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15Feb20
Wellington Edge Melbourne At Eden Park
by Jeremy Ruane
Auckland reconfirmed its status as New Zealand's true home of football on 15 February as 15,347 fans - the biggest crowd to see Wellington Phoenix in Hyundai A-League action on either side of the Tasman Sea this season - cheered them on to a 1-0 win over second-placed Melbourne City at Eden Park.
A lively opening to proceedings saw the visitors threaten first, Stefan Marinovic recovering to save from Jamie Maclaren after gifting possession to the striker in the eighth minute.
Two minutes later, Wellington came desperately close to breaking the deadlock when Ulises Davila slipped David Ball through one-on-one with Tom Glover. The striker slipped his shot past the approaching 'keeper, but the fast-retreating figure of Rostyn Griffiths hurtled back to clear the goalbound ball off the line under the shadow of the crossbar.
Seconds later, a long-range Liberato Cacace chip had Glover anxiously looking back as the ball just drifted past his left-hand upright, a threat to which Melbourne responded via three openings in a five-minute spell before the twenty minute mark had passed.
The first of them saw Nathaniel Atkinson - he had a fine game - race in off the right before letting fly straight at Marinovic, who was relieved to see the outstanding Luke DeVere twice come to his rescue in the next few minutes, clearing off the line to keep out a Craig Noone shot after thwarting Adrian Luna's progress as he looked to latch onto Markel Susaeta's through ball.
Wellington's fans were jubilant in the 29th minute when a free-kick from Rene Piscopo - later to depart with an ankle injury - deflected off the defensive wall and into the stride of Matt Steinmann, who gleefully prodded the ball home from three yards to open the scoring.
That was until our old friend the Video Assistant Referee was called in to cast its beady eye on proceedings. It didn't like what it saw, prompting referee Alex King to rule out the goal - apparently the ball grazed Gary Hooper after deflecting off the wall, rendering all Wellington players beyond him to be in an offside position.
The eighth biggest home crowd in Wellington's history - and the sixth biggest for a regular season league game, four of which have taken place at this venue - unleashed a resounding "boo" in response, the joy and spontaneity of their celebrations stifled then rendered irrelevant by the three minutes it took for a decision to be reached.
Apparently there are benefits to be had from the VAR system. No doubt after this experience, many fans present would happily settle for a continuation of the imperfections which we've all endured since a ball was first kicked in anger 150-odd years ago, compared to what we're now enduring with this ill-considered pursuit of officiating perfection.
City spurned the last chance of note in the first half, a 37th minute opening brought about by Cacace being caught in possession. Susaeta stripped him of the ball, and swiftly swept it into the stride of Maclaren, who got in behind DeVere but directed his shot across Marinovic and well past the far post.
Wellington's goalkeeper will not look back fondly on his distribution in this match, the latest poor example of which materialised two minutes into the second half. Marinovic's wayward clearance saw the ball land at the feet of Luna, who, sadly for City, sent his shot into orbit as the gaping goal yawned invitingly thirty yards away.
Sixty seconds later, Marinovic made amends with a superb flying one-handed save to keep out a twenty-five yarder from Noone, after Wellington had yet again given possession away in their own half - arguably the most disappointing feature of the home team's performance.
After Cacace had met a cross-field ball from
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Cameron Devlin with a first-time angled volley which flashed past Glover's near post, Melbourne thrice went close to breaking the deadlock in the fiftieth minute.
The initial thrust came from Josh Brillante, who combined with Noone to present Luna with a headed chance at the near post. Marinovic saved this, and a shot from Susaeta seconds later, before looking on as the charging Florin Berenguer set up Scott Jamieson for a shot which deflected to safety off Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, who was making his first start for Wellington.
The visitors continued to pile on the pressure, with Marinovic blocking a close range effort from Berenguer in the 54th minute, after the striker had sumptuously controlled a corner delivered to the far post by Noone.
It was from a City raid which broke down that Wellington opened the scoring four minutes later. Devlin thwarted a left-flank raid, then sent a scintillating pass down the line for Hooper to pursue, a feat the striker accomplished with aplomb before delivering an inch-perfect cross into the stride of Ball, who swept the subject matter home in the blink of an eye to prompt scenes of unbridled joy on and off the pitch.
Having netted one, Wellington sought a second goal. Davila spread play wide to Hudson-Wihongi in the 62nd minute, the makeshift fullback's last contribution to the match a tantalising cross which had City's defence in all sorts of bother.
Two minutes later, Glover was right behind a Davila twenty yarder after substitute Brandon Wilson swooped on a wayward Griffiths clearance. But Melbourne soon recovered their poise, and were in the ascendancy again twenty minutes from time, with Marinovic doing well to paw out Luna's twenty-five yard free-kick. The less said about Curtis Good's follow-up … suffice to say, it didn't live up to his name!
Unperturbed, Melbourne pressed again, Lachlan Wales somehow failing to do justice to Susaeta's delicious cross - or, more correctly, invitation to score - from the left to the far post in the 72nd minute.
Three minutes later, another enterprising City raid on the left flank saw Susaeta, Jamieson and newcomer Stefan Colakovski prise open Wellington's defence, only for the young substitute to slice his shot so badly that it would have gone out for a throw-in had Wales not produced a smart reaction header to keep the prospect of an equaliser alive, albeit briefly.
For Wellington cleared their lines after this, and kept the visitors at bay for the remainder of the contest, aided by City's inability to deliver a quality final ball when it was most needed, Wales' teasing 85th minute cross-shot which landed on the roof of the net apart.
The home team went desperately close to doubling their lead in second half stoppage time. Ball - another unstinting display - forged his way through the inside right channel, holding off a defender en route before setting up Davila, whose curler from the edge of the area was turned round the post at full stretch by Glover.
It was the last chance of an entertaining contest, one which saw Wellington close to within three points of second-placed Melbourne, who have played one game more than their Kiwi counterparts, for whom a play-offs spot is looking more assured by the week.
Wellington: Marinovic; Hudson-Wihongi (Wilson, 63), Taylor, DeVere, Cacace; Ball, Steinmann, Devlin (Rufer, 86), Piscopo (McCowatt, 67); Hooper (booked, 90), Davila (booked, 43)
Melbourne: Glover; Atkinson, Griffiths, Good, Jamieson; Berenguer (Wales, 67), Luna, Brillante; Susaeta (Najjar, 78), Maclaren, Noone (Colakovski, 73)
Referee: Alex King
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