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Latest Wellington Phoenix match report
NB All Wellington Phoenix men's match reports I've written can be found via this page.
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Oluwayemi Stars As Wellington Hold Sydney
by Jeremy Ruane
Wellington Phoenix produced their best performance for many a month as they held AFC Champions League semi-finalists Sydney FC to a 1-1 draw at Allianz Stadium on March 16, a result which did more harm than good to the home team's Isuzu Ute A-League play-off hopes.
Sydney hit the ground running in the sauna-like conditions, Anthony Caceres letting rip from the edge of the penalty area in the third minute with a shot which sizzled narrowly over the crossbar.
Four minutes later, Sydney opened the scoring. Leo Sena's pass to Joe Lolley allowed the striker to execute a first-time round-the-corner pass which split the defence and played in Adrian Segecic, who lifted the ball over the approaching figure of Josh Oluwayemi and into the far corner of the net.
It looked like it was shaping up to be another of those nights which Wellington have endured so often this season when Sena sent a thirty-yarder flying narrowly over the bar in the ninth minute, but this time they managed to weather the rest of Sydney's initial storm before asking a couple of questions of their own as the halfway point in the first half approached.
Francisco Geraldo sent Costa Barbarouses spearing through the offside trap in the nineteenth minute, prompting Harrison Devenish-Meares to hurtle out of his goal to avert the danger with a well-timed challenge. A split-second either side, and he'd have been staring at a red card for a professional foul, or watching Barbarouses roll the ball into an empty net - fine goalkeeping.
Three minutes later, Barbarouses picked Sena's pocket in the centre circle, and looked up to see Devenish-Meares well out of his goal. Without hesitating, Wellington's leading marksman let rip from fifty yards with an ambitious effort which drifted narrowly past the post.
Cue a spell during which Sydney were unable to create anything of note due to Wellington's excellent pressing efforts. Ten minutes before half-time, however, Caceres and Segecic created an opening for Patryk Klimala, whose low drive was stopped by Oluwayemi, whose return to the starting line-up came about due to a training injury suffered by Albie Kelly-Heald.
Three minutes later, Wellington levelled the scores. Alex Rufer combined with Sam Sutton to supply Geraldo with the ball. His angled pass in behind the defence rewarded Barbarouses' run, and he duly rounded Devenish-Meares before rolling home the equaliser.
Or was it? The offside flag was raised aloft, but after prolonged inspection of the footage, the Video Assistant Referee - for once - ruled in favour of Wellington, who, it must be said, rarely get the rub of the green where this controversial element of the game is concerned. They did on this occasion, however, and the teams went to the dressing rooms locked up at 1-1.
Sydney were eager to restore their advantage early
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in the second spell, Lolley going close with a twenty-yarder just three minutes after the resumption of play. Despite their dominance, however, it was Wellington who next threatened to score, Geraldo's pass to reward Barbarouses' darting run through the inside right channel being intercepted at the crucial moment by Rhyan Grant on the hour.
The home team went on the attack again soon after, substitute Douglas Costa's 35 yard free-kick curling round the defensive wall and just past the far post in the 63rd minute, soon after which Sydney's former Wellington coach Ufuk Talay earned himself a booking for - surprise, surprise! - bemoaning one perceived slight too many for the fourth official's liking.
That was referee Shaun Evans' first booking of the match, but both captains, Grant and Rufer, were destined to find their way into his notebook in the 82nd minute after squaring up to each other in the aftermath of a crunching Barbarouses tackle on Sena, an incident which also saw Sydney's assistant coach see yellow as the hot temperatures in which the match was played boiled over into on-field tension.
Either side of it, Oluwayemi made a couple of super saves to keep Wellington on level terms. The first, in the 75th minute, denied Jaiden Kucharski after Caceres sent him through on goal with a delightfully weighted through ball.
Then, four minutes from time, Kucharski was presented with another chance, this time by Costa, who invited his fellow substitute to unleash a shot on the turn which drew a stunning save diving to his left by Oluwayemi, at the expense of a corner.
Costa's delivery saw Matt Sheridan's attempt to head clear strike Sydney's Jordan Courtney-Perkins on Wellington's goal-line - the sight of a defender producing a defensive block at the wrong end of the park was rather ironic - and was eventually scrambled to safety by the visitors, who survived two stoppage time bids by Sydney to steal all three points at the death.
The first saw Sena set up Costa, whose shot was parried by Oluwayemi, the 'keeper quickly recovering to block Kucharski's bid to turn home the rebound. Soon after, a deflected shot from Sena was thwarted by the goalkeeper, whose efforts ensured Wellington of a share of the spoils on a night when their efforts out of possession had done much to frustrate the natives, for whom this 1-1 draw leaves them with a lot to do where a top six finish is concerned.
Sydney: Devenish-Meares; King, R. Grant (booked, 82), A. Grant, Courtney-Perkins; Segecic (Costa, 46), Sena, Hollman (Kamijo, 46), Caceres; Lolley (Quintal, 69), Klimala (Kucharski, 69)
Wellington: Oluwayemi; Payne, Hughes (Piper, 72 (booked, 90)), Wootton, Kelly-Heald; Sheridan, Rufer (booked, 82), Retre (Nagasawa, 80)); Geraldes (Ishige, 80), Barbarouses, Sutton
Referee: Shaun Evans
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