# 2015–16 Wellington Phoenix FC season

The 2015–16 Wellington Phoenix FC season was the club's ninth season since its establishment in 2007. The club participated in the A-League for the ninth time, the FFA Cup for the second time, and fielded a reserves squad in the ASB Premiership for the second time.

## Players
### Squad information

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | NZL | Glen Moss |
| 2 | DF | MLT | Manny Muscat |
| 3 | DF | NZL | Justin Gulley |
| 4 | MF | CUW | Roly Bonevacia |
| 5 | DF | AUS | Troy Danaskos |
| 6 | DF | AUS | Dylan Fox |
| 8 | MF | ESP | Alex Rodriguez |
| 10 | MF | NZL | Michael McGlinchey |
| 11 | FW | NZL | Kwabena Appiah |
| 12 | FW | AUS | Blake Powell |
| 13 | MF | ESP | Albert Riera |
| 14 | MF | NZL | Alex Rufer |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | NZL | James McGarry (Youth) |
| 16 | MF | NZL | Louis Fenton |
| 17 | MF | AUS | Vince Lia |
| 18 | DF | NZL | Ben Sigmund (Vice-captain) |
| 19 | DF | NZL | Tom Doyle |
| 20 | GK | AUS | Lewis Italiano |
| 21 | FW | FIJ | Roy Krishna |
| 22 | DF | AUS | Andrew Durante (Captain) |
| 23 | MF | NZL | Matthew Ridenton |
| 24 | FW | NZL | Logan Rogerson (Youth) |
| 26 | FW | NZL | Hamish Watson (Injury replacement) |

### From youth squad

| N | Pos. | Name | Age |
| 29 | FW | Joel Stevens | 20 |
| 30 | GK | Oliver Sail | 19 |
| 31 | MF | Andrew Blake | 19 |
| 32 | DF | Tamupiwa Dimairo | 19 |
| 15 | MF | James McGarry | 17 |
| 24 | FW | Logan Rogerson | 17 |
| 3 | DF | Justin Gulley | 22 |

### Transfers in

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee |
| 12 | FW | Blake Powell | 24 | APIA Leichhardt Tigers | Transfer | Pre-season | 2016 | Free |
| 7 | MF | Jeffrey Sarpong | 27 | Free agent | Transfer | Pre-season | 2017 | Free |
| 5 | DF | Troy Danaskos | 23 | Sydney Olympic | Transfer | Pre-season | 2016 | Free |
| 6 | DF | Dylan Fox | 21 | Bonnyrigg White Eagles | Transfer | Pre-season | 2017 | Free |
| 26 | FW | Hamish Watson | 22 | Hawke's Bay United | Injury replacement | Round 19 | 2016 | Free |

### Transfers out

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | Moving to | Type | Transfer window |
| 12 | FW | Tyler Boyd | 20 | Vitória de Guimarães | End of contract | Pre-season |
| 5 | DF | Michael Boxall | 26 | SuperSport United | Released | Pre-season |
| 6 | DF | Josh Brindell-South | 22 | | Released | Pre-season |
| 7 | FW | Kenny Cunningham | 29 | | Released | Pre-season |
| 15 | MF | Jason Hicks | 25 | | Released | Pre-season |
| 3 | FW | Joel Griffiths | 35 | | Released | Pre-season |
| 9 | FW | Nathan Burns | 27 | FC Tokyo | Transfer | Pre-season |
| 7 | MF | Jeffrey Sarpong | 27 | | Released | Round 17 |

### Contracts Extensions

| Name | Position | Duration | Contract Expiry |
| Lewis Italiano | Goalkeeper | 1 year | 2017 |
| Dylan Fox | Defender | 3 years | 2019 |
| Alex Rodriguez | Central midfielder | 1 year | 2017 |
| Tom Doyle | Left-back | 1 year | 2017 |
| Matthew Ridenton | Midfielder | 2 years | 2018 |
| Blake Powell | Striker | 1 year | 2017 |

## Technical staff

| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Ernie Merrick |
| Assistant coach | Chris Greenacre |
| Reserves Team Coach | Andy Hedge |
| Goalkeeping coach | Jonathan Gould |
| Strength & conditioning coach | Lee Spence |

