11 Mar 2010

Phoenix skipper wins player of the year award

6:28 am on 11 March 2010

The Wellington Phoenix captain Andrew Durante has won the player of the year award at the football club's annual awards function last night.

It caps a superb season for the defender, in which he's played every minute of every game so far.

The award was voted by a panel of five over 27 matches, with coaches Ricki Herbert, Luciano Trani, Jonathan Gould, chief executive Tony Pignata and football operations manager Mal Impiombato making the decision.

Striker Paul Ifill won the remaining awards on offer - the players' player of the year, members' player of the year, media player of the year and the golden boot, with 12 goals from the 27-round regular season..

The Phoenix are still in the running for the A-League football title and fly to Sydney this afternoon to compete for a pace in next week's final.