of contract 25 June 2021 [9]
12 MF Matthew Ridenton Unattached End of contract 25 June 2021 [9]
13 FW Australia Charles Lokolingoy Unattached End of contract 25 June 2021 [9]
15 MF Australia Mirza Muratovic Unattached End of contract 25 June 2021 [9]
17 FW Israel Tomer Hemed Western Sydney Wanderers End of contract 11 July 2021 [12]
27 DF England Steven Taylor Retired 27 September 2021 [16]

Contract extensions[]

No. Name Position Duration Date Notes
21 Australia Joshua Laws Centre-back 2 years 23 June 2021 [8]
5 James McGarry Left-back 1 year 30 June 2021 [10]

Technical staff[]

Position Name
Head coach Australia Ufuk Talay
Assistant coach England Chris Greenacre
Assistant coach/Head analyst Australia Giancarlo Italiano
Goalkeeping coach England Paul Gothard
Head physiotherapist Scotland Ben Venn
Strength & conditioning coach New Zealand Aidan Wivell

Friendlies[]

25 September 2021 Wellington Phoenix New Zealand 2–0 New Zealand Miramar Rangers Wellington, New Zealand
  • Sotirio Goal
  • Waine Goal
 Report
2 October 2021 Wellington Phoenix New Zealand 1–1 New Zealand Wellington Olympic Wellington, New Zealand
 Report
  • Goal
9 October 2021 Wellington Phoenix New Zealand 1–0 New Zealand Western Suburbs Wellington, New Zealand
NZST
Report
16 October 2021 Wellington Phoenix New Zealand 2–0 New Zealand Miramar Rangers Wellington, New Zealand
 Report
23 October 2021 Wellington Phoenix New Zealand 3–0 New Zealand Western Suburbs Wellington, New Zealand
NZST
Report Stadium:
2 November 2021 Central Coast Mariners Australia 0–1 New Zealand Wellington Phoenix Sydney, Australia
11:00 AEDT Report
Stadium:
6 November 2021 Western Sydney Wanderers Australia 1–2 New Zealand Wellington Phoenix Sydney, Australia
18:00 AEDT
Report
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
13 November 2021 Sydney FC Australia 1–0 New Zealand Wellington Phoenix Sydney, Australia
17:00 AEDT
Report Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Competitions[]

Overview[]

Competition First match Last match Starting round Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
A-League 21 November 2021 TBD Matchday 1 5 1 1 3 4 10 −6 020.00
FFA Cup 7 December 2021 TBD Round of 32 2 2 0 0 5 1 +4 100.00
Total 7 3 1 3 9 11 −2 042.86

Last updated: 19 December 2021
Source: Competitions

A-League[]

Main article: 2021–22 A-League Men

League table[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
8 Western Sydney Wanderers 5 1 2 2 4 6 −2 5 Qualification to round of 32[a]
9 Perth Glory 4 1 1 2 4 3 +1 4
10 Wellington Phoenix[b] 5 1 1 3 4 10 −6 4
11 Adelaide United 5 0 3 2 4 6 −2 3
12 Brisbane Roar 4 0 1 3 1 6 −5 1
Updated to match(es) played on 26 December 2021. Source: A-League Men
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Points per game; 5) Least red cards; 6) Least yellow cards; 7) Toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
Notes:
  1. ^ The top 8 teams qualify for the round of 32, while the bottom four teams participate in a playoff round.[21]
  2. ^ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they come from New Zealand, which is under the Oceania Football Confederation.

Results summary[]

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
5 1 1 3 4 10  −6 4 1 0 1 2 3  −1 0 1 2 2 7  −5

Last updated: 20 December 2021.
Source: ultimatealeague.com

Results by matchday[]

Game Week12345678910111213141516171819202122232425
GroundAHHAAAAHHAAHHHHAHAAHAHHHA
ResultDWLLL
Position737910
Updated to match(es) played on 20 December 2021. Source: A-League Men
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Notes: Positions show the situation at the end of the corresponding Game Weeks (GW); not the position at the conclusion of matches or game days

Matches[]

