Pumped up kicks: Phoenix scorer Ben Waine apologises for destroying corner flag

Ben Waine was so excited to score his first goal at Sky Stadium, he put his boot through a corner flag and destroyed it.

The 21-year-old striker gave Wellington Phoenix an unlikely lead in their first game of the A-League Men season, a 1-1 draw against Adelaide United on Sunday.

It was unlikely as the Phoenix played most of the game with 10 men after new signing Yan Sasse was sent off for a reckless challenge 25 minutes into his debut.

Waine put the Phoenix in front with 25 minutes to go, seizing on a loose ball after the initial shot from Kosta Barbarouses was spilled by Adelaide’s goalkeeper Joe Gauci.

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The goal meant a lot to the Wellington local, who had never scored at Sky Stadium before.

Waine was so pumped up, he sprinted over to the sideline and kicked the corner flag as hard as he could.

“I’m going to have to apologise to the groundsman aren’t I? I don’t know what came over me. It was just a lot of excitement and passion. Apologies to the corner flag,” he said of his antics.

“That goal was something I’ve dreamt about for a long time. Obviously it’s a shame we didn’t end up getting the result off the back of that but it’s special being a hometown boy and having my family and close friends up in the stands as well.”

The Phoenix ended up conceding late to draw the game after Ben Halloran scored from a corner in the third minute of stoppage time.

Waine said he had mixed emotions about the result after toiling away with 10 men for 75 minutes.

“Once we conceded the red card, to get a draw out of the game you’d be pretty happy, but the fact we did go 1-0 up but give it away with a set-piece it’s gutting.”

Despite some strong performances in the Australia Cup, Waine was left out of the starting XI for the first game of the new season, with new recruit Oskar Zawada partnering Barbarouses up front.

With Sasse now suspended, Waine hoped his goal off the bench would be rewarded with a start when the Phoenix host Central Coast Mariners back at Sky Stadium next Sunday.

“The key message when you’re coming off the bench is to have an impact. You have to add to the game and I think the subs did that, and I’m glad I could do that through a goal today,” he said.

“If you ask any footballer they’d want to start every game. That’s my mentality but the important thing with the squad depth we have at the moment is there’s pure competition, and at the end of the day that can only be a good thing for the squad as a whole.

“Oskar is pushing me, Kosta is pushing me and I’m pushing them, and that’s the way it should be.”