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Longo Leads Wellington To Consecutive Wins
by Jeremy Ruane
A double strike from Wellington Phoenix captain Annalie Longo earned her side an upset 2-1 victory over second-placed Brisbane Roar in their Ninja A-League Women's clash at a windblown Jerry Collins Stadium on 8 December, clinching back-to-back victories for the home team in the process.
The wind made life challenging for both teams throughout this encounter, and it was at Wellington's backs throughout the first spell. Brisbane enjoyed the better of the early exchanges, however, and engineered the first opening of the game on the quarter hour.
Deborah-Anne De La Harpe played Bulgarian striker Evdokiya Popadinova in on the right, the front-runner having for once escaped the attentions of Mackenzie Barry and Tiana Jaber, who kept her quiet for the 56 minutes she was on the park until departing the fray with a hamstring injury.
There was no threat of injury to Popadinova on this occasion, however, but a huge threat to Wellington's goal, one thwarted by the legs of Carolina Vilao as the striker got her shot away under pressure from Lara Wall.
Wellington looked to strike back instantly, Maya McCutcheon combining with Longo to unleash Wall on the overlap. Her driven cross was grabbed at the second attempt by Olivia Sekany at her near post, with Olivia Fergusson hovering lest the 'keeper opt to give her an early Christmas present.
Sekany produced a superb fingertip save in the 22nd minute to prevent Mebae Tanaka's twenty yard free-kick from finding the top near corner of the net. Brisbane cleared the resulting corner, and launched a counter-attack via Alicia Woods' pass to De La Harpe on the right.
The fullback swiftly brought her captain, Mariel Hecher, into play, and she promptly picked out Popadinova in the penalty area. She evaded a challenge before letting fly, only to see the combined efforts of Jaber and Daisy Brazendale foil her attempt to break the deadlock.
The ball quickly found its way back to Hecher, who invited Woods to let fly, the midfielder's low drive sizzling past the far post, much to the relief of Vilao, who dashed out to swat away Emily Pringle's bid to break the deadlock in the 31st minute.
By this time, the game was getting rather feisty. There was plenty of physical stuff going on, which referee Rachael Mitchenson seemed quite content to witness without seeing any reason to intervene - surprisingly in some instances, as there was the odd occasion when a spot of wrestling was witnessed by all and sundry! Brisbane certainly don't like it when opponents get in their faces …
Thankfully, there was more football than wrestling on the menu. In the 33rd minute, Tanaka sent the ball soaring over the bar after Alyssa Whinham masterminded a counter-attack - she could just as easily have opted to play in Longo on her left.
Seconds later, Longo intervened with telling effect, as the folly of taking short goal kicks was once again ruthlessly exposed. Sekany's touch to Leia Varley saw the defender look to pick out Holly McQueen, but Longo was on top of her before she had the chance to draw breath.
"Flea" duly flicked the ball to Fergusson, and swiftly moved into position for the return pass which she despatched unerringly beyond the stranded figure of Sekany. Brisbane claimed offside, in vain - 1-0 Wellington.
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Their lead lasted eleven minutes. On the stroke of half-time, Pringle powered down the left flank, leaving Zoe McMeeken and Brazendale in her wake. Jaber didn't come across to cover the threat, which allowed Pringle to beat Vilao all ends up at her near post - 1-1, the last act of note in the first half.
The second spell saw Brisbane with the wind at their backs, but they didn't use it at all well. Their penchant for the dark arts was all too often in evidence also, and it wasn't until the final ten minutes of play that they tried to do something about their predicament - far too late in the day!
Wellington, playing into the elements, made the most of them. On the hour, a moment of magic from Whinham saw her dancing between two opponents in the penalty area. Had the resulting shot been on target and found the net, the "Goal of the Month" contest would have been all over bar the shouting - it was an exquisite piece of skill from this gifted goalmaker.
Five minutes later, Fergusson took advantage of some defensive confusion in the wind to fire a long-range effort goalwards. It lacked the power to trouble Sekany, something which can't be said of the next shot she attempted to save, in the 69th minute.
McCutcheon fed Longo, who set off on one of her mesmerising runs, taking on all-comers in the process. She then unhinged them all with a sixpence turn, which gave her ample space to unleash a left-footed drive from twenty yards.
Varley's attempt to head the ball to safety was in vain - she failed to make contact with the sphere. But her non-intervention was crucial, as it deceived Sekany, who was suddenly diving towards a dropping ball which squirmed underneath and found the net by her near post - 2-1 Wellington, much to Longo's undisguised delight.
Could she score a rare - for her - hat-trick? She came desperately close to doing so in the 72nd minute, after more enterprising play from Whinham. Goalwards she charged, before slipping the ball to Emma Main, whose progress was thwarted. Longo swooped on the loose ball and promptly let fly, a dipping effort which Sekany tipped onto the roof of the net.
Brisbane survived the resulting corner, and the on-field presence of the influential Grace Jale during the last fifteen minutes of play, during which time the visitors earned a series of corners, from two of which they hit the top of the crossbar - Zara Kruger and Woods were the unlucky corner-takers.
Another Kruger corner in between times picked out Varley on the far post, but her header was blocked by Vilao, who promptly collided with the upright as she fulfilled her objective of keeping the ball out of her net.
It was the closest Brisbane would come to levelling the scores for a second time, but in truth, they didn't deserve to - a poor display from the second-placed team, whose Matildas, Tameka Yallop and Sharn Freier, were sorely missed on this occasion, an absence Wellington didn't mind one little bit!
Wellington: Vidal; McMeeken (Kelly, 46), Jaber, Barry, Wall; Tanaka (Elliott, 63), McCutcheon, Whinham (Jale, 74), Brazendale (booked, 46 (Main, 63), Longo; Fergusson
Brisbane: Sekany; De La Harpe, McQueen, Varley, Blissett; Hecher (Freier, 71), Woods, Hayashi, Levin (Kruger, 71), Pringle; Popadinova (Kuilamu, 56)
Referee: Rachael Mitchenson
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