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Wellington Phoenix had to lament a costly defensive error after falling in a lethargic 1-0 loss to A-League newcomers Macarthur on Sunday.
Macarthur midfielder Denis Genreau punished Phoenix for a sloppy punt to score the only goal of the game in the 65th minute, following a cautious first half with no clear chances at Wollongong’s WIN Stadium.
Genreau was on hand to save the follow-up effort when a deflected cross from Ivan Franjic forced Oli Sail to deflect an inadvertent backward pass from teammate Tim Payne, but only in Genreau’s path.
Ryan Pierse / Getty Images
Macarthur midfielder Denis Genreau celebrates after scoring the great goal against the Phoenix.
“It was a very, very close match. Both teams were very disciplined without the ball. We created the best opportunities in the game and I think a defensive error led to the goal and we walked away with a 1-0 loss, ”said Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay.
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Sunday’s game, the Phoenix’s third in eight days, will not last in memory as two strong defenders canceled each other out for long stretches, even after Phoenix lost Steven Taylor to an early leg injury.
“He played a ball to Louis [Fenton] at first and I felt his quad tighten up a bit so it was one of those where he probably could have kept going, but we don’t want him out for long. “
Mark Kolbe / Getty Images
Alex Rufer and Loic Puyo compete for possession during Sunday’s game between Phoenix and Macarthur.
Phoenix matched Macarthur with 13 shots, but Talay’s men could only handle two on goal, both easily saved by goalkeeper Adam Federici, and they were caught offside eight times.
“Obviously it was the third game in seven [eight] days and I don’t think we played with the same intensity as in the last two games.
“It was a little warmer to play at four o’clock [local time] so it was a bit slow tempo.
“There were times when we could have penetrated, but we decided to keep possession of the ball and I think we could have been more positive and more courageous.”
The spirited Ben Waine provided much-needed energy from the bench and created two of Phoenix’s best chances by throwing dangerous crosses from the right for his fellow substitutes Jaushua Sotirio and Charles Lokoli-Ngoy, but they were unable to provide the required finishing touch to find. a late equalizer.
“I think Waineo did a fantastic job on the right side. He has played as a winger before and put up some good deliveries in the area. There was one where if we had someone attacking him, we could have matched. “
Its seventh loss of the season has left Phoenix languishing in ninth place, four points behind the top six.
They have played two more games than the three teams directly above them at the table and face high-flying Melbourne City on Easter Monday.
“It hurts us but at the same time there are many more games and many teams that we have not played. We haven’t played Western United and we haven’t played Adelaide and we still have to play Perth a couple of times, ”Talay said.
“There are still games there and it is very important that we maximize the games that we still need to play.”
Macarthur 1 (Denis Genreau 65 ‘) Wellington Phoenix 0
HT: 0-0
