The Wellington Phoenix have avoided the A-League wooden spoon despite suffering another heavy defeat.
In their final game of the season on Saturday evening, the Phoenix went down 4-1 to the Melbourne Victory at Westpac Stadium in front of a crowd of 5,336.
They conceded three goals before half-time; Jeremy Brockie scored a consolation goal deep into injury time.
The Phoenix finish the campaign, the first with Scottish coach Ernie Merrick, on 28 points. Last year, under Ricki Herbert and then caretaker coach Chris Greenacre, the Phoenix finished 10th of 10 teams.
They avoided last place this season after Melbourne Heart, who started the day two points behind the Phoenix, lost 3-2 at home to the Western Sydney Wanderers, after leading 2-1. That was Australian legend Harry Kewell's final game of football.
