A season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered by Wellington Phoenix midfielder Grace "Whizz" Wisnewski marred her team's 2-1 triumph over Brisbane Roar in front of 1788 fans at Sky Stadium on November 4, a victory which saw Paul Temple's charges climb to third place on the Liberty A-League ladder. "Whizz" went into a challenge inside the first thirty seconds of the match and didn't get up again, making her exit from the fray on a stretcher after on-field diagnosis determined that her immediate future lay on the treatment table, not on the football pitch. Mortified by the sight of their team-mate heading down the tunnel at such an early stage of proceedings, Wellington gave themselves a terrific tonic in the sixth minute by taking the lead. Michaela Foster's free-kick from the left picked out the head of Mariana Speckmaier, who deftly guided the ball home from ten yards. That was a red rag to a bull as far as Brisbane was concerned, and they carved out numerous chances over the course of the next half-hour. But the recalled Brianna Edwards - in for the injured Rylee Foster - proved equal to everything the visitors could muster, cutting out crosses aplenty, then smothering a twenty-yarder from Hollie Palmer in the fourteenth minute. Three minutes later, Edwards saved at the feet of Kijah Stephenson after the striker had swooped on a ball in behind the defence which Michaela Foster failed to cut out - a let-off for Wellington, whose response saw them retain possession well, Foster's blemish notwithstanding. Kate Taylor was imperious in her defensive central midfield role, while Chloe Knott made a strong impression after taking over from Wisnewski. Defensively, they were rock-solid, with the ultra-reliable Mackenzie Barry yet again demonstrating her proficiency in this area of the park. The home team survived another scare in the 32nd minute when Edwards turned a curling effort from Chelsea Blissett round the post after the fullback had cut in off the right flank and let rip. Referee Georgia Ghirardello and her team failed to see the 'keeper's denial, however, meaning they were in denial when bombarded with protests from the travelling team that a corner should be the outcome, not a goal kick. After Marisa van der Meer just got away with a situation in which Stephenson could have caught her in possession on the edge of her penalty area, Brisbane nearly capitalised on another Foster seven minutes before half-time. This time, the fullback under-hit a back-pass to Edwards, the ball ricocheting off van der Meer to the undisguised delight of the prowling figure of Mia Corbin. But the striker didn't get the chance to capitalise - Edwards hurtled out of her area and cleared off her opponent's toes. Brisbane responded to this by doing the exact same thing at the other end of the park, Palmer the one in the dog-box on this occasion. Instead of playing the ball back to Jordan Silkowitz, she gifted it to Speckmaier, whose dipping twenty-yarder from the inside right channel cannoned off the crossbar to safety. Instantly, the visitors counter-attacked, Tameka Yallop leading the charge, brilliantly weaving past three opponents, only to be foiled by Barry's timely challenge, the defender's intervention diverting the ball past the post. Wellington mounted a counter-attack in response, only for Taylor's bid to release Speckmaier at pace to be cut out by Teagan Thompson's timely intervention. The Venezuelan striker was first to fire a shot in anger in the second spell, drawing a save from Silkowitz before setting up Macey Fraser for a chance which the talented playmaker fired over the bar.

When Fraser next contributed to proceedings, she fizzed in a free-kick from the right which was targeting Speckmaier in the 53rd minute. Silkowitz had other ideas, however, and sparked another spell of Brisbane pressure as the visitors stepped up their pursuit of an equaliser. Van der Meer's vital touch on the hour prevented Stephenson from latching onto Ayesha Norrie's pass through the inside right channel, while seconds later Blissett, after cutting in off the right once more, saw her deflected shot land on the roof of the net. The resulting corner was taken by Sham Freier, and was deftly flicked on by Stephenson into the goalmouth. Wellington failed to clear their lines, presenting Thompson with a shooting chance which Manaia Elliott diverted to safety. The flying figure of Edwards prevented Corbin's angled shot from finding the net in the 64th minute, to which Wellington responded by unleashing captain Annalie Longo into the fray for the first time this season. Within a minute of her appearance, she had Brisbane in trouble, a curling thirty yard chip which had Silkowitz back-pedalling, the goalkeeper looking on with relief as the ball landed on the roof of her net. Longo's arrival proved the catalyst Wellington needed to ignite their game-plan. Eighteen minutes from time, she sparked a counter-attack in which Speckmaier featured prominently. With support on both sides, she opted for Elliott, who shot straight at Silkowitz, much to the disappointment of the fans, who knew a second goal would surely be enough to seal victory for the home side. Brisbane knew it too, and duly stepped up their pursuit of parity on the scoreboard. Corbin got the better of van der Meer in the 74th minute before cutting inside and letting fly, only to see Edwards tip her dipping effort onto the crossbar. The goalkeeper gathered the rebound, much to the relief of her team-mates. Wellington produced their best move of the match five minutes later, with Elliott, Knott, Foster and Longo all featuring before Speckmaier was unleashed at pace down the right. Her angled cross curled across the face of goal, but no one in yellow was on hand to do it justice. That wasn't the case five minutes from time, however - Longo was in fully-fledged "Flea" mode, and the Brisbane defender who can stop her when she's in that mood hasn't yet been born. Sure enough, both Blissett and freshly introduced substitute Ruby Cuthbert were taken to the cleaners by Longo as she powered into the penalty area, where she checked her run before unleashing an unstoppable drive beyond Silkowitz and into the top near corner from fifteen yards - the 'keeper hadn't a prayer of stopping it! 2-0 Wellington, and so nearly 3-0 five minutes later, with Speckmaier unleashing Longo on the right, from where she picked out Elliott. She shot straight at Silkowitz, who sparked a late flurry from Brisbane, during which Edwards was beaten all ends up by an absolute thunderbolt from Corbin which halved the deficit. It was too little, too late for the visitors, however, Wellington holding on for their first home win of the campaign, but one tinged with sadness, Wisnewski becoming the latest victim of the modern-day curse of women's football the world over, a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which will effectively put her career on ice for a year. Wellington:     Edwards; Davidson, Barry, van der Meer, Foster (Longo, 63); Wisnewski (Knott, 5), Taylor, Fraser (Lake, 83); Main (Breslin, 63), Speckmaier, Elliott Brisbane:     Silkowitz; Blissett, McQueen (Cuthbert, 83), Scarpelli, Thompson (Levin, 68); Yallop (Norrie, 58 (booked, 90)), McCormick, Palmer, Freier; Stephenson (Holgersen, 68), Corbin Referee:     Georgia Ghirardello