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Australian Football: Phoenix Hit by Hooper Absence

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Wellington Phoenix will be competing without their lead scorer Gary Hooper for the next 3 or 4 games, giving Ben Waine an opportunity to make his mark in the starting lineup. The winner over Western United in the preceding round means Waine will take Hooper’s place in the FFA Cup round of 16 on Tuesday at ABD Stadium in Melbourne.

For “personal reasons”, Hooper traveled back to England on Monday but will be back in Australia on December 27. Perhaps, Bet365 bettors would just have to wait until their favorite striker superstar returns.

Hooper was granted leave

Melbourne City’s prospective FFA Cup quarterfinal versus Hooper would be in jeopardy if Hooper’s side overcome Avondale. Talay says he’s the only footballer who won’t be able to make it because of personal issues.

He didn’t say why Hooper wasn’t available, but Talay admitted that his absence was a major setback for the Phoenix as they attempt to bounce back from a disappointing performance against the Newcastle Jets on Friday.

The 4-0 defeat was the Phoenix’s worst loss since Talay took over in January 2019. Hoops has a significant impact on the team’s success. A handful of goals have been scored by him for the Phoenix. That was just one of those situations the team has to cope with.

Talay’s first game in charge of the Phoenix ended in a penalty shootout setback to the Brisbane Strikers, which was embarrassing for the team and Talay. A lot of 365bet players were skeptical about their future matches.

While Avondale has two former National League players in their ranks, the Strikers’ hero Bon Scott now plays for Avondale. Talay added that the NPL teams were eager to take against A-League Men teams and that these matches were a huge deal for the locals.

Despite Hooper missing in action…

Ufuk Talay’s Wellington Phoenix suffered their worst A-League Men’s 4-0 loss of the season over the weekend, but the Kiwi squad claimed their FFA Cup Round of Sixteen encounter last night. Many 365 bet fans were delighted. Broadmeadows, Victoria was the venue for their meeting with Avondale FC of the NPL Victoria.

The FFA Cup Quarter-Finals are just the first instance that Wellington Phoenix has reached it this far. It has been to the Round of 16 on two occasions since they joined the competition in the 2014-15 season, most recently in this year’s tournament.

Talay took the role of Jaushua Sotirio in Hooper’s absence. In the opening 15 minutes, the Australian forward grabbed hold of the chance and netted a brace. Sotirio scored the only goal of the game in the 3rd minute after receiving a well-placed pass from David Ball. Sotirio added a second eleven minutes later with a chip on Brian.

Ben Waine scored a hat-trick in the 24th minute after Alex Rufer’s header found its way into the net. As Avondale’s night grew even worse, Blake Carpenter was sent out for a vicious challenge on Louis Fenton just one minute later.

Even though Avondale was down a man in the 74th minute, you can bet that they still managed to score a goal. There was a corner for the home team. Matthew Reid headed the ball into the back of the net to score 3-1 after a series of deflections.

However, the Wellington supporters’ hopes of a comeback were dashed in the 81st minute when Luka Prso scored the last Wellington goal to make it 4-1. The Phoenix’s victory moves them into the top eight of the competition.

It was a game they needed

In the grand scheme of things, this was a game that the head coach felt they needed to win. Additionally, he went on to say that the most important thing was getting a reaction from the players, which they got tonight. A positive answer was given to everything.

As of present, Phoenix has a busy schedule that includes 3 A-League matches and 1 FFA Cup encounter between now and January 1. On Wednesday, December 22nd, they will face Melbourne City in the FFA Cup. Catch all your favorite sports betting action with the 365betmobile app, including the latest markets for the FFA Cup.