## Statistics
### Squad statistics

| 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 | ASB Premiership | ASB Premiership | ASB Premiership | ASB Premiership | ASB Premiership |
| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | |
| 1 | GK | | Glen Moss | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | | Manny Muscat | 27 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 25+0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Justin Gulley | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | | Roly Bonevacia | 28 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 26+0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | | Troy Danaskos | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | | Dylan Fox | 17 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 8+4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Alex Rodriguez | 24 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 18+6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | | Michael McGlinchey | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26+0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | | Kwabena Appiah | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | | Blake Powell | 24 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13+10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | | Albert Riera | 26 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 24+0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | | Alex Rufer | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | | James McGarry | 13 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11+1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | | Louis Fenton | 21 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11+9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | | Vince Lia | 18 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13+3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | | Ben Sigmund | 18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12+3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | | Tom Doyle | 21 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 17+3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | GK | | Lewis Italiano | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | FW | | Roy Krishna | 18 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16+0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | | Andrew Durante | 26 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 24+0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | | Matthew Ridenton | 20 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7+8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | | Logan Rogerson | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9+2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | | Tamupiwa Dimairo | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | | Hamish Watson | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6+2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | | Ben Stroud | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | | Joel Stevens | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8+0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | | Andrew Blake | 10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9+0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | | Oliver Sail | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | | Luke Tongue | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | | Sarpreet Singh | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12+0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | | Sam Gillespie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | | Ruari Cahill-Fleury | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | MF | | Nick Lane | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | | Liam Wood | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | DF | | Sam Philip | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | DF | | Sam Wilson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | | Joe Bell | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | MF | | Cherbel Khouchaba | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | MF | | Oliver Whyte | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | GK | | Marcel Kampman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | DF | | Louis Evans | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8+1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | MF | | Max Mata | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6+0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | DF | | Jack Sinclair | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | MF | | Liam Hare | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | GK | | Bgoni Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players no longer at the club: ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | | Jeffrey Sarpong | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Last updated: 10 April 2016
* 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.

## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| A-League | — | 9th | 11 October 2015 | 10 April 2016 |
| FFA Cup | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | 11 August 2015 | 26 August 2015 |
| ASB Premiership | — | 7th | 15 November 2015 | 26 February 2016 |

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

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Adelaide United (C) | 27 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 45 | 28 | +17 | 49 | Qualification for 2017 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 2 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 27 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 44 | 33 | +11 | 48 | Qualification for 2017 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 3 | Brisbane Roar | 27 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 49 | 40 | +9 | 48 | Qualification for 2017 AFC Champions League second preliminary round and Finals series |
| 4 | Melbourne City | 27 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 63 | 44 | +19 | 44 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 5 | Perth Glory | 27 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 49 | 42 | +7 | 43 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 6 | Melbourne Victory | 27 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 40 | 33 | +7 | 41 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 7 | Sydney FC | 27 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 34 | |
| 8 | Newcastle Jets | 27 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 28 | 41 | −13 | 30 | |
| 9 | Wellington Phoenix | 27 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 34 | 54 | −20 | 25 | |
| 10 | Central Coast Mariners | 27 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 33 | 70 | −37 | 13 | |
* ↑ 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: 10 April 2016. Source: ultimatealeague.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 | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H |
| Result | L | W | W | L | D | W | L | D | W | L | D | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | W | L | W | L | W | L | L | L | L |
| Position | 8 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |

#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss

### ASB Premiership
#### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Auckland City | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 11 | +28 | 35 | Qualification to the Champions League and Finals series |
| 2 | Hawke's Bay United | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 15 | +12 | 27 | Qualification to the Champions League and Finals series |
| 3 | Team Wellington | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 36 | 21 | +15 | 27 | Qualification to the Finals series |
| 4 | Canterbury United | 13 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 23 | Qualification to the Finals series |
| 5 | WaiBOP United | 13 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 18 | |
| 6 | Waitakere United | 13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 22 | 34 | −12 | 13 | |
| 7 | Phoenix Premiers | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 24 | 46 | −22 | 7 | |
| 8 | Southern United | 13 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 39 | −30 | 3 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 26 February 2016. Source: soccerway.com

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Ground | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | L | L | L | W | D | L | L | L | L | L | L | W | L | L |
| Position | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |