# 2018–19 Wellington Phoenix FC season

The 2018–19 Wellington Phoenix season was the club's 12th season since its establishment in 2007. The club participated in the A-League for the 12th time, the FFA Cup for the fifth time, and fielded a reserves squad in the ISPS Handa Premiership for the fifth time.

## Review

This season marked the club surpassing its record of 7 games unbeaten to 9 games unbeaten. Roy Krishna became Wellington Phoenix's all time leading goal scorer overtaking Paul Ifill's record of 33 and also broke the record for most goals in a single season for the club with 19. The club also broke its record of biggest home attendance for a non-final match with 23,648 people against Melbourne Victory in Eden Park on 15 February 2019. This season was the first time since 2015 the Phoenix played in the Finals Series. However, they lost 3-1 in the elimination final to Melbourne Victory.

## Players
### Squad information

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | POL | Filip Kurto |
| 3 | DF | NZL | Justin Gulley |
| 4 | MF | ESP | Mandi |
| 5 | DF | AUS | Ryan Lowry |
| 7 | FW | IRL | Cillian Sheridan |
| 9 | FW | AUS | Nathan Burns |
| 11 | FW | AUS | David Williams |
| 12 | DF | AUS | Antony Golec |
| 13 | DF | NZL | Liberato Cacace |
| 14 | MF | NZL | Alex Rufer |
| 15 | MF | POL | Michał Kopczyński |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | DF | NZL | Louis Fenton |
| 17 | MF | NZL | Callan Elliot |
| 18 | MF | NZL | Sarpreet Singh |
| 19 | DF | NZL | Tom Doyle |
| 20 | GK | NZL | Oliver Sail |
| 21 | FW | FIJ | Roy Krishna |
| 22 | DF | NZL | Andrew Durante (captain) |
| 23 | MF | AUS | Max Burgess |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Steven Taylor |
| 31 | FW | NZL | Ben Waine (scholarship) |
| 32 | MF | AUS | Gianni Stensness (scholarship) |

### From youth squad

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | Notes |
| 13 | DF | Liberato Cacace | 17 | 2-year professional contract |
| 31 | FW | Ben Waine | 17 | academy player |
| 32 | MF | Gianni Stensness | 20 | 1-year professional contract |

### Transfers in

| No. | Position | Player | Transferred from | Type/fee | Contract length | Date |
| 27 | DF | Steven Taylor | Peterborough United | Free transfer | 1 year | 10 July 2018 |
| 1 | GK | Filip Kurto | Roda JC | Free transfer | 1 year | 18 July 2018 |
| 16 | MF | Louis Fenton | | Free transfer | 1 year | 22 July 2018 |
| 8 | MF | Mitch Nichols | | Free transfer | 2 years | 23 July 2018 |
| 11 | FW | David Williams | | Free transfer | 1 year | 23 July 2018 |
| 15 | MF | Michał Kopczyński | Legia Warsaw | Loan | 1 year | 25 July 2018 |
| 23 | MF | Max Burgess | Sydney Olympic | Free transfer | 1 year | 11 October 2018 |
| 4 | MF | Mandi | Almería | Free transfer | 1 year | 12 October 2018 |
| 3 | MF | Reuben Way | Heidelberg United | Free transfer | 1 year | 17 October 2018 |
| 17 | MF | Callan Elliot | Tasman United | Free transfer | 1 year | 17 October 2018 |
| 40 | GK | Ante Covic | | Injury replacement | 1 week | 6 December 2018 |
| 7 | FW | Cillian Sheridan | | Free transfer | 1 year | 3 January 2019 |
| 3 | DF | Justin Gulley | Team Wellington | Free transfer | | 29 January 2019 |
| 12 | DF | Antony Golec | Central Coast Mariners | Free transfer | 1 year | 30 January 2019 |

