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01Apr23
Wellington Stun Reigning Champions With Late Leveller
by Jeremy Ruane
Liberty A-League cellar-dwellers Wellington Phoenix stunned reigning champions Melbourne Victory at Sky Stadium on 1 April, snatching a 2-2 draw with literally the last kick of the game to leave the visitors' hopes of retaining their title on a knife-edge.
Victory are now relying on crosstown rivals Melbourne City doing them a favour by, at worst, drawing with Canberra United in the final round-robin game of the season on Sunday afternoon to ensure they have a chance of retaining their crown.
A Canberra win would end last season's champions campaign, and Melbourne Victory will only have themselves to blame if that's the case, because they threw away a two-goal lead in this contest, allowing bottom-placed Wellington to secure a point from their final game of the campaign, one Natalie Lawrence's team had set their sights on winning to have a chance of avoiding successive last-placed finishes.
They never even remotely looked like snatching a share of the spoils in the opening ten minutes of this encounter, during which Melbourne dominated proceedings and could have put the game out of sight of the Wellingtonians, who fell behind to a fourth minute free-kick from Alana Murphy.
Paige Satchell inadvertently handled the ball just outside her penalty area, prompting referee Georgia Ghirardello to award Melbourne a free-kick some twenty yards from goal. Set-piece specialist Murphy stepped up and thundered a shot through a gap in the defensive wall which left Brianna Edwards beaten all ends up.
And she found herself in that situation again just two minutes later as Melina Ayres attempted an audacious chipped finish with the outside of her foot from twenty yards which arced over Wellington's 'keeper and crashed against the crossbar.
The home team scrambled the rebound out of play, with Murphy's resulting corner being punched out by Edwards under a pile of pressure. The 'keeper then smothered a Tiffany Eliadis drive as the visitors continued to press home their case for a place in the play-offs, despite finally encountering some resistance from the home team after that horror opening ten minutes had subsided.
Wellington held their own for around fifteen minutes before Melbourne upped the ante again come the 25-minute mark. Jessika Nash sent early substitute Lia Privitelli - on for the injured Catherine Zimmerman - charging down the right, from where she picked out Ayres with a cross.
Mackenzie Barry - she has been a monster in defence for Wellington this season - blocked her goalbound shot, with the resulting corner being cleared, but only as far as Natalie Tathem, who had her hands full dealing with Paige Satchell's pace whenever the home team attacked in this encounter.
On this occasion, however, it was the fullback who was on the front foot, and her ball into Ayres found Marisa van der Meer touch-tight on the striker's back. Ayres made light of the fact, turning the defender before smashing a stunning right-foot volley in off the underside of the bar from twenty yards - 2-0, with Melbourne seemingly on course to wrap up a play-offs spot with time aplenty to spare, given this goal was scored in the 26th minute.
The visitors weren't best pleased when a goal kick was awarded two minutes later, Wellington captain Chloe Knott having headed Beattie Goad's corner to the near post over her own crossbar as the home team staved off further Melbourne pressure.
In the 32nd minute, the home team finally mustered an attack which resulted in a threat on goal. Betsy Hassett picked out Emma Rolston as they mounted a counter-attack, the striker bringing Satchell into play. She picked out Milly Clegg in yards of space on the left, but as she entered the penalty area, the touch of the latest uncapped Football Ferns selection failed her, allowing the hitherto untroubled Casey Dumont to save at her feet.
Melbourne's 'keeper punched an angled Michaela Foster cross off the head of Rolston eight minutes before half-time, then watched her opposite number get away with one as Edwards was closed down well by Privitelli on the edge of her penalty area, only to react quickly to the rebound and scramble it to safety.
Right on half-time, Grace Wisnewski thundered a thirty yarder narrowly over Melbourne's crossbar as Wellington continued to seek a way back into a contest in which, to this point, they had very much
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been second-best, the 2-0 half-time scoreline an accurate reflection of proceedings.
There appeared little prospect of Wellington rescuing the game at the start of the second spell, Clegg's long-range effort notwithstanding. Dumont made an absolute meal of it, but managed to recover the ball before conceding a needless corner.
Melbourne were swiftly on the front foot, Privitelli setting up Murphy for another shooting chance ten minutes into the second spell. Wisnewski's timely block prevented this from eventuating, while van der Meer stepped in to prevent Ayres from capitalising on another Privitelli-led raid soon afterwards.
Just after the hour mark, a couple of Foster set-piece deliveries gave the visitors cause for concern, with the free-kick something of which van der Meer could have made more had she attacked the ball as it drifted beyond the far post.
Another pass from the recently capped Football Fern sent Wellington's latest signing, Emma Main, down the right in the 67th minute, her cross-shot being grabbed under the bar by Dumont, who was well-placed to deal with a thirty yard free-kick from Foster five minutes later.
Wellington dragged themselves back into the contest in the 75th minute, thanks to an error by the hitherto immaculate Kayla Morrison. Her lone mistake in the contest saw her sell Dumont short with a back-pass, onto which Main swooped, forcing the goalkeeper to block the ball outside her penalty area.
Ava Pritchard, like Main having been introduced off the substitutes' bench, latched onto the loose ball, swept past Dumont then battered the ball home from twenty yards - 2-1, a goal which gave Wellington renewed hope of getting something from a match in which their momentum had been building.
Melbourne weren't having a bar of this resistance from their hosts, and looked to restore their two-goal advantage as soon as Dumont was deemed fit to continue, the 'keeper having injured herself during the course of the goal being scored.
Ayres let rip with a fierce drive which Edwards tipped over the bar. From the resulting corner, Eliadis' smart header set up Ayres for another opportunity, one she fired wide, a feat repeated by Gema Simon two minutes later. Ayres then went close upon receipt of another Eliadis pass, while Edwards saved from Beattie Goad as the visitors created a flurry of chances in a five-minute spell.
Crucially, however, they didn't score, but they were keeping Wellington at bay, and an away win appeared inevitable, especially when Ayres curled a cracking shot goalwards in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
Edwards flung herself to her left to tip the ball to safety, affording Wellington one final chance to attack … Foster switched play to Claudia Cicco, whose cross was headed on by Main. Dumont came to collect it but missed the ball completely, allowing Wisnewski to hook the ball into an empty net with virtually the last kick of the game to clinch an unlikely point for the home team, whose achievements in the second half of the season have been impressive.
After scoring just one point in their first eight game, Wellington have impressed in 2023, backing up a stunning 5-0 win over Canberra with two draws against Brisbane Roar, a 1-0 win at the home of minor premiers Sydney FC, a 3-1 win at Adelaide United and four odd-goal defeats prior to this match.
This 2-2 draw sees Wellington conclude their season in the one position they hoped to avoid, but in a vein of form which gives them a solid platform on which to build for the 2023-24 campaign.
Recruiting a goalscoring striker is a top priority for coach Natalie Lawrence ahead of next season, one in which they must aim to finish in the vicinity of mid-table at worst.
Wellington: Edwards; Barry (Cicco, 72), van der Meer, Taylor, Foster; Knott (Main, 61), Hassett, Wisnewski; Satchell, Rolston (Pritchard, 72), Clegg (Robertson, 61)
Melbourne: Dumont; Nash (booked, 69), Bunge, Morrison, Tathem (Simon, 82); Murphy (Briedis, 82), Jackson (booked, 71), Eliadis, Goad; Zimmerman (Privitelli, 20 (Markovski, 90)), Ayres
Referee: Georgia Ghirardello
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