The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website | home
02Jan21 | 09Jan21 | 24Jan21 | 31Jan21 | 08Feb21 | 14Feb21 | 21Feb21 | 24Feb21 | 28Feb21 | 07Mar21 | 15Mar21 | 21Mar21 | 24Mar21 | 28Mar21 | 05Apr21 | 11Apr21 | 18Apr21 | 22Apr21 | 25Apr21 | 01May21 | 07May21 | 16May21 | 22May21 | 26May21 | 30May21 | 04June21
15Mar21
Terrific Tussle's Climax Ruined By VAR
by Jeremy Ruane
A quite outstanding game of A-League football was denied the conclusion it deserved at Bankwest Stadium on 15 March, with the curse to football which is the Video Assistant Referee denying Wellington Phoenix a deserved stoppage time equaliser in a thrilling clash with Western Sydney Wanderers.
The home team trailed three times in the contest before getting up to win 4-3, with their victory only confirmed deep in stoppage time after the VAR deemed that Tomer Hemed's shoulder - !!! - was in an offside position at the start of the move which would have given the visitors a dramatic equaliser in a game laden with great goals.
The cagey nature of the opening few minutes of the contest gave no hint as to what was in store for the 5,477 fans present, not to mention those watching on NZ TV screens. But after Liam McGing blocked James Troisi's sixth minute drive, chaos reigned.
Wellington went straight up the other end of the park and opened the scoring. A quickly taken Alex Rufer free-kick picked out Ulises Davila, who worked a slick one-two with Reno Piscopo - a delicious return pass - before deftly chipping the ball over the advancing figure of Daniel Margush into the top far corner of the net.
The visitors came close to doubling their lead five minutes later. James McGarry and Piscopo combined to open up Wests' right flank, the latter's cross inviting Davila to let fly from twenty yards. Margush turned the shot to safety on this occasion.
After Cameron Devlin - a late change to the starting line-up after Louis Fenton pulled up lame in the warm-up - had blocked a Troisi drive, Wests levelled the scores in the 23rd minute.
Bernie Ibini-Isei cut a swathe through the inside right channel into the penalty area, where the massed ranks of Wellington's rearguard cut short his progress. He still managed to deliver a cross to the far post, however, much to the delight of Daniel Wilmering, who thundered home a volley into the far corner of the net from ten yards.
Parity was maintained for all of nine minutes, at which point a certain "Goal of the Season" contender graced the game. Wellington were in the ascendancy when Clayton Lewis had a 32nd minute shot blocked, the rebound finding its way to Devlin some thirty yards out from goal.
He unleashed an absolute Exocet of a shot which fair zoomed into the top corner of Margush's goal with such speed that the goalkeeper was still diving in vain when the ball rebounded off the netting behind him. A fantastic strike!
Margush prevented Wellington from going into the dressing rooms with a 3-1 lead, saving from Piscopo in first half stoppage time after the Olyroo had combned with Davila.
Straight after the resumption of play, Wests' 'keeper was called upon again to deny Piscopo's twenty-five yard drive, while at the other end of the park Oliver Sail kept out a Mitchell Duke header, his first save of note in the contest.
His next task was to fish the ball out of his net, as Wests levelled matters in the 52nd minute. Troisi's corner picked out the head of Jordan Mutch, who, from eight yards, sent a header rocketing into the corner of the net by the far post - 2-2.
Duke only just failed to head Wests in front three minutes later, his glancing header from Tate Russell's cross creeping agonisingly past the far post, to which Wellington responded on the hour via Lewis - his twenty-yarder sizzled narrowly past Margush's left-hand upright after Davila had invited the former Auckland City star to let fly.
Wellington conjured up a brilliant move in the 63rd minute. Devlin, David Ball, freshly introduced substitute Hemed and Davila combined, with the last-mentioned's cross arcing just beyond Piscopo as he looked to head the ball home.
