Wellington Phoenix’s 2015-16 season preparations are under way with a tour of Fiji resulting in a 2-1 win and a 2-2 draw against the Fijian national team.
The first game saw goals to Roly Bonevacia and Tom Doyle, with the fullback putting in a man of the match performance.
Roy Krishna scored Fiji’s lone goal, getting the chance to captain his home nation against his current club.
The second match saw the Phoenix dominate the first-half, with two goals in the opening 45 minutes to Justin Gulley – a member of the Phoenix’s academy side – and Kwabena Appiah.
However, Wellington dropped off in the second-half, allowing Fiji to score twice and earn a draw. Krishna found himself on the score sheet once again after another good performance.
Wellington coach Ernie Merrick used the tour as an opportunity to trial Australian striker Blake Powell, as well as test out some of the club’s youth players.
Powell featured heavily for Wellington as one-half of a two man strike force with Appiah.
The 24-year-old, who has played at A-League level before with Sydney FC in the 2012-13 season, had been playing in the New South Wales’ National Premier League with APIA Leichhardt and was the club’s top goal scorer in 2014.
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While plenty of Phoenix academy players got to test themselves against both the Fijian under 23’s team, many of whom had recently participated in the Under 20’s World Cup held in New Zealand, and play alongside the senior team.
Merrick was full of praise for the Bula Boys team and lauded the experience this tour provided for the club, “we got out of it [the tour] what we wanted and it’s a credit to the Fijian side they pushed a full time professional outfit all the way to the wire”.
This tour is one of many pre-season matches the Phoenix have to look forward to before the new season begins, where they will host Newcastle Jets in the opening round.
As reported on the club’s website, matches against A-League opposition in New South Wales as well as some domestic fixtures in New Zealand have been scheduled.
Wellington will also get a chance to test themselves in a competitive setting with their round of 32 clash against Central Coast Mariners in the FFA Cup, with a date and venue to be announced in the coming days.
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