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08Mar20
Wellington Ease Past Cellar Dwellers Into Top Three
by Jeremy Ruane
Wellington Phoenix have moved into the top three in the Hyundai A-League after easing past bottom-placed Central Coast Mariners in front of just 3,773 fans at Central Coast Stadium on March 8.
The visitors set out their intentions from the outset, going close to scoring after just 82 seconds. Steven Taylor's ball forward was allowed to bounce by the Mariners' rearguard, allowing Ulises Davila to charge onto it en route to the by-line, from where he whipped in a cross to the near post which Gary Hooper was poised to sweep home from close range until Ian "Ziggy" Gordon's timely intervention.
That sparked a Central Coast counter-attack which culminated in Milan Duric miscuing a volley. Both this and a tame effort by Chris Harold eight minutes later were easily dealt with by Stefan Marinovic, who was largely untroubled throughout proceedings.
Unlike the home team, who were relieved to see Cameron Devlin over-hit a pass which would have put David Ball through one-on-one with Mark Birighitti in the fourth minute.
Fourteen minutes later, however, Wellington got their combination work spot-on, and duly opened the scoring. Rene Piscopo evaded a couple of challenges before steering the ball into Davila, whose delicious through ball rolled inch-perfect into the stride of Liberato Cacace.
Without missing a beat, the fullback hit the ball first time on the run, an effort which arrowed into the far corner of the net to open the scoring on the occasion of this, his fiftieth A-League game.
Central Coast sought to get back into the match straight away, Joshua Nisbet denied a penalty after going down under Cacace's challenge just two minutes after the fullback had opened the scoring. Nisbet was already off balance when contact occurred, however, which made the decision of referee Adam Kersey much easier than could have been the case.
Penetrating Wellington's backline was proving quite the challenge for a team which had lost seven consecutive matches coming into this encounter, and after Jack Clisby's thirty yard free-kick narrowly cleared the crossbar just shy of the half-hour mark, Central Coast's hopes of arresting their losing streak took a near-fatal blow.
Piscopo played a beautifully weighted ball over the defence which Hooper strode onto, and he deftly lifted the ball over the advancing figure of Birighitti to double Wellington's lead thirty minutes into the contest.
Three minutes later, David Ball was prevented from making it 3-0 by Birighitti's timely save at his feet, after Devlin, Matti Steinmann and Cacace had combined to open up Central Coast's right flank.
After Harold went desperately close to halving the deficit with a well-timed run to meet Duric's cross with a powerful header, Wellington carved their hosts open again in the shadows of the half-time whistle.
Hooper and Piscopo worked a one-two which ultimately benefited Davila, who got to the by-line
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before pulling a low cross back for Hooper to exploit at the near post. He beat Birighitti to it then attempted a cheeky back-heeled attempt which crept narrowly past the upright.
A snatched shot by Kye Rowles following a Central Coast corner brought the first half to a close, while just 41 seconds into the second spell, Duric rattled the near post side-netting with a rasping drive as the home team sought a way back into the contest.
After a brief spell of Wellington possession, the Mariners regained the upper hand in the contest, but try as they might, there was no way past Taylor and Luke DeVere, as substitute Jair Britto swiftly discovered when attempting to forge his way past Wellington's captain within a minute of being introduced to the fray.
Central Coast should have pulled a goal back in the 67th minute, when a Clisby corner to the far post found former Wellington midfielder Gianni Stensness completely unmarked. But his downward header bounced up and over the bar from six yards - it was that sort of day for the home team.
Twelve minutes from time, Wellington confirmed all three points would be heading back across the Tasman with a clinical third goal. It was a case of the substitutes combining to good effect, with Alex Rufer's ball over the top allowing Jaushua Sotirio to scoot clear of all-comers and steer the sphere beyond the advancing figure of Birighitti - 3-0.
Four minutes later, Ball was denied by Birighitti's smothered save after Hooper had engineered an opening, while in stoppage time, the offside flag denied Sotirio a second goal which would have made the final score 4-1.
Instead, it was 3-1, with Central Coast's consolation goal coming in the 89th minute, after Lewis Miller and Daniel DeSilva linked up neatly with Jair, who forged himself some space for a shot on the turn from the edge of the penalty area, one he struck with such ferocity that Marinovic was still diving when the ball was rebounding off the back of the net.
This win leaves Wellington well placed to clinch a play-off spot with seven rounds remaining, although the challenge of three games in a week now faces them, with Melbourne Victory's visit followed by trips to runaway leaders Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets, matches which are likely to be pivotal in their hopes to secure a quarter-final on home turf.
Central Coast, meanwhile, look certain to claim the wooden spoon once more, given they find themselves eight points adrift with six games to play. And with such small numbers coming through the gates, one wonders how long it will be before the Mariners find themselves on the rocks.
Central Coast: Birighitti; Miller, Gordon, Rowles, Clisby; Kim (booked, 83), Nisbet, Stensness; DeSilva (Silvera, 79), Harold (Simon, 64), Duric (Britto, 64)
Wellington: Marinovic; Payne, Taylor, DeVere, Cacace (booked, 90); Davila (McCowatt, 79), Devlin (Rufer, 75), Steinmann (booked, 82), Piscopo (Sotirio, 69); Ball, Hooper
Referee: Adam Kersey
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