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120125
Two Goals In Three Minutes Prove Costly For Wellington
by Jeremy Ruane
Wellington Phoenix spurned the chance to consolidate their fourth placing on the Ninja A-League Women's table on January 12, conceding two goals in three minutes late in the first half as Adelaide United edged them 2-1 at the Marden Sports Complex to leapfrog Paul Temple's team on the standings.
There was very little between the teams throughout the contest, with a stray Mackenzie Barry pass in the second minute being pounced on by Sian Dewey, who instantly played the ball through for Fiona Worts. Carolina Vilao raced off her line to clear the danger.
Nine minutes later, it was Wellington's turn to threaten. Having seen their opponents scramble clear an Annalie Longo corner in the seventh minute, Lara Wall led a left-flank raid which saw the flying fullback get to the by-line before sending a cross flying across the goalmouth, with Olivia Fergusson caught flat-footed - had she been on her toes, she would have scored.
Two minutes later, Manaia Elliott got to the by-line and fired in a cross which Matilda McNamana cleared straight to Longo, whose first-time volley flew narrowly past the far post as the visitors kept up the early pressure in 33C heat - very tough playing conditions for both teams, which meant cooling breaks were in place every fifteen minutes.
Just before the first of them, Adelaide fired their first shot in anger. Birthday girl Chelsie Dawber slipped Emily Condon through the inside left channel into the penalty area, from where she picked out Lucia de Leon on the far post with a cross. The flank player guided the ball down to Worts eight yards out from goal, but she snatched at the chance, the ball ending up nearer the corner flag than the target.
The closeness of the teams was well and truly evident between the two cooling breaks, with neither able to gain the upper hand nor create anything of note during this fifteen-minute spell. Indeed, it wasn't until nine minutes before half-time when an opening materialised, Wall shutting it down via her covering run which cut out Dawber's cross for Worts, after the attacker had been released down the right by de Leon.
Condon's resulting corner was headed over the bar by McNamara from six yards, but United's midfield general was only just getting started. She pounced on a stray pass in the 38th minute and quickly picked out Dawber, whose low drive was turned around the post by Vilao.
The resulting Condon corner was cleared to Emily Hodgson, who invited Dawber to open the scoring from twenty yards. Her shot sizzled narrowly past Vilao's right-hand post, the 'keeper inches away from getting her fingertips to the ball.
United kept on coming, and broke the deadlock in controversial fashion in the 41st minute. Condon's latest corner was headed clear by Barry, but only as far as the corner-taker, whose angled delivery arced goalwards.
Vilao leapt for it, but so did Ella Tonkin, who appeared to impede the goalkeeper - she certainly obstructed her view of the ball, which ended up in the far corner of the net as Vilao went to ground under Tonkin's challenge. Wellington's protests fell on deaf ears - 1-0 Adelaide.
Which became 2-0 just three minutes later. Dawber pounced on yet another stay pass to power clear through the inside right channel and fire the ball unerringly past the advancing Vilao into the far corner of the net, a goal which somehow seemed decisive given the closeness of the contest thus far.
The visitors nearly conceded a third goal two minutes into the second spell, although there was a distinct hint of offside to proceedings as de Leon
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sent Worts charging through the inside right channel. Tiana Jaber - she's been terrific so far this season - hurtled across the pitch in a bid to put off the striker, her efforts proving successful, given Worts shot straight at Vilao.
Wellington needed to change something, with both Elliott and Daisy Brazendale - the two changes made to the starting line-up compared to the eleven which started against Western Sydney Wanderers three days prior - producing performances which failed to justify their inclusion from the outset on this occasion.
Brazendale, in particular, was struggling, as evidenced by the influence of Condon on proceedings. Coach Temple turned to Alyssa Whinham to help get Wellington back into the contest, and the whizzkid wasted little time in changing the game once on the park.
Her slide rule pass in the 59th minute sent Longo scampering into the penalty area, but the combined efforts of McNamara and goalkeeper Claudia Jenkins thwarted the captain's progress.
It was Whinham who was making things happen, however, and on the hour, she conjured up a goal which dragged Wellington back into the contest. Alivia Kelly picked her out on the right flank, and she made her way to the by-line before curling a cross around Hodgson and into the corridor of uncertainty, into which the retreating figure of de Leon was running. The ball struck her and flew past the stranded figure of Jenkins - 2-1, game on.
Wellington suddenly had belief, and it was very much one-way traffic for the balance of the encounter, most of it heading towards United's goal. Longo delivered a 65th minute free-kick which Jenkins punched out from underneath her crossbar, while the goalkeeper flew to her left to keep out a thirty-yarder from Jale sixty seconds later.
Maya McCutcheon curled a first-time twenty-five yard strike inches past the post after pouncing on a stray pass eighteen minutes from time, while Barry and substitute Emma Main combined to send Jale through a minute later, only for Jenkins to save at the Football Fern's feet.
McCutcheon, Barry and Jale combined to play Longo in on goal eight minutes from time, only for McNamara's timely tackle to curtail her progress, while Main fired a snapshot past the post three minutes later after Barry's ball forward had created hesitance in Adelaide's defence.
Four minutes later, Jale's cross was headed inside by substitute Zoe McMeeken - so much more effective when employed in an attacking role; she's a liability defensively - towards Main, but Tonkin hooked the ball to safety.
Cue a charging run from Jaber, who brought McMeeken into play on the right. She picked out Whinham, who evaded a challenge before inviting Main to pull the trigger, only for the striker to shoot straight at Jenkins.
That proved to be Wellington's last chance, as after Jaber blocked a stoppage time shot from late United substitute Chrissy Panagaris - Adelaide's first shot of note since the 47th minute, the final whistle sounded to the delight of the locals, who leapfrogged Wellington into fourth place on the standings with this hard-earned win.
Adelaide: Jenkins; Tolland, McNamara, Tonkin, Hodgson; Dewey (Karambasis, 70), Condon (Bowler, 86), Morgan; de Leon (Middleton, 70), Dawber, Worts (Panagaris, 87)
Wellington: Vilao; Kelly, Jaber, Barry, Wall; Brazendale (Whinham, 53), Longo, McCutcheon (Tanaka, 83); Elliott (McMeeken, 62), Fergusson (Main, 62), Jale
Referee: Beth Rattray
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