2023–24 Wellington Phoenix FC season

The 2023–24 season is the 17th in the history of Wellington Phoenix Football Club. In addition to the domestic league, the club is participating in the Australia Cup for the ninth time.

Wellington Phoenix
2023–24 season
ChairmanRob Morrison
ManagerGiancarlo Italiano
StadiumSky Stadium
A-League Men8th
Australia CupRound of 16
Top goalscorerLeague:
All:
Nicholas Pennington
Josh Rudland
(1 each)
Biggest win2–1
vs. Peninsula Power (A)
(4 August 2023)
Australia Cup
Biggest defeat0–3
vs. Melbourne City (A)
(27 August 2023)
Australia Cup
All statistics correct as of 27 August 2023.

Overview

Pre-season

On 14 April 2023, it was announced that Ufuk Talay would depart the club at the end of the season. The following week, assistant coach Giancarlo Italiano was announced as the next head coach on a 2-year deal.[1][2]

On 10 May, the Phoenix announced the departures of eight players, including vice-captain Oliver Sail, Clayton Lewis, Steven Ugarkovic and Callan Elliot.[3]

On 11 May, the Phoenix announced their first signing of the off-season in Mohamed Al-Taay on a two-year deal from the Newcastle Jets.[4] On 18 May, it was announced that Nicholas Pennington had signed a one-year contract extension with the club.[5] On 9 June, the Phoenix announced the signing of Jack Duncan on a one-year deal.[6]

On 6 July, the Phoenix signed academy player Lukas Kelly-Heald on a four-year professional contract.[7] On 2 August, it was announced that Reserves midfielder Fin Conchie had signed a three-year professional contract with the club.[8] On 13 September, the club announced the signing of their academy captain Isaac Hughes on a two-year professional deal.[9] On 27 September, the Phoenix announced their final off-season signing in 17-year old Lukas Supyk, who had only joined the club's academy 5 months prior, on a three-year deal.[10] Despite initial criticism, these signings came as a result of the club putting greater emphasis on developing young New Zealand players.[11]

The Phoenix would made a positive start to pre-season with a 5–1 win over Western Suburbs in their first friendly. They would then go on to beat Wellington Olymic twice with an aggregate score of 5–1.

Australia Cup

The Phoenix progressed to the Round of 16 of the Australia Cup after a 2–1 win over NPL side Peninsula Power.[12] However, they would then succumb to a 3–0 loss against Melbourne City in the Round of 16, getting eliminated from the cup campaign in the process.[13]

A–League Men

The Phoenix are set to kick off their season on 22 October against the Western Sydney Wanderers in Sydney.[14]

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 New Zealand NZL Finn Surman
4 DF England ENG Scott Wootton
5 MF New Zealand NZL Fin Conchie
6 DF New Zealand NZL Tim Payne
7 FW New Zealand NZL Kosta Barbarouses
8 MF New Zealand NZL Ben Old
9 FW Poland POL Oskar Zawada
10 FW England ENG David Ball
11 MF Bulgaria BUL Bozhidar Kraev
12 MF Iraq IRQ Mohamed Al-Taay
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF New Zealand NZL Alex Rufer (captain)
15 MF Australia AUS Nicholas Pennington
18 DF New Zealand NZL Lukas Kelly-Heald
19 MF New Zealand NZL Sam Sutton
23 FW New Zealand NZL Luke Supyk (scholarship)
24 FW New Zealand NZL Oskar van Hattum
25 GK Australia AUS Jack Duncan
26 DF New Zealand NZL Isaac Hughes
40 GK New Zealand NZL Alex Paulsen

Transfers

Transfers in
No. Position Player Transferred from Type/fee Contract length Date Ref.
12 MF Iraq Mohamed Al-Taay Newcastle Jets Free transfer 2 years 11 May 2023 [15]
25 GK Australia Jack Duncan Newcastle Jets Free transfer 1 year 9 June 2023 [16]