  Win   Draw   Loss

21 November 2021 1 Macarthur FC 1–1 Wellington Phoenix Newcastle
18:45 AEDT
Report
Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
Attendance: 1,188
Referee: Ben Abraham
27 November 2021 2 Wellington Phoenix 2–1 Central Coast Mariners Wollongong
17:05 AEST
Report
Stadium: WIN Stadium
Attendance: 1,512
Referee: Jack Morgan
3 December 2021 3 Wellington Phoenix 0–2 Western Sydney Wanderers Wollongong
19:45 AEST Report
Stadium: WIN Stadium
Attendance: 1,948
Referee: Tim Danaskos
10 December 2021 4 Newcastle Jets 4–0 Wellington Phoenix Newcastle
19:45 AEST
Report Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
Attendance: 6,332
Referee: Lachlan Keevers
19 December 2021 5 Sydney FC 2–1 Wellington Phoenix Sydney
18:45 AEST
Report
Stadium: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Attendance: 5,150
Referee: Ben Abraham
TBD 6 Central Coast Mariners Postponed Wellington Phoenix Gosford
Source Stadium: Central Coast Stadium
1 January 2022 7 Adelaide United v Wellington Phoenix Adelaide
19:35 ACDT Source Stadium: Coopers Stadium
5 January 2022 8 Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar Wollongong
16:00 AEST Source Stadium: WIN Stadium
8 January 2022 9 Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets Wollongong
16:00 AEST Source Stadium: WIN Stadium
15 January 2022 10 Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix Perth
18:15 AWST Source Stadium: HBF Park
TBC 11 Western United v Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
19:05 AEST Source Stadium: AAMI Park
29 January 2022 12 Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory TBA
19:05 AEST Source
5 February 2022 13 Wellington Phoenix v Macarthur FC TBA
20:00 AEDT Source
12 February 2022 14 Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United TBA
16:10 AEST Source
19 February 2022 15 Wellington Phoenix v Sydney FC TBA
17:00 AEDT Source
27 February 2022 16 Western Sydney Wanderers v Wellington Phoenix Sydney
19:05 AEST Source Stadium: Bankwest Stadium
6 March 2022 17 Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City TBA
19:00 AEST Source
12 March 2022 18 Brisbane Roar v Wellington Phoenix Brisbane
17:05 AEDT Source Stadium: Dolphin Oval
18 March 2022 19 Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix Newcastle
18:10 AEST Source Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
26 March 2022 20 Wellington Phoenix v Perth Glory Wollongong
16:00 AEST Source Stadium: WIN Stadium
1 April 2022 21 Melbourne City v Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
16:05 AEST Source Stadium: AAMI Park
9 April 2022 22 Wellington Phoenix v Western United Wollongong
14:05 NZDT Source Stadium: WIN Stadium
16 April 2022 23 Wellington Phoenix v Central Coast Mariners Wollongong
16:05 AEST Source Stadium: WIN Stadium
24 April 2022 24 Wellington Phoenix v Western Sydney Wanderers Wollongong
18:10 AEST Source Stadium: WIN Stadium
29 April 2022 25 Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
19:05 AEST Source Stadium: AAMI Park

FFA Cup[]

Main article: 2021 FFA Cup
7 December 2021 Round of 32 Western United Victoria (Australia) 0–1 New Zealand Wellington Phoenix Geelong
19:30 AEDT Report
Stadium: GMHBA Stadium
Attendance: 1,217
Referee: Jack Morgan
14 December 2021 Round of 16 Avondale FC Victoria (Australia) 1–4 New Zealand Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
19:30 AEDT
  • Goal 74'
 Report
Stadium: ABD Stadium
Quarter-finals Melbourne City Victoria (Australia) Postponed New Zealand Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
Postponement Stadium: Casey Fields

Squad statistics[]

Appearances and goals[]

As of 19 December 2021
No. Pos Nat Player Total A-League FFA Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Goalkeepers:
20 GK New Zealand NZL Oli Sail 7 0 5 0 2 0
40 GK New Zealand NZL Alex Paulsen 1 0 0+1 0 0 0
Defenders:
3 DF North Macedonia MKD Matthew Bozinovski 2 0 0+1 0 1 0
5 DF New Zealand NZL James McGarry 4 0 4 0 0 0
6 DF New Zealand NZL Tim Payne 6 0 5 0 1 0
16 DF New Zealand NZL Louis Fenton 4 0 1+1 0 2 0
17 DF New Zealand NZL Callan Elliot 6 0 4+1 0 0+1 0
21 DF Australia AUS Joshua Laws 6 0 5 0 1 0
31 DF England ENG Kurtis Mogg 1 0 0 0 1 0
33 DF New Zealand NZL Finn Surman 2 0 0 0 1+1 0
Midfielders:
7 MF Mexico MEX Gael Sandoval 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 MF New Zealand NZL Ben Old 6 0 2+3 0 1 0
11 MF Australia AUS Jaushua Sotirio 6 3 2+2 1 1+1 2
12 MF Australia AUS Luka Prso 2 1 0 0 1+1 1
13 MF Australia AUS Nicholas Pennington 6 0 0+4 0 2 0
14 MF New Zealand NZL Alex Rufer 6 0 5 0 1 0
19 MF New Zealand NZL Sam Sutton 4 0 1+1 0 1+1 0
23 MF New Zealand NZL Clayton Lewis 7 0 5 0 1+1 0
34 MF New Zealand NZL 0 0 0 0 0 0
Forwards:
9 FW England ENG David Ball 7 0 5 0 1+1 0
10 FW Australia AUS Reno Piscopo 6 0 5 0 1 0
18 FW New Zealand NZL Ben Waine 7 3 2+3 1 2 2
32 FW New Zealand NZL 0 0 0 0 0 0
43 FW New Zealand NZL Oskar van Hattum 3 0 0+1 0 1+1 0
88 FW England ENG Gary Hooper 4 2 4 2 0 0

Goalscorers[]

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by squad number when total goals are equal.

