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Phillip Rollo12:04, May 25 2021
Wellington Phoenix
Academy player Ben Old striving for more games after surprise Wellington Phoenix debut.
As he was not an official member of the Wellington Phoenix squad and only joined the team for training when they arrived home last week, Ben Old was reluctant to jump in their team photo with the Hurricanes last Thursday. The 18-year-old academy player was overheard saying “this doesn’t feel right” as he was ushered back onto the field in between the teams’ respective training sessions at Sky Stadium before trying to hide away on the edge of the frame. Speaking to the media this week, Old offered some insight into his hesitance regarding the photo opportunity and said he felt out of place standing alongside some of Wellington’s sporting stars.
Wellington Phoenix celebrate homecoming with emphatic win over Western United.
Wellington’s own Clayton Lewis was the hometown hero as the Phoenix marked their first game at Sky Stadium in 433 days with a scintillating 3-0 win over Western United on Saturday to keep their A-League finals series hopes alive. Playing his first game for the Phoenix in Wellington, Lewis got the club’s record regular season crowd of 24,105 on their feet when he took a pass from Steven Taylor, turned into space and let rip with a wicked left-footed strike. The shot took a deflection off Brendan Hamill and beat goalkeeper Ryan Scott to give the Phoenix a deserved lead in the 38th minute.