The Nix got off to a flyer with Gary Hoopers 13th minute goal on his first start for his new side, before Mexican maestro Ulises Davila grabbed his ninth of the season in just 12 games.
Central Coast did manage to peg one back through an own goal through Luke DeVere on the stroke of half time - which head coach Ufuk Talay was less than impressed about. “We conceded, for me, an easy goal from the set-piece but it happens in football,” he said.
Matching up
Phoenix didn’t play very well in the second 45 and made life much harder for themselves than was necessary against the league’s second bottom side. As a result of that, and the Mariners pushing for an equaliser, Talay was forced to make a tactical swap as he brought on Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi for Callum McCowatt as the side swapped to a 4-5-1 formation.
“It looked like a 4-3-3 but it was more of a 4-5-1,” explained the head coach. “We play with three 6s and I took one from the top because they were playing with two 6s and two 10s, but one of their 6s was pushing through. At times I thought we were getting picked off, so we just matched up their 10s with our 6s.”
Closing in
And it was enough to secure the win and help Wellington move their way to fourth in the table, just four points behind Melbourne City in second. Sydney FC are running away at the top of the A-League and have dropped just four points all season - one of them in a 2-2 draw against the Nix on the 21st of December.