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06Feb24
Top Two Produce Scoreless Stalemate
by Jeremy Ruane
Isuzu Ute A-League leaders Wellington Phoenix and Central Coast Mariners, the team in second place in the competition, fought out a scoreless draw in front of 12,301 fans at Sky Stadium on Waitangi Day to maintain their positions on the league ladder.
As the scoreline suggests, this was a match in which the respective defences held the upper hand, with both goalkeepers, Wellington's Alex Paulsen and Central Coast's former Wellington custodian Danny Vukovic, rarely called upon to get their gloves dirty as the twenty players between them fought out a war of attrition.
The home team enjoyed the greater share of possession in the early stages, but it was the visitors who offered the first threat on goal, Alou Kuol leading an eighth minute counter-attack in which he looked to thread a pass through to Angel Torres, only for the retreating figure of Bozhidar Kraev to intervene before giving his defenders a burst because he was having to do their job for them!
Kraev was involved in Wellington's first attack of note, on the quarter hour. He found Costa Barbarouses on the right, outside fullback Jacob Farrell. The striker made use of that yard to send a low cross zooming across the six-yard box, beyond both Oskar Van Hattum and David Ball, who were making runs towards the respective posts in a bid to turn the ball home.
The next chance of note materialised in the 28th minute, with Mikael Doka pinging one down the right for Christian Theoharous to chase. The midfielder benefited from a ricochet off a retreating defender before dashing to the by-line, only to pull the ball back behind the incoming figure of Kuol, who was a surprise withdrawal at half-time.
On the half-hour, Theoharous sent Max Balard off on a barnstorming sixty yard run downfield. The midfielder fed Torres, whose lack of a right foot - he only uses it to stand on - allowed Finn Surman to close him down and snuff out what was, to this point, the most promising attack of the contest.
Ten minutes from time, Farrell thwarted Kraev with a well-timed tackle on the edge of the penalty area as the Bulgarian looked to capitalise on a measured pass from Van Hattum. Three minutes later, "OVH" was involved again, this time just failing to get on the end of a low cross from Ball after Alex Rufer won possession in midfield and sent Barbarouses off on a buccaneering thirty yard run before he brought the elder statesman of Wellington's attack into play.
Balard's drive from the edge of the penalty area drew a solid save from Paulsen in the 41st minute - a goal wouldn't have been awarded due to an e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y late offside flag call on Torres - while on the stroke of half-time, Ball's angled ball in from the right found Barbarouses, darting between defenders, launching himself into a full length diving header, only to direct it past Vukovic's right-hand post.
Wellington hit the ground running in the second half, and at a great rate of knots at that. In the 52nd minute, Rufer engineered their first opening, picking out Van Hattum, who took on all-comers before unleashing a ferocious twenty yarder which Vukovic parried away, the ball ricocheting to the edge of the
penalty area.
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Central Coast eventually cleared their lines from this threat, but found themselves under the cosh again in the 61st minute, with Rufer picking out Old. He eventually got the better of Daniel Hall before firing a shot on the turn straight at Vukovic.
Two minutes later, Scott Wootton was caught in possession by half-time substitute Jing Reec, whose progress was halted by Surman's timely intervention - had the defender failed in his quest to snuff out the threat, Reec would have been in on goal with just Paulsen to beat, and Central Coast would almost certainly have taken the lead in a match in which victory for the visitors would have seen them overtake Wellington at the top of the table.
Twenty minutes from time, Torres pounced on a loose ball on the left and set sail towards goal. Surman, whose under-hit passes in this match earned him some "GBH in the ear'ole" from Tim Payne, once again stepped up to the plate defensively, forcing the speedster to the by-line where he ran out of real estate - Torres shouldn't be happy with his performance.
Those of Josh Nesbit and Brian Kaltak, however, were well worthy of praise - the midfield general and defensive rock were outstanding for the visitors, with Surman, Kraev and Rufer the pick of the home team's tireless toilers.
Indeed, Kraev was responsible for what turned out to be Wellington's penultimate attack of note in the match, nine minutes from time. Breaking down the right, he cut inside past two before curling a cross narrowly over the head of Old, who had to play on despite being visibly tired, so short of experience was Wellington's bench for this match - their oldest substitute was just twenty years old!
In the dying minutes, Central Coast came home with a wet sail as they looked to clinch a dramatic late victory and climb to the top of the table. Balard hit a thirty yard screamer on the run which sizzled inches past Paulsen's left-hand post, while the goalkeeper grabbed a twenty-five yard rocket from Torres soon afterwards as the visitors turned the screw.
Balard then gave the ball away in midfield, allowing Kraev to work a one-two with Barbarouses before blasting a shot through the legs of Farrell. Vukovic saved to his left and immediately sparked a counter-attack from which Rufer conceded a foul in an inviting position just outside the penalty area.
Doka stepped up and curled the set-piece goalwards, but Paulsen tipped it over the bar, and looked on with relief as Kaltak headed Doka's resulting corner over the bar, the final act of note in a match between two well-matched teams, with Wellington clearly raising their game compared to their last display, in which this writer described their efforts as "like watching Everton". That wasn't the case today.
Wellington: Paulsen; Payne, Surman, Wootton, Kelly-Heald; Kraev, Rufer, Old; Van Hattum (Conchie, 62), Ball (Supyk, 90), Barbarouses
Central Coast: Vukovic; Doka, Hall, Kaltak, Farrell; Theoharous (booked, 68 (Di Pizio, 69), Balard, Nesbit, Torres; Kuol (Reec, 46), Edmondson (Barcellos, 87)
Referee: Alex King
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