Transfers out
No. Position Player Transferred to Type/fee Date Ref.
23 MF Clayton Lewis Unattached End of contract 9 May 2023 [17]
5 MF Australia Steven Ugarkovic Unattached End of contract 10 May 2023 [17]
12 DF Australia Lucas Mauragis Newcastle Jets End of loan 10 May 2023 [18]
15 DF Nikko Boxall Unattached End of contract 10 May 2023 [18]
17 DF Callan Elliot Unattached End of contract 10 May 2023 [18]
20 GK Oliver Sail Unattached End of contract 10 May 2023 [17]
21 DF Australia Joshua Laws Unattached End of contract 10 May 2023 [18]
31 MF Brazil Yan Sasse Unattached End of contract 10 May 2023 [18]

From youth squad
N
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Notes
18 DF New Zealand Lukas Kelly-Heald18 4-year senior contract[19]
5 MF New Zealand Fin Conchie19 3-year senior contract[20]
26 DF New Zealand Isaac Hughes19 2-year senior contract[21]
23 FW New Zealand Luke Supyk17 3-year contract, the first two of which are on scholarship terms.[22]

Contract extensions
No. Player Position Duration Date Notes Ref.
13 Australia Nicholas Pennington Central midfielder 1 year 18 May 2023 [23]

Pre-season and friendlies
26 July 2023 Wellington Phoenix 5–1 New Zealand Western Suburbs Wellington
 Report
  •  ? ?'
 Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
19 August 2023 Wellington Phoenix 2–0 New Zealand Wellington Olympic Wellington
 Report Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
16 September 2023 Wellington Phoenix 3–1 New Zealand Wellington Olympic Wellington
Report Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
7 October 2023 Newcastle Jets 2–2 Wellington Phoenix Sydney
 Report
Stadium: Valentine Sports Park
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
14 October 2023 Melbourne Victory 0–1 Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
Report
Stadium: City Vista Pavilion and Sports Field
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Competitions

Overall record
Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
A-League Men 22 October 2023 27 April 2024 Matchday 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 +0 000.00
Australia Cup 4 August 2023 27 August 2023 Round of 32 Round of 16 2 1 0 1 2 4 −2 050.00
Total 3 1 1 1 2 4 −2 033.33

Last updated: 22 October 2023
Source: Soccerway

A-League Men
Main article: 2023–24 A-League Men

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
6 Brisbane Roar 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1[lower-alpha 1] Qualification for Finals series[lower-alpha 2]
7 Macarthur FC 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1[lower-alpha 1]
8 Wellington Phoenix[lower-alpha 3] 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1[lower-alpha 4]
9 Western Sydney Wanderers 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1[lower-alpha 4] Qualification for 2024 Australia Cup play-offs
10 Melbourne City 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0
Updated to match(es) played on 22 October 2023. Source: Keepup.com.au
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) wins; 3) goal difference; 4) goals scored; 5) head-to-head results; 6) Fair Play points; 7) away goal difference; 8) away goals per match; 9) home goal difference; 10) home goals per match; 11) toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.[24]
Notes:
  1. Fair play points: Brisbane Roar 0, Macarthur FC –1.
  2. The top two teams enter the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the finals series at the elimination-finals.
  3. Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is under the Oceania Football Confederation.
  4. Fair play points: Wellington Phoenix –1, Western Sydney Wanderers –2.

Results summary
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
1 0 1 0 0 0  0 1 0 0 0 0 0  0 0 1 0 0 0  0

Last updated: 22 October 2023.
Source: Ultimate A-League

Results by round
Round1234567891011271314151617181920212223242526
GroundAHHAHAHAHAANHAAHAAHAHHAHAH
ResultD
Position8
Points1
Updated to match(es) played on 22 October 2023. Source: Ultimate A-League
A = Away; H = Home; N = Neutral; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