### Transfers out

| No. | Position | Player | Transferred to | Type/fee | Date |
| 13 | DF | Marco Rossi | | Free transfer | 18 April 2018 |
| 10 | MF | Michael McGlinchey | | Mutual contract termination | 1 May 2018 |
| 30 | GK | Keegan Smith | Lower Hutt City | Free transfer | 4 May 2018 |
| 23 | MF | Matthew Ridenton | Newcastle Jets | Free transfer | 9 May 2018 |
| 8 | MF | Matija Ljujić | Belenenses | Mutual contract termination | 1 June 2018 |
| 4 | MF | Goran Paracki | | End of contract | 13 June 2018 |
| 9 | FW | Andrija Kaluđerović | | End of contract | 13 June 2018 |
| 40 | GK | Tando Velaphi | Perth Glory | Free transfer | 2 July 2018 |
| 15 | MF | James McGarry | Willem II | Free transfer | 12 July 2018 |
| 24 | FW | Logan Rogerson | Carl Zeiss Jena | Free transfer | 18 July 2018 |
| 1 | GK | Lewis Italiano | Stirling Lions | Free transfer | 19 July 2018 |
| 12 | MF | Adam Parkhouse | | Mutual contract termination | 20 July 2018 |
| 40 | GK | Ante Covic | | | 13 December 2018 |
| 8 | MF | Mitch Nichols | | Mutual contract termination | 15 January 2019 |
| 3 | DF | Reuben Way | | | 15 January 2019 |
| 6 | DF | Dylan Fox | | Mutual contract termination | 13 March 2019 |

### Contract extensions

| No. | Name | Position | Duration | Date |
| 22 | Andrew Durante | Central defender | 1 year | 18 May 2018 |
| 14 | Alex Rufer | Midfielder | 1 year | 6 August 2018 |
| 27 | Steven Taylor | Defender | 1 year | 18 February 2019 |
| 16 | Louis Fenton | Full-back | 2 years | 22 February 2019 |
| 14 | Alex Rufer | Midfielder | 1 year | 27 February 2019 |
| 20 | Oliver Sail | Goalkeeper | 2 years | 5 April 2019 |
| 17 | Callan Elliot | Attacking midfielder | 1 year | 24 April 2019 |

## Technical staff

| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Marko Rudan |
| Assistant coach | Chris Greenacre |
| Goalkeeping coach | Paul Gothard |
| Reserves team coach | Steve Coleman |
| Strength & Conditioning coach | Aidan Wivell |

## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | A-League | A-League | A-League | A-League | A-League | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | FFA Cup |
| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | |
| 1 | GK | | Filip Kurto | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Justin Gulley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | | Mandi | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 21+0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | | Ryan Lowry | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4+5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | | Cillian Sheridan | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1+12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | | Nathan Burns | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | | David Williams | 23 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18+5 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | | Antony Golec | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | | Liberato Cacace | 23 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 22+0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | | Alex Rufer | 23 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 21+1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | | Michał Kopczyński | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14+5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | | Louis Fenton | 22 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 22+0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | | Callan Elliot | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | | Sarpreet Singh | 23 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20+2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | | Tom Doyle | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13+2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | GK | | Oliver Sail | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | | Roy Krishna | 24 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 23+0 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | | Andrew Durante | 24 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 23+0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | | Max Burgess | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4+15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | | Steven Taylor | 19 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 18+0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | | Ben Waine† | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | | Gianni Stensness† | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players no longer at the club: ||||||||||||||
| 3 | DF | | Reuben Way | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | | Dylan Fox | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Mitch Nichols | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | GK | | Ante Čović | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Last updated: 7 April 2019
* Source: au.soccerway.com
* = Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.
† = Scholarship or reserves-listed player

## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| A-League | — | 6th | 21 October 2018 | 28 April 2019 |
| A-League Finals | Elimination-finals | Elimination-finals | 3 May 2019 | 3 May 2019 |
| FFA Cup | Round of 32 | Round of 32 | 7 August 2018 | 7 August 2018 |

### A-League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Perth Glory | 27 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 56 | 23 | +33 | 60 | Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 2 | Sydney FC (C) | 27 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 43 | 29 | +14 | 52 | Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 3 | Melbourne Victory | 27 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 50 | 32 | +18 | 50 | Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League preliminary round 2 and Finals series |
| 4 | Adelaide United | 27 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 44 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 5 | Melbourne City | 27 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 40 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 6 | Wellington Phoenix | 27 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 46 | 43 | +3 | 40 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 7 | Newcastle Jets | 27 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 40 | 36 | +4 | 35 | |
| 8 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 27 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 42 | 54 | −12 | 24 | |
| 9 | Brisbane Roar | 27 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 38 | 71 | −33 | 18 | |
| 10 | Central Coast Mariners | 27 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 31 | 70 | −39 | 13 | |
* 1 2 3 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.
* ↑ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 7 April 2019. Source: ultimatealeauge.com

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A |
| Result | W | D | L | L | L | D | W | W | W | D | D | W | W | D | L | W | L | D | D | L | W | W | W | L | L | W | L |
| Position | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 |

#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss