The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website | home
20Nov22 | 26Nov22 | 04Dec22 | 10Dec22 | 17Dec22 | 02Jan23 | 07Jan23 | 15Jan23 | 22Jan23 | 29Jan23 | 12Feb23 | 26Feb23 | 04Mar23 | 11Mar23 | 18Mar23 | 25Mar23 | 28Mar23 | 01Apr23
15Jan23
Early Goals See Perth Prevail In "Distance Derby"
by Jeremy Ruane
Goals in the first fifteen minutes at Macedonia Park saw Perth Glory overcome Wellington Phoenix 2-0 in their Liberty A-League "Distance Derby" on January 14, the locals prevailing in the heat of a contest which saw both teams reduced to ten players after 35 minutes.
Australian international Ella Mastrantonio tackled Football Ferns counterpart Emma Rolston halfway inside Perth's half, then proceeded to put the boot into her opponent, between whose legs the ball had lodged as she went to ground.
Rolston responded in furious fashion, striking the provocateur in a retaliatory manner to leave referee Casey Reibelt - who had a great game - with no choice but to brandish the red card to both offenders, a decision which robbed Wellington of one of their few attacking options.
They were already chasing the game when this incident occurred, as Perth's first shot in anger, in the sixth minute, saw them open the scoring, to the delight of the 700-strong crowd. Kate Taylor, back from injury in Wellington's defence, looked well in need of a gallop throughout proceedings, and she was still getting up to speed when her pass out of defence was swooped upon by Mastrantonio.
She wasted no time in bringing Hana Lowry into play, the Young Matilda duly inviting Cyera Hintzen to take charge of the attack. She turned Mackenzie Barry before battering a twenty-yarder beyond Brianna Edwards, who got a hand to the effort but was unable to divert the ball round the post.
The goal crowned a fast start to the game by both teams, but Wellington were eager to get back on level terms. With captain Chloe Knott in the thick of things in midfield, they didn't take a backward step, earning an eleventh minute free-kick which saw Michaela Foster's delivery arc narrowly beyond Taylor and Barry as both players homed in on the far post.
Two minutes later, Barry was caught in possession by Hintzen, and in her eagerness to make amends for her blunder, the usually composed defender clattered into Lowry after the striker had released the ball. In normal circumstances, a free-kick, but the youngster was deep inside Wellington's penalty area at the time … Susan Phonsongkham sent Edwards the wrong way from the spot to make it 2-0 with just fourteen minutes on the clock.
And very nearly three three minutes later, Edwards doing well to piledriver from Lowry round her near post after Sofia Salakis and Hintzen had combined on the left to open up Wellington's defence.
The game duly became a midfield battle, with Wellington undermining a lot of their industry with stray passes - too many were either over-hit or under-hit. Meanwhile, the likes of Paige Satchell, the overlapping Marisa van der Meer and the ever-lively Michaela Robertson made promising runs down the flanks, but more often than not, there was no end product.
The closest Wellington came to scoring prior to the dismissals was via a Foster corner, which hit the crossbar in the 32nd minute. After the match was reduced to a ten-a-side contest, Ava Pritchard lashed a twenty-yarder narrowly past the post on receipt of Knott's precise pass, then came agonisingly close to heading home a Satchell cross after the speedster had stormed past two on the right flank after Knott and van der Meer had combined to unleash her pace.
In between times, Liz Anton, playing against many of her national age-grade and senior team-mates past and present, chipped a shot into the hands of Edwards following an uncleared Lowry corner.
Knott responded to that with a couple of long-range efforts, the second of which drew a save from Sarah Langman. She promptly cleared the sphere downfield, with Perth earning a free-kick in the final act of note in the half. Phonsongkham's delivery found Natasha Rigby completely unmarked six yards out from goal, but Perth's skipper inexplicably headed over the bar when scoring appeared the easier option.
Wellington started with a hiss and a roar in the second spell, Robertson rattling the side-netting before blocked shots by Satchell and Taylor resulted
|
in successive Foster corners. Perth cleared their lines, and in the 53rd minute squandered a great chance to increase their lead when Phonsongkham, having been gifted possession by Taylor, shot early and tamely at Edwards when Hintzen was in yards of space in the inside left channel.
End-to-end action ensued, Foster's teasing cross-shot from the right beating Langman all ends up in the 55th minute, only for the crossbar to come to Perth's rescue for the second time in a contest which marked the 150th A-League appearance of veteran defender Kim Carroll.
Phonsongkham responded with a twenty yard free-kick which wasn't far away from the top corner, soon after which Hintzen spurned a gilt-edged chance, blazing over from eight yards following the industry of Rigby down the right.
On the hour, Lowry saw her deflected shot denied by Edwards, who had the runs of Hintzen and the retreating Taylor to contend with, as well as the diverted ball. The 'keeper, who received a late call-up to the Football Ferns squad for their two matches against the USA this week, can be proud of her performance in this match, despite the final scoreline.
Soon after that close call, Roberson made in-roads down the right before inviting Satchell to let fly. This, too, was diverted to safety, Foster's resulting corner culminating in Knott's chipped twenty-yarder skimming the roof of the net in the 63rd minute.
Seconds later, Sakalis was on the counter-attack, only to see Edwards grab her shot, the start of a spell in which the goalkeeper was kept busy by a succession of Perth corners. These proved fruitless for the home team, who were pleased to prevent Pritchard from halving the deficit twenty minutes from time after Robertson and the freshly introduced Milly Clegg opened up Perth's left flank.
A flurry of substitutions, coupled with a drinks break - the game was played in near-thirty-degree heat - disrupted the flow of the contest, but not Robertson's speed of thought and movement.
Twice she scampered down the right as the game entered its final ten minutes, roasting Perth players at pace. On the first occasion, her cross picked out the unmarked figure of Pritchard, who volleyed over from six yards with the goal at her mercy. Then the pint-sized speed merchant teamed up with Clegg to present Foster with a half-volleyed chance which Langman saved to her left.
In between these raids, Perth went close to a third goal after a Lowry corner found its way into the heart of Wellington's goalmouth. Edwards was fouled in the resulting scramble, while she was right behind a twenty-yarder from Alana Jancevski in stoppage time, soon after standing her ground well and forcing substitute Abbey Green to drill a shot into the side-netting, after the substitute had caught fellow replacement Isabel Gomez in possession just outside the area.
Wellington's lack of firepower ultimately cost them at least a goal in this match - they should certainly have scored on one occasion. Such is their dearth of goalscoring prowess, however, that once teams go two-up against Natalie Lawrence's side, the outcome of the contest is all but determined.
Just three goals scored in eight matches tells its own story, (with one of them coming courtesy an opponent!), while the wooden spoon already looks destined to end up in New Zealand's capital city, despite the competition having only just reached its halfway point. Wellington are six points adrift of their nearest rivals after this defeat, with next Sunday's "Clash of the Capitals" against Canberra United their next chance to reverse their fortunes in 2023.
Perth: Langman; Rigby, Anton (booked, 31), Carroll, Foletta; Mastrantonio (sent off, 35), Lowry, Lawrence (Cain, 79); Phonsongkham (Koulizakis, 57), Hintzen (Green, 85 (booked, 90)), Sakalis (Jancevski, 79)
Wellington: Edwards; van der Meer (Gomez, 78), Barry, Taylor, Foster; Knott, Rolston (sent off, 35), Wisnewski; Satchell (booked, 45) (Clegg, 63), Pritchard, Robertson
Referee: Casey Reibelt
|