13 Feb 2010

14,000 cheer Phoenix to win

6:21 pm on 13 February 2010

The Wellington Phoenix beat Central Coast 3-0 in Friday night's A-League football match, securing the club an historic home play-off next weekend.

The Phoenix always looked in control of the match, with midfielder Tim Brown scoring the first goal in the 15th minute to give the home side a 1-0 lead at half time.

Wellington had the majority of the possesion in the second half and star striker Paul Ifill put the game beyond doubt with two goals in two minutes with only ten minutes left on the clock.

More than 14 thousand supporters cheered the home side to the convincing victory and the first play-off for a New Zealand team in the Australian competition.

It's also a season-record at Westpac Stadium.

The win means the Phoenix will finish fourth on the table and host Perth in a sudden-death play-off next Sunday, after Adelaide United defeated the Newcastle Jets 2-1 overnight.

The Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert spoke after the game and says the side couldn't have asked for things to go any better.