As of 19 December 2021
Rank Pos. No. Player A-League FFA Cup Total
1 MF 11 Australia Jaushua Sotirio 1 2 3
FW 18 New Zealand Ben Waine 1 2 3
3 FW 88 England Gary Hooper 2 0 2
4 MF 12 Australia Luka Prso 0 1 1

Clean sheets[]

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by squad number when total clean sheets are equal.

As of 19 December 2021
Rank Pos. No. Player A-League FFA Cup Total
1 GK 20 New Zealand Oli Sail 0 1 1

Disciplinary records[]

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted by squad number when total disciplinary records are equal.

As of 19 December 2021
Pos. No. Name A-League FFA Cup Total
Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card
FW 9 England David Ball 3 0 1 0 4 0
MF 14 New Zealand Alex Rufer 2 0 0 0 2 0
DF 6 New Zealand Tim Payne 1 0 0 0 1 0
MF 8 New Zealand Ben Old 0 0 1 0 1 0
MF 13 Australia Nicholas Pennington 0 0 1 0 1 0
DF 17 New Zealand Callan Elliot 1 0 0 0 1 0
MF 19 New Zealand Sam Sutton 0 0 1 0 1 0
MF 23 New Zealand Clayton Lewis 1 0 0 0 1 0
FW 88 England Gary Hooper 1 0 0 0 1 0

References[]

  1. ^ Rollo, Phillip (5 June 2021). "Wellington Phoenix rue poor start after finishing one point short of finals series". Stuff.co.nz.
  2. ^ Rollo, Phillip (21 May 2021). "Coach Ufuk Talay sticking with Wellington Phoenix after signing contract extension". Stuff.co.nz.
  3. ^ "Wellington Phoenix Confirm Davila's Departure from Club". Wellington Phoenix. 9 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b Rollo, Phillip (20 May 2021). "Wellington Phoenix captain Ulises Davila to join rival A-League club Macarthur". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Wellington Phoenix Farewell Stefan Marinovic". Wellington Phoenix. 10 June 2021.
  6. ^ a b Rollo, Phillip (31 May 2021). "Israeli Premier League club announces signing of Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  7. ^ a b Rollo, Phillip (15 June 2021). "Former Celtic star Gary Hooper returning to Wellington Phoenix on two-year deal". Stuff.co.nz.
  8. ^ a b "Wellington Phoenix Re-Signs Joshua Laws". Wellington Phoenix. 23 June 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Rollo, Phillip (25 June 2021). "Starting midfielder Cam Devlin among seven players leaving the Wellington Phoenix". Stuff.co.nz.
  10. ^ a b Rollo, Phillip (30 June 2021). "All Whites defender James McGarry re-signs with Wellington Phoenix". Stuff.co.nz.
  11. ^ "Hemed Departs Wellington Phoenix". Wellington Phoenix. 10 July 2021.
  12. ^ a b Rollo, Phillip (11 July 2021). "Tomer Hemed joins Western Sydney Wanderers after leaving Wellington Phoenix". Stuff.co.nz.
  13. ^ a b Rollo, Phillip (29 July 2021). "OlyWhites defender Callan Elliot returning to Wellington Phoenix". Stuff.co.nz.
  14. ^ a b Rollo, Phillip (30 July 2021). "The next Reno Piscopo? Wellington Phoenix sign Australian-Italian midfielder". Stuff. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
  15. ^ a b c "Wellington Phoenix Sign Academy Players Ben Old and Alex Paulsen". Wellington Phoenix. 13 September 2021.
  16. ^ a b Rollo, Phillip (27 September 2021). "Wellington Phoenix defender Steven Taylor retires days after being named captain". Stuff.co.nz.
  17. ^ a b Rollo, Phillip (13 October 2021). "Wellington Phoenix sign young defender on loan from Melbourne Victory". Stuff.co.nz.
  18. ^ a b Rollo, Phillip (18 October 2021). "Wellington Phoenix men sign Australia under-23 midfielder Luka Pršo". Stuff.
  19. ^ a b c Rollo, Phillip (22 October 2021). "Wellington Phoenix sign George Ott and Kurtis Mogg on scholarship deals". Stuff.
  20. ^ "Mexican Playmaker Joins Phoenix on Loan". Wellington Phoenix. 21 December 2021.
  21. ^ "FFA Cup to introduce Hyundai A-League play-off process from 2020". Football Federation Australia. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
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