The Wellington Phoenix have been well beaten in their mid-week A-League football clash against Melbourne Victory, going down 4-0 to the home side.
After coming off a 2-0 loss to Perth on Friday, the Phoenix went into the match boasting an attacking line-up, with striker Chris Greenacre returning from injury to start alongside front men Eugene Dadi and Paul Ifill.
But the new-look side failed to have an impact in Melbourne, with the visitors trailing 1-0 at half-time after an own goal by Tim Brown, and the Victory building on that momentum in the second half to score in the 50th, 66th and 87th minutes.
The Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert says he was disappointed in the side's second half performance, with the team's lack of energy resulting in some bad decisions on the field.
But he says in sixth place the Phoenix are still a strong chance for the play-offs, and the side just need to rediscover their momentum in their last three fixtures.
Wellington will host bottom-placed Adelaide in Christchurch on Saturday.
