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21Feb20
Western Fortunate To Escape With Two-Goal Defeat
by Jeremy Ruane
Wellington Phoenix scored a thoroughly deserved 2-0 win over Western United in front of 7,281 fans at a rain-soaked and windswept Sky Stadium on 21 February, a scoreline which flattered the beaten side.
But for the heroics of goalkeeper Filip Kurto, once of three former Wellington players in Western's ranks, the home team could have five goals up at half-time in what was arguably the best half of football Wellington has produced this season on an occasion they chose to wear a one-off kit of purple shirts, green shorts and white socks in support of Mental Health Week.
Kurto was beaten all ends up just 49 seconds into the contest, however. David Ball swooped on a loose ball and instantly fed Ulises Davila, who jinked inside a defender before curling a fifteen yarder around Kurto, only to see the ball rebound to safety off the inside of the far post.
Buoyed by that close call, Wellington kept on pressing, and in the seventh minute, Gary Hooper and Reno Piscopo combined with Liberato Cacace to present the ball to Cameron Devlin. His defence-splitting pass put Hooper in on goal with just Kurto to beat, but the 'keeper saved superbly with his legs.
Five minutes later, Piscopo latched onto a stray pass and surged forward before letting fly from twenty yards with a shot which Kurto turned round the post. The 'keeper then looked on as Steven Taylor mistimed his scissors kick attempt upon receipt of Davila's corner.
Within ninety seconds, Wellington had fired two more shots from distance, with Ball's effort being turned away by Kurto before Piscopo struck the outside of the post as the home team piled on the pressure in search of the goal their dominant start to proceedings fully merited.
It wouldn't come, however. Davila lashed one inches over the bar in the seventeenth minute after a delightful move featuring Piscopo, Ball, the Mexican and Tim Payne, whose cross was only cleared as far as Davila.
Three minutes later, Wellington must have been wondering what they had to do to score, as their former custodian denied them once again in fabulous fashion. Davila delivered a corner to the near post which Hooper flicked back into the stride of Ball. From ten yards, he hit a screamer which had 'top far corner' written all over it until Kurto produced a stunning reflex save to turn the ball to safety.
Seconds later, Payne switched play to Ball, who linked with Piscopo before Davila was presented with another chance to break the deadlock. Once more, Kurto proved equal to anything Wellington could contrive, blocking this particular piledriver to safety.
It looked like it was going to be one of those nights for the home team, until the 29th minute rolled round. At that point, Ball laid the ball off to Piscopo, who was crowded out by the defence.
But the Olyroo brought Davila into play, and he instantly switched the ball to the left flank, where Cacace was arriving on cue. Without breaking stride, he uncorked a cushioned volley which deceived Kurto, who was expecting another full-blooded strike towards the target. The reduced power saw the 'keeper misjudge the shot, and the ball bounced into the far corner of the net to give Wellington the lead.
Instantly, they looked to build on it, with Piscopo picking out the unmarked figure of Taylor from a corner. His volley was pawed out by Kurto, whose exploits were keeping Western in the contest - no question!
Buoyed by their 'keeper's performance, the visitors finally mustered an attack worthy of the name in the 36th minute. Eleventh hour recruit Steven Lustica ignited a move which featured Alessandro Diamanti, Josh Risdon and Dario Jertec, who was thwarted in the area by a terrific recovering tackle from, of all people, Ball, the striker doing his bit at the other end of the park to keep his team in front.
It would have been a travesty had Western drawn level, but they came close to doing so five minutes before half-time. Risdon combined with substitute Max Burgess, an early replacement after Panagiotis Kone picked up an arm injury in a clash with Taylor.
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The newcomer added some much-needed zest to Western's performance, and on this occasion picked out Connor Pain with a cross. He directed the ball beyond him to Besart Berisha, whose bid to equalise was foiled by Stefan Marinovic's fine save at his feet.
That threat saw Wellington redouble their efforts to score again before the interval. Davila released Payne down the right, and the recalled fullback - he was suspended last week - delivered a searching cross to the far post where Ball was arriving on cue. So, from Western's perspective, was Tomoki Imai, whose intervention proved crucial.
Hooper was denied a goal on the stroke of half-time by the offside flag, while eight minutes into the second half, Berisha had penalty claims rebuffed by referee Shaun Evans after he tangled with Luke DeVere, who did a fine job in keeping the usually prolific striker quiet for the bulk of the match.
Berisha was still a central figure in all that Western did to get back into the contest during the second spell, during which they were much improved. Burgess and Pain were also prominent figures in the visitors' repeated attempts to draw level, but all too often the final ball was their downfall, and much of their creative industry proved fruitless.
In the 56th minute, Berisha played Diamanti through the offside trap, only for the Italian to be thwarted by Marinovic, who was beaten in the air by Berisha five minutes later as they contested a Diamanti corner. The striker's header cleared the crossbar, prompting the awarding of another corner.
This one was played short, and resulted in another teasing cross into the danger zone, Berisha its intended target. Marinovic wasn't having a bar of it, however, but could only parry the ball towards the penalty spot.
Fortunately for Wellington, no one was following up for United - their failure to support Berisha from deep is unquestionably one of the shortcomings in their tactical plan, which has as its principle argument playing to not lose.
Indeed, they're not set up to win games, something which coach Mark Rudan should be ashamed of - he hasn't made best use of Western's supposed extra financial resources after leaving Wellington at the end of last season. The grass isn't always greener …
Despite the awful playing conditions which limited their attacking influence in the second spell, the home team didn't stop trying to build on their advantage on the occasions when opportunities presented themselves, such as the one in the 64th minute.
Cacace was on the charge, and linked with Ball and the overlapping figure of substitute Callum McCowatt, whose low cross to the near post found Hooper homing in with the whites of the goal in his eyes. All of a sudden, another figure appeared in his vision, Kurto once more performing miracles to keep Western in the contest.
The 'keeper foiled Hooper once more sixty seconds later, this time spreading himself superbly as the striker looked to make progress through the inside right channel in the area.
Over twenty minutes elapsed before Wellington fired another shot in anger, substitute Alex Rufer slicing his effort past the post after Ball had looked to make something out of nothing after Western had failed to clear a poor Davila corner.
It was Ball who finally found a way past Kurto in stoppage time. Marinovic's wind-assisted clearance deceived the United rearguard, but not the striker, whose angled run took him clear of all-comers, Ball then cleverly lifting the ball over the advancing figure of Kurto and into the empty net beyond to clinch a deserved 2-0 win for the home side, who look odds-on to clinch a play-off berth in the near future.
Wellington: Marinovic; Payne, Taylor (booked, 25), DeVere, Cacace; Ball, Steinmann, Devlin (Rufer, 67), Piscopo (booked, 41) (McCowatt, 60); Hooper (Sotirio, 80), Davila
Western: Kurto; Imai, Durante, Dillon; Risdon, Lustica (booked, 23), Jertec (Skotadis, 67), Pain; Diamanti (Pierias, 82), Berisha, Kone (Burgess, 30)
Referee: Shaun Evans
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