Wellington Phoenix edged the Central Coast Mariners 1-0 at Westpac Stadium on 19 December, in a decidedly uninspiring Hyundai A-League spectacle which rarely rose to memorable heights. There were two significant contributors to this being so. The sort of winds long associated with New Zealand's capital chose this night to make an unwelcome appearance, as did referee Chris Beath and his (insert adjective) whistle! Yes, he was doing his job to the best of his ability, which, it must be said, was limited at best! But the frequency with which the official blew his attention-grabbing device was such that any hopes either team harboured of stringing together a multiple-pass move were few and far between. There was no continuity whatsoever, and the constant stop-start nature of proceedings made a pig's ear out of the game as a spectacle. The DVD of this scrappy match could easily have been added to the list of potential cures for insomniacs, had the game not been graced by a rare feature in any Wellington Phoenix match - an early goal. This one needed just 86 seconds to materialise. Tony Lochhead hooked the ball up-field, and found Shane Smeltz on half-way. He released Leo Bertos down the right with a diagonal through ball, and instantly stormed downfield in anticipation of a cross. Bertos buccaneered down the right before whipping in a first-time cross to the far post, where, arriving on cue and completely unmarked, was Smeltz. His header bulleted past the stranded figure of Danny Vukovic to give Wellington the early advantage. Buoyed by their early show-stopper, the home team looked to further delight the 6762 fans who turned up with a second goal, in the sixth minute. Tim Brown played the ball to Bertos, who set sail downfield once more, this time through the middle. His twenty yard effort curled past Vukovic's left-hand post. After a string of misplaced passes and generally error-strewn football - players from both teams were really struggling to get to grips with the wind factor, Wellington created another opening after twenty minutes. Manny Muscat won possession on the right and combined with Andrew Durante to link with Brown, who promptly sent Smeltz speeding down the right flank. His cross invited Bertos to shoot, but before he could do so, Bradley Porter stepped in to avert the danger. The Mariners began to assume control of the game, something which was reflected by the wealth of possession they enjoyed throughout the remainder of the match. But disappointingly, they failed to make best use of it, creating just two chances of note in the twenty-five minutes which remained in the half. Both featured the same combination of players. Mile Jedinak's initial instigation of the move ultimately saw him play the ball across to the inside-left channel, through which John Hutchinson was hurtling in an effort to catch the Wellington defence off-guard. On each occasion, he played the ball across goal for Adrian Caceres' benefit. First time round, Glen Moss' anticipation of the threat he posed saw the

striker thwarted at close quarters by the advancing goalkeeper, who was little troubled in dealing with Caceres' second effort, just shy of the half-hour mark. The second spell saw the Mariners enjoy even more possession, but the steadfast nature of Wellington's defensive effort meant the visitors savoured few opportunities to equalise. Their best, in the 57th minute, was denied them by the offside flag, as Hutchinson was again thwarted by Moss at point-blank range. Two minutes later, the midfielder's cross beyond the far post picked out Dylan Macallister, whose header back across goal had Wellington's defence at sixes and sevens. Matt Simon was unable to capitalise on the situation, however, while a timely tackle by Muscat stopped the full-of-running Caceres in his tracks on the hour mark. Jedinak, too, went close seconds later, his shot on the turn following a Porter free-kick being thwarted superbly by Moss. Hutchinson's attempt to thrash home the rebound saw his thunderbolt cannon to safety off a couple of defenders. Moss found himself right behind a shot on the turn from Simon in the 66th minute, while six minutes later, the striker just failed to connect with Macallister's flick-on from a long Hutchinson throw-in, as he homed in on Lochhead's blindside. A rare Wellington raid graced the game twelve minutes from time, and it was well worth the wait, given it almost brought about the second goal this largely sterile game badly needed. (It's little wonder the Yellow Fever crew are such a lively bunch, because they have to do something to keep themselves amused and entertained!) Bertos craftily engineered some space for himself on the right and darted towards the by-line before pulling the ball back, Brown his intended target. The midfielder stepped over the ball, however, for Smeltz was lurking behind him, and promptly unleashed a firecracker towards the target which fizzed inches past the far post. That stirred Central Coast into further attacking frenzies, only one of which threatened the Wellington goal. Four minutes from time, a timely Lochhead tackle on the edge of the area thwarted a Nick Mrdja shot, with the resulting Porter corner being headed over the bar by Sasho Petrovski. The game was up for the visitors, and was best summed up for them in stoppage time when Mrdja's attempt to equalise via a long-range free-kick saw the ball sail way over the bar - it ended up nearer the roof of the stadium than of the net!! Wellington's early goal proved decisive, and allowed them to draw level on points with the vanquished team, just two points behind leaders Adelaide United with five rounds remaining before the play-off contenders are decided … all to play for, be you an entertaining side or otherwise! Wellington:     Moss; Muscat, Durante (booked, 90), Dodd, Lochhead; Ferrante (Christie, 76), McKain, Brown (booked, 90), Hear field (Daniel, 67); Bertos, Smeltz (booked, 62) Central Coast:     Vukovic; Porter (booked,49), Bojic, Wilkinson, Heffernan; Gumprecht, Cacerers (booked, 45) (Mrdja, 70), Jedinak, Hutchinson; Macallister (booked, 52), Simon (Petrovski, 76) Referee:     Chris Beath