Phoenix caoch Ufuk Talay has told his team to "move on" from Friday's controversial season-opening loss to Western Sydney as they turn their attention to the FFA Cup.
The Phoenix were handed their first loss in 14 games last Friday in a 2-0 defeat in Wollongong but the result was scrutinised for an apparent foul missed in the build-up to the Wanderers' first goal.
Goalscorer Tomer Hemed collided with Phoenix defender Callan Elliot moments before opening the scoring in the second half; a moment the club said they'd seek an explanation from the A-League over as to why the video match official ignored it.
Talay was left fuming at the time but has since cooled off, realising an apology from the League will likely be the only thing that comes from the situation.
"At the end of the day, we all make mistakes," Talay said Monday. "For me, it's about how we make the process better - what is the process the referees go through?
“We need to produce a good product and make sure the big moments in the game aren't produced by the referees - they are produced by the players."
With the past left behind, Talay and the Phoenix are turning their attention to the FFA Cup where they are looking to claim their second-ever win in the tournament.
“The best thing about football is having a game very close,” Talay said. “That’s in the past, we learned from it, we know what we need to improve on.
“If I look back on that game, there are times when you can say the opponent was a lot better than us and they deserved to win, but I don’t think that was the case on the weekend, and that’s the disappointing part for me.
“But that’s football sometimes and we need to move on. We’ve got a game against Western United, a cup game that we want to do well in.”
The Phoenix play Western United in the round of 32 match in Geelong on Tuesday night NZT.
SHARE ME