The Wellington Phoenix are determined to build on their first win of the women's A-League season when they play their delayed match in Brisbane.
Phoenix women at their 2021 base in Wollongong Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The match against Brisbane Roar has been pushed back a day to Sunday afternoon after their direct flight from Wellington on Friday was cancelled due to the threat of thunderstorms in Queensland.
The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) have agreed to reschedule the fixture, which will kick off at 6pm NZT.
Wellington are coming off their first win of the season, having crushed Canberra 5-0 last weekend and coach head coach Natalie Lawrence says the win has given the team a massive lift.
"Having a big win like that gives you that confidence, gives the players the belief that what we're trying to do is going to work," Lawrence said.
"There's been a decent amount of confidence, but it's been quite channelled into a quiet determination to keep the momentum going
"Whilst there's been a good vibe and good hype…also let's not get carried away, let's keep the momentum.
"I talked about how professional I thought they were at halftime and that's continued throughout the week.
"We know we haven't necessarily travelled amazingly so that's the next goal as we continue to build through the season."
Ava Pritchard scored her first goal of the season last Sunday and embodies the mindset of the Phoenix players," Lawrence said.
"She's starting to play like a proper number nine; holding the ball up, being strong, drawing fouls, pressing well.
"Her confidence has gone up but she's also super critical of herself. She is like 'well I should have had three [goals]'.
"So, whilst we're like 'Ava really, really good performance we're really happy with how you're progressing' she's always striving for more and I think that's such a cool high performance mindset."
Lawrence "can't see many changes" being made to the XI which started against Canberra United, meaning Betsy Hassett is likely to again play as an attacking midfielder.
Wellington are still unable to call on goalkeeper Lily Alfeld (injury), attacking midfielder Alyssa Whinham (personal reasons) and Football Ferns forward Emma Rolston (suspension), but is hopeful Alfeld isn't far away from being available for the first time this season.
- RNZ