22 October 2023 1 Western Sydney Wanderers 0–0 Wellington Phoenix Sydney
15:00 AEDT Report Stadium: CommBank Stadium
Referee: Ben Abraham
28 October 2023 2 Wellington Phoenix v Perth Glory Wellington
17:30 NZDT Stadium: Sky Stadium
4 November 2023 3 Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar Wellington
17:30 NZDT Stadium: Sky Stadium
10 November 2023 4 Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
19:45 AEDT Stadium: AAMI Park
25 November 2023 5 Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City TBC
17:30 NZDT Stadium: TBC
2 December 2023 6 Western United v Wellington Phoenix TBC
15:30 AEDT Stadium: TBC
9 December 2023 7 Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets Wellington
19:30 NZDT Stadium: Sky Stadium
17 December 2023 8 Macarthur FC v Wellington Phoenix Sydney
19:00 AEDT Stadium: Campbelltown Stadium
23 December 2023 9 Wellington Phoenix v Western Sydney Wanderers Wellington
17:30 NZDT Stadium: Sky Stadium
29 December 2023 10 Sydney FC v Wellington Phoenix Sydney
19:45 AEDT Stadium: Allianz Stadium
4 January 2024 11 Adelaide United v Wellington Phoenix Adelaide
19:15 ACDT Stadium: Coopers Stadsium
14 January 2024 27 Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix Sydney
TBC AEDT Stadium: CommBank Stadium
19 January 2024 13 Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory Wellington
19:00 NZDT Stadium: Sky Stadium
27 January 2024 14 Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix Newcastle
18:00 AEDT Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
2 February 2024 15 Brisbane Roar v Wellington Phoenix Brisbane
18:45 AEST Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
10 February 2024 16 Wellington Phoenix v Western United Wellington
17:30 NZDT Stadium: Sky Stadium
16 February 2024 17 Macarthur FC v Wellington Phoenix Sydney
19:45 AEDT Stadium: Campbelltown Stadium
24 February 2024 18 Perth Glory v Wellington Phoenix Perth
18:45 AWST Stadium: HBF Park
3 March 2024 19 Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United Wellington
17:00 NZDT Stadium: Sky Stadium
9 March 2024 20 Melbourne City v Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
17:30 AEDT Stadium: AAMI Park
16 March 2024 21 Wellington Phoenix v Sydney FC TBC
17:30 NZDT Stadium: TBC
29 March 2024 22 Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar Wellington
19:00 NZDT Stadium: Sky Stadium
6 April 2024 23 Central Coast Mariners v Wellington Phoenix Gosford
TBC Stadium: Industree Group Stadium
12 April 2024 24 Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory Wellington
19:00 NZDT Stadium: Sky Stadium
19 April 2024 25 Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix Newcastle
19:45 AEST Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
27 April 2024 26 Wellington Phoenix v Macarthur FC Wellington
TBC Stadium: Sky Stadium
29 April 2024 12 Wellington Phoenix v Central Coast Mariners Wellington
17:00 NZDT Stadium: Sky Stadium

Australia Cup
Main article: 2023 Australia Cup

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

4 August 2023 Round of 32 Pensinula Power Queensland 1–2 (a.e.t.) Wellington Phoenix Brisbane
19:30 AEST
  • Greenwood 71'
 Report
Stadium: A.J. Kelly Park
Attendance: 1,000
Referee: Shane Skinner
27 August 2023 Round of 16 Melbourne City 3–0 Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
14:00 AEST
Report Stadium: Jack Edwards Reserve
Attendance: 1,153
Referee: Lachlan Keevers

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Includes all competitions. Players with no appearances not included in the list.

