Defender Mackenzie Barry insists her Wollongong-based Phoenix are remaining upbeat, despite having a tough A-League Women initiation.
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After opening their account with a promising 0-0 stalemate with the Wanderers at WIN Stadium, Wellington have lost their next five games, including a 5-0 thrashing to Sydney FC and a 4-0 defeat to Melbourne City on Sunday.
Many pundits expected it to be a difficult campaign for the Phoenix, who arrived in the Illawarra in November due to the ongoing travel impact caused by COVID.
Barry admits it's been a difficult season so far, but her side remained focused on the bigger picture.
"Looking at the scores, it seems like we should be down because we've lost a few games. But we're improving each game and we try not to look too much into the score," Barry, 20, said.
"We need to learn from the goals conceded, but it's always progress for us. Straight after games, we've been pretty disappointed, but we just want to get back out on the training pitch and see where we went wrong and get better. We're so young but I think we've shown a lot of resilience. We're just getting back up and trying again."
The Phoenix will now shift their attention to Sunday's clash with the Roar in Wollongong. Brisbane sit in eighth spot on the ladder, and Barry believes her team can cause an upset.
"We've played a couple of the stronger teams in the league, and come up against some very experienced players and Matildas. But looking ahead, I think we've got a few games that we could potentially take three points or a draw from," she said.
"We're looking forward to our next game against Brisbane. We need to start focusing on how they play and what we can do to get some results."
We're so young but I think we've shown a lot of resilience. We're just getting back up and trying again.
- - Mackenzie Barry
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