The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website | home
21Oct18 | 28Oct18 | 03Nov18 | 09Nov18 | 24Nov18 | 02Dec18 | 08Dec18 | 15Dec18 | 22Dec18 | 28Dec18 | 05Jan19 | 08Jan19 | 12Jan19 | 20Jan19 | 23Jan19 | 26Jan19 | 02Feb19 | 07Feb19 | 15Feb19 | 23Feb19 | 09Mar19 | 17Mar19 | 30Mar19 | 07Apr19 | 12Apr19 | 21Apr19 | 28Apr19 | 03May19
17Mar19
Wellington Strengthen Grip On Play-Off Spot
by Jeremy Ruane
Wellington Phoenix strengthened their grip on a Hyundai A-League play-off spot at Westpac Stadium on 17 March, comfortably accounting for a disappointing Western Sydney Wanderers outfit 3-1 in front of 7,685 fans, all of whom, along with the nation as a whole, were still coming to terms with the act of terror in Christchurch forty-eight hours previously.
The visitors offered minimal resistance throughout the bulk of the first half, to such an extent that the game was over as a contest just after the half-hour mark, by which time Wellington were 3-0 up and cruising.
They first threatened in the ninth minute. Having dominated possession from the outset, Mandi Sosa released Roy Krishna through the inside left channel, from where he played the ball inside to Max Burgess.
His shot was blocked by Brendan Hamill, but when Wellington next raided, three minutes later, their reward was far more substantial. Krishna pounced on an under-hit Tate Russell pass intended for Hamill and stormed through on goal before rifling the ball beyond Vedran Janjetovic and into the top far corner from an ever-decreasing angle.
Wellington were well worth their early lead, and after Louis Fenton had stifled a rare raid by Raul Llorente down the left, David Williams pounced on a stray pass from former Wellington star Roly Bonevacia and instantly sent Krishna scampering down the right, from where he picked out Burgess with a cross. The striker's effort was blocked to safety by Russell.
Wellington doubled their lead in considerable style in the 23rd minute. Sosa unleashed an exquisite twenty-seven yard free-kick which curled round the wall and sailed into the back of the net by the near post, with Janjetovic rooted to the spot in admiration by the opposite upright - it really was a gem of a set-piece strike!
Wests finally offered some resistance six minutes later, with Bonevacia leading the charge down the right to the accompaniment of boos from those who cheered him so avidly when he wore yellow and black.
On this occasion, the Dutchman picked out Oriol Riera at the near post, from where the striker directed a deft flick goalwards. Filip Kurto could only parry the ball into the stride of Llorente, who blazed the opportunity wildly over the crossbar from close range.
That miss was punished by Wellington in the 33rd minute, as they scored their third goal. Liberato Cacace careered down the left before cutting inside and playing the ball across to Alex Rufer.
His deft back-heeled pass to Krishna invited the league's leading marksman to slip a pass inside to Williams, who, from fifteen yards out, curled the ball round a defender and Janjetovic into the far corner of the net - game over! (Or as near as damn it!)
The home team came close to scoring twice more before the interval, with Krishna heading over from four yards in the 38th minute after Rufer and Fenton had combined on the right. The Fijian then
|
fired an instinctive bicycle kick past the post after a Burgess cross had ricocheted off two Western Sydney defenders in the shadows of the half-time whistle.
The visitors offered far more in the second spell, Mitchell Duke firing wildly high and wide ten minutes into the half before Bonevacia unleashed a curler which Kurto grabbed before it arced into the top far corner six minutes later.
In between times, Wellington had gone close to scoring a fourth goal, Tarek Elrich blocking a Krishna effort on this occasion after Williams had chased down a hopeful ball forward and made something out of nothing.
In the 63rd minute, Cacace spurned a glorious chance to inflict further agony on Western Sydney. Burgess flighted a twenty-eight yard free-kick into the goalmouth from the right, and the overlapping fullback, who was completely unmarked six yards out, somehow directed his volley over the bar when scoring appeared the easier option.
Cue controversy. And no prizes for guessing its source. In one - VAR! Referee Alex King awarded Wests a free-kick right on the edge of the penalty area when Burgess was correctly adjudged to have fouled Bruce Kamau.
Then Video Assistant Referee Nick Waldron chimed in with his two pennies' worth, and raised the issue with King that Burgess still had hold of Kamau when he was inside the area, so it should be a penalty. But if the offence initially occurred outside the area, which this did …
Mr King had it right initially, but allowed technology to taint his views, and pointed to the penalty spot, from where Alex Baumjohann fired the ball past the post - justice served!
There was no way back for Wests after that, but they kept on plugging away, and after Andrew Durante's timely intervention prevented Kwame Yeboah from getting a shot in eight minutes from time, they pulled a goal back with four minutes still to play.
Baumjohann pinged a pass wide to Riera, who delivered a delightfully flighted cross onto the head of Duke, whose glancing header left Kurto clawing at air as it found the corner of the net.
3-1 was as good as it got for Western Sydney, however, although there was late drama when Krishna committed two bookable offences in the dying minutes, the second with his elbow collecting Llorente in the face, thus earning the Fijian a red card in stoppage time - a setback Wellington could ill afford at this stage of the campaign, when they are so close to clinching a play-off spot.
Wellington: Kurto; Kopczynski, Durante (booked, 80), Golec; Fenton, Rufer (booked, 52), Sosa (Stensness, 87), Cacace; Krishna (booked, 88, 90 - sent off), Burgess (Lowry, 90), Williams (Sheridan, 83)
Western Sydney: Janjetovic; Russell (Baumjohann, 33), Elrich, Hamill, Llorente (Wilmering, 90); Gallifuoco (booked, 21), Duke, Mahazi; Kamau, Riera, Bonevacia (Yeboah, 65)
Referee: Alex King
|