Instead, he set off in pursuit of the sphere, and duly gathered it in outside the penalty area. Piscopo took on a defender before slipping a pass to McGarry, who returned the favour then watched as his team-mate drew a foul out of Dylan McGowan - as clear-cut a penalty as you will ever see!
|
Israeli international Hemed stepped up to do the honours from twelve yards, and duly sent Margush the wrong way before going to celebrate with his countrymen gathered behind the goal.
Wellington were still celebrating that goal mentally when Wests pegged them back once more, this time straight from the kick-off. Wilmering's ball in from the right saw Tim Payne leap to attempt to head it to safety, but he was either nudged off balance or badly misjudged the delivery - either way, he got nowhere near it.
Unlike Duke, who controlled the ball neatly on his chest before despatching a gem of a volley on the turn into Sail's top left-hand corner - 3-3, and how! Wellington were livid in claiming Payne had been fouled, no one more so than coach Ufuk Talay.
His frequent arguments with fourth officials this season have been as much an aspect of Wellington's games as their on-field efforts. This time, however, he overstepped the mark, and earned himself a yellow card from referee Shaun Evans for his tantrum. ('Bout time, too!)
What would happen next? A flurry of substitutions and bookings duly followed as the game headed towards a dramatic finale, with Wests going close to breaking the deadlock sixteen minutes from time, Ibini-Isei just failing to get on the end of a low cross from substitute Bruce Kamau, after fellow replacement Kwame Yeboah and Mutch had combined to play in the striker on the right.
Ten minutes later, Wests took the lead for the first time in the contest with another superb goal in a game laden with them. Russell's tackle on Hemed in the centre circle saw possession change hands, Kamau duly latching onto the ball and setting off downfield, riding a couple of challenges in the process.
When he got to around twenty-five yards out from goal, he linked up with substitute Nicolai Muller, whose cross deflected perfectly into the stride of Yeboah. He picked out the top far corner with a cracking strike - 4-3 Wests.
Could this game have any more twists and turns? Yes indeed! Davila was inches away from picking out the top far corner as the game headed into stoppage time, deep into which Wellington drew level with yet another cracking strike.
Rufer, playing in an unfamiliar right back role in Fenton's absence, hoisted one downfield with time all but up. Hemed flicked it on to fellow substitute Jaushua Sotirio, whose shot was blocked.
The rebound fell perfectly for Hemed, however, and he fair battered the ball into the top corner to level the scores yet again and give the match the perfect climax it deserved, because neither team deserved to lose this thrilling contest.
Alas, for the game, and for football as a whole, it's greatest curse was to intervene and ruin the outcome, the instantaneous joy of such a climactic goal ruined by the ultimate legacy of former FIFA President Sepp Blatter, the Video Assistant Referee.
With its penchant for millimetric precision, this technological innovation, which has destroyed the spontaneity aspect of the game the world plays, declared that the goal could not stand, Hemed's shoulder having been ahead of the last defender when Rufer hoisted the ball forward.
Yes, his shoulder! Pray tell how that gives him an unfair advantage in that instant? Alas, the intervention of this all-seeing, all-interfering blight on the game dashed fans' hopes of a fitting outcome to this enthralling encounter, Wellington being denied its fair share of spoils at the death as Western Sydney, having come from behind thrice, prevailed 4-3 in an A-League classic!
West. Syd.: Margush; Gordon (booked, 59), McGowan (booked, 63), Natta, Wilmering; Russell, Mutch, Baccus, Troisi (booked, 17) (Kamau, 71); Ibini-Isei (Muller, 75), Duke (Yeboah, 71)
Wellington: Sail; Rufer, McGing, Payne, McGarry; Davila (booked, 87), Devlin, Lewis (booked, 76) (Lokoli-Ngoy, 85), Piscopo (booked, 73); Waine (Hemed, 61), Ball (Sotirio, 78)
Referee: Shaun Evans
|