GIVE me a point against a side we’ve lost four times out of five when we need at least a draw to stay alive in the playoff race, and I’ll take it.

Give me a point when we’re 1-0 down after eight minutes to that team, and I’ll certainly take it.

Give me a point when we’re down to ten men against that team with 40 minutes to go and I’ll definitely take it.

So, I’ll take that, and while Ricki Herbert described the result as bitter-sweet, it’s a better taste than last year when the only thing riding on the final three games was an eventually unsuccessful battle to avoid the wooden spoon.

This time around, Phoenix have everything to play for on Friday night in Melbourne, knowing a win might be enough to see them sneak into the playoffs provided Adelaide can get up to beat CCM on Sunday evening.

That’s all ahead of us; for the meantime, let’s take a quick look back.

One thing Phoenix can be very proud of this season is their home record. Any successful team makes their home ground a fortress and Phoenix have certainly done that, losing just two of 11 home games.

That record – and, in fact, Phoenix’s success this season – has been built around a vastly improved defensive effort compared to last season.

Just 10 goals conceded in those 11 home games tells a big story; Phoenix have made themselves extremely difficult to score against, and if you keep clean sheets, the points will come. They have – in fact, the 19 home points they’ve accumulated is bettered only by Melbourne and Adelaide.

The defensive line that’s repelled opposition attacks this season is unrecognisable from the back-fours that waved teams through last year and often even assisted them in their efforts to score.

The habitually comical defending of Steven O’Dor, Steven Old and Cleberson is a million miles away from the efforts this season of Andrew Durante, Karl Dodd, Manny Muscat and particularly Ben Sigmund.

The only time defensive stability was lacking was in two trips to Hindmarsh Stadium which saw nine goals leaked during two heavy losses. However, disregard those two matches for a second and Phoenix were relatively sound on their travels, even if they were only able to pick up eight points from nine away games.

Those results against Adelaide also make last night’s draw look a lot better, and but for the bounce of the ball, Phoenix could now be just goal difference away from a playoff spot.

But you don’t necessarily make the top four by beating the other teams that are also in playoff contention. In hindsight, points against those who finish out of the running are just as important, if not more so, and it’s here that Phoenix’s results against Perth have really hurt us.

One point from a possible nine and a solitary goal in 270 minutes of football against a side we beat three times last season and who have let 40 goals in, is absolutely telling.

Almost a third of Perth’s points have come against Phoenix; hell, even dreadful Newcastle beat them last night and were unbeaten in three games against them. If only we’d played better against Perth.

But every season has it’s “ifs” and “buts”. If only Leo Bertos’ last-minute screamer against Perth hadn’t produced the save of the season from Tando Velaphi, we’d have beaten them at home.

If Leo hadn’t scooped the ball over against Queensland when he was one-on-one and odds-on to score, we’d have nicked a point there. And if Shane Smeltz had won that penalty last weekend against Sydney, things might have ended so differently there too.

All that talk though, is fruitless. The table is what it is, and after 20 games it’s something most Phoenix fans would have bitten your hand off for
after the first quarter of the season.

Those five fairly ordinary performances to start the campaign are a distant memory as we look forward to the final match of a rollercoaster regular season with the prospect of playoff involvement not entirely out of the question.