The Nix only registered one shot in the defeat and weren\u2019t able to force City goalkeeper Patrick Beach to make a single save.
Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano believes the game could have turned out differently if they hadn\u2019t conceded inside 10 minutes.
\u201cIt was a poor first half,\u201d Italiano told media post-match. \u201cIt was a very poor goal to concede early on and that really puts you on the back foot.
\u201cWe conceded and then we kind of got pinned for large parts of that first half.
\u201cHalftime we went to a 4-2-3-1 and I felt the first 10-15 were actually quite good.
\u201cWhen we were brave enough to find that forward pass we were actually dangerous. We had a couple of good chances, but again just the linkage player into that final third\u2026just wasn\u2019t good enough.
\u201cThere were chances there, that\u2019s what it felt like on the ground, and then I made a sub and we conceded straight away. At two-nil the game was done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/01\/GettyImages-2192224770.jpg?w=1200\")
Italiano remains \u201cvery optimistic\u201d he can turn his side\u2019s fortunes around. Giancarlo Italiano made just the one enforced change to the XI which started the 2-1 win over Newcastle Jets on Saturday, with centre back Isaac Hughes returning to the side in place of captain and midfield linchpin Alex Rufer, who is sidelined indefinitely with illness. They weren\u2019t able to register a shot of their own before the break as they found it difficult to break City\u2019s press. There were few memorable moments for the next quarter of an hour with Giancarlo Italiano making further positive substitutions with 10 minutes remaining, bringing on Nathan Walker and Lukas Kelly-Heald on in place of Sheridan and Sam Sutton.
\u201cBut that really comes down to the focus of the group and how I can refocus them.
\u201cFor me it\u2019s now just going back to the drawing board, seeing what players I have available and finding a style that suits the players.
\u201cIt\u2019s very important for the coach to steer the direction, but I need to make sure that my players know that they have my confidence and the other way around as well that we can do something still in the season.
\u201cYou look at Mariners with the way they started last season. It was four games where they lost and then they turned it around.
\u201cI think we\u2019re maybe one or two performances short of turning our season around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/01\/GettyImages-2192217380.jpg?w=1200\")
The first half was an especially tough watch for Phoenix fans with City pinning Wellington in their half for most of the opening 45.
Harry Politidis put the hosts in front in the seventh minute from a sharply worked short corner routine, after Josh Oluwayemi had done well to make his first save of the night to deny Callum Talbot from long-range.
Oluwayemi made a further three saves before halftime, to deny Arion Sulemani (twice) and Benjamin Mazzeo, but none of them really tested the Nix \u2018keeper.
However all three shots came after the Phoenix were careless with possession inside their half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/01\/GettyImages-2192219537.jpg?w=1200\")
Italiano made a couple of attacking switches at halftime, bringing on forward Oskar van Hattum in place of midfielder Kazuki Nagasawa and changing from a back five to a back four, with Matt Sheridan pushing into midfield in Nagasawa\u2019s absence.
The changes had an impact with the Nix more comfortable in possession and able to make more regular forays into the opposition half.
Teenager Luke Brooke-Smith registered Wellington\u2019s first shot shortly before the hour mark when he burst into the City box. Unfortunately for him and the Phoenix his effort was well-blocked.
Brooke-Smith was replaced soon after, following a tireless 60 minutes on the right wing, with fellow teenager Luke Supyk making his way on the pitch for the first time this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/01\/GettyImages-2192222741.jpg?w=1200\")
Moments later City doubled their lead, with Nathaniel Atkinson putting the final touch on a sweeping move into the Nix penalty area to all but seal the three points.
Italiano made his final change shortly before the start of time added on, bringing on Corban Piper for an ailing Tim Payne.
But the Phoenix were unable to test Patrick Beach in City\u2019s goal and threaten a dramatic late comeback.
The Wellington Phoenix have no time to dwell on the defeat as they will return home tomorrow to prepare for next Saturday\u2019s match against high-flying Adelaide United at Sky Stadium.<\/p>\n\n\n