Sydney defeated on Del Piero debut

Alessandro Del Piero got off to a losing start with his new Australian club as Sydney FC crashed to a 2-0 defeat by Wellington Phoenix in New Zealand. FIFA World Cup™ winner Del Piero was one of the few positives as the two-time A-League champions struggled against Phoenix in wintry Wellington. The 37-year-old Juventus legend tried to get the spluttering Sydney attacks going, but despite a couple of scoring chances Del Piero was a lone spark. Goals by new Belgian striker Stein Huysegems in the 43rd minute and youngster Louis Fenton 15 minutes from time gave Phoenix their fifth straight win over Sydney. Del Piero, who made 91 international appearances for Italy, had a great scoring chance in the 14th minute after eluding his marker with deft footwork only to fire over the bar. The Italian star presented Mitchell Mallia with a scoring opportunity only for the youngster to miss, before Del Piero had another chance to grab his debut A-League goal after beautifully beating two defenders only to shoot just wide of the right post. Del Piero will get his next chance in Sydney FC's first match at home, against Emile Heskey's Newcastle Jets next weekend. FIFA