Coach Mark Rudan singled out youngster Liberato Cacace for praise after Wellington Phoenix's 1-1 home draw with defending champions Melbourne Victory.
The wingback has only missed two of the Phoenix's 19 games this season, after signing his first professional contract last May.
He's showing no signs of fatigue, despite stepping up to senior level at the age of 20, and was Wellington's best player against Victory at Eden Park.
Good players stand up and they create moments - he created a lot of moments tonight.
Mark Rudan
"He was superb tonight, he was, and he's one I'm extremely proud of as well," said Rudan, who was hired as coach two weeks after Cacace was signed to a two-year deal. "He's a fantastic kid, he really is; we gave him enough time in pre-season to make sure.
"His parents should be awfully proud and today he stood up. I challenged the players - in an arena like this, in front of a big crowd, good players stand up and they create moments - he created a lot of moments tonight."
Rudan felt his team weren't at their best against Victory, when they were pegged back by Keisuke Honda's penalty after Roy Krishna had opened the scoring.
It's now just one win in six for the Phoenix, whose advantage over seventh-placed Newcastle has been reduced to six points with eight rounds remaining.
"It wasn't one of our better performances," said Rudan. "We know it's the final stretch, and we're asking for a little bit more from our players and that's the challenge for them, but I'm sure we'll find the right ingredients so that next week in Sydney we're better than we were tonight."
Wellington Phoenix are 13/5 to win their next game against Sydney FC, who are 10/11 with the draw 11/4.
The Phoenix are 12/1 to win 1-0.
View all Soccer betting
Coach Mark Rudan singled out youngster Liberato Cacace for praise after Wellington Phoenix's 1-1 home draw with defending champions Melbourne Victory.
The wingback has only missed two of the Phoenix's 19 games this season, after signing his first professional contract last May.
He's showing no signs of fatigue, despite stepping up to senior level at the age of 20, and was Wellington's best player against Victory at Eden Park.
Good players stand up and they create moments - he created a lot of moments tonight.
Mark Rudan
"He was superb tonight, he was, and he's one I'm extremely proud of as well," said Rudan, who was hired as coach two weeks after Cacace was signed to a two-year deal. "He's a fantastic kid, he really is; we gave him enough time in pre-season to make sure.
"His parents should be awfully proud and today he stood up. I challenged the players - in an arena like this, in front of a big crowd, good players stand up and they create moments - he created a lot of moments tonight."
Rudan felt his team weren't at their best against Victory, when they were pegged back by Keisuke Honda's penalty after Roy Krishna had opened the scoring.
It's now just one win in six for the Phoenix, whose advantage over seventh-placed Newcastle has been reduced to six points with eight rounds remaining.
"It wasn't one of our better performances," said Rudan. "We know it's the final stretch, and we're asking for a little bit more from our players and that's the challenge for them, but I'm sure we'll find the right ingredients so that next week in Sydney we're better than we were tonight."
Wellington Phoenix are 13/5 to win their next game against Sydney FC, who are 10/11 with the draw 11/4.
The Phoenix are 12/1 to win 1-0.
View all Soccer betting
Source: bet365.com