As of 22 October 2023
No. Pos. Nat. Player A-League Men Australia Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
3 DF New Zealand Finn Surman 10 20 30
4 MF England Scott Wooton 10 1+10 30
5 MF New Zealand Fin Conchie 0+10 00 10
6 DF New Zealand Tim Payne 10 20 30
7 FW New Zealand Kosta Barbarouses 10 20 30
8 MF New Zealand Ben Old 0+10 00 10
9 FW Poland Oskar Zawada 10 20 30
10 FW England David Ball 10 0+10 20
11 MF Bulgaria Bozhidar Kraev 10 20 30
12 MF Iraq Mohamed Al-Taay 0+10 10 20
14 MF New Zealand Alex Rufer 10 20 30
15 MF Australia Nicholas Pennington 10 21 31
18 DF New Zealand Lukas Kelly-Heald 10 20 30
19 MF New Zealand Sam Sutton 00 0+10 10
23 FW New Zealand Luke Supyk 00 0+10 10
24 FW New Zealand Oskar van Hattum 00 10 10
26 DF New Zealand Isaac Hughes 00 0+10 10
34 FW New Zealand Josh Rudland 00 1+11 21
36 FW New Zealand Ben Wallace 00 0+10 10
40 GK New Zealand Alex Paulsen 10 20 30
41 FW New Zealand Kaelin Nguyen 00 10 10
42 FW New Zealand Fergus Gillion 00 0+10 10

Disciplinary record

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total cards are equal. Players with no cards not included in the list.

As of 22 October 2023
Rank No. Pos. Nat. Name A-League Men Australia Cup Total
Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card
1 7 FW New Zealand Kosta Barbarouses 100 100 200
2 14 MF New Zealand Alex Rufer 000 100 100
15 MF New Zealand Nicholas Pennington 000 100 100
Total 100 300 400

Clean sheets

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total clean sheets are equal. Numbers in parentheses represent games where both goalkeepers participated and both kept a clean sheet; the number in parentheses is awarded to the goalkeeper who was substituted on, whilst a full clean sheet is awarded to the goalkeeper who was on the field at the start of play. Goalkeepers with no clean sheets not included in the list.

As of 22 October 2023
Rank No. Nat. Goalkeeper A-League Men Australia Cup Total
1 40 New Zealand Alex Paulsen 10 1
Total101

References
  1. Rollo, Phillip. "Ufuk Talay to finish up at Wellington Phoenix; new coach announced next week". Stuff.
  2. Pine, Jason. "Wellington Phoenix appoint Giancarlo Italiano to replace Ufuk Talay as men's head coach". The New Zealand Herald.
  3. "Men farewell departing players". Wellington Phoenix.
  4. "Men make first off-season signing". Wellington Phoenix.
  5. "Pennington signs on for another season". Wellington Phoenix.
  6. "Experienced 'keeper joins the Nix". Wellington Phoenix.
  7. "Nix sign young Wellington defender to landmark deal". Wellington Phoenix.
  8. "Reserves midfielder signs maiden pro contract". Wellington Phoenix.
  9. "Reserves captain graduates into the first team". Wellington Phoenix.
  10. "Nix sign NZ U-17 international to long-term deal". Wellington Phoenix.
  11. Rollo, Phillip. "Wellington Phoenix coach on board with club's new strategy". Stuff.
  12. "Wellington Phoenix debutants star with winning goal in extra-time Australia Cup strike". Stuff.
  13. Rollo, Phillip. "Former player Steven Ugarkovic haunts Wellington Phoenix in Australia Cup". Wellington Phoenix.
  14. "Feast of football continues in the capital". Wellington Phoenix.
  15. "Men make first off season signing". Wellington Phoenix. 11 May 2023.
  16. "Experienced 'keeper joins the Nix". Wellington Phoenix. 9 June 2023.
  17. Rollo, Phillip (3 March 2023). "Wellington Phoenix exodus: Oli Sail, Clayton Lewis and Steven Ugarkovic to leave next season". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  18. "Men farewell departing players". Wellington Phoenix. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  19. "Nix sign young Wellington defender to landmark deal". Wellington Phoenix. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  20. "Reserves midfielder signs maiden pro contract". Wellington Phoenix. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  21. "Reserves captain graduates into the first team". Wellington Phoenix. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  22. "Nix sign NZ U-17 international to long-term deal". Wellington Phoenix. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  23. "Pennington sign on for another season". Wellington Phoenix. 18 May 2023.
  24. "Competition rules".
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