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22Dec24
Contest Over Inside Ten Minutes
by Jeremy Ruane
Two goals inside the first ten minutes of play set up Western Sydney Wanderers for a comprehensive 4-1 Isuzu Ute A-League triumph over Wellington Phoenix at CommBank Stadium on 22 December, a third successive defeat for last season's beaten semi-finalists.
Wests couldn't have wished for a better start if they'd tried. From the kick-off, fullback Gabriel Cleur pinged the ball downfield, and an untimely slip by Isaac Hughes allowed Brandon Borrello to steal in behind him and pick out Zac Sapsford with a cross which the mask-wearing striker swept home first time into the far corner a mere 48 seconds after the game had begun.
Wellington never recovered from that blow. Indeed, they could have conceded a second goal after eight minutes when Dylan Scicluna was allowed to run at the visitors' defence and into the penalty area, from where he unleashed a low drive which sizzled narrowly past the far post.
Two minutes later, their deficit was doubled by a familiar face. Corban Piper, making his first start for Wellington, was caught in possession by Nicola Milanovic, who charged goalwards before slipping a pass to Borrello. He played the ball first-time inside to Bozhidar Kraev, and the former Wellington man wasted little time in despatching the ball beyond Josh Oluwayemi - 2-0.
Because of the way coach Giancarlo Italiano sets up his Wellington team - their go-to game-plan is to "play to not lose" - going behind on the scoreboard early in the match scuppers that concept.
And because his starting line-up isn't really attack-oriented - heaven help Wellington were leading goalscorer Costa Barbarouses to be sidelined by injury - there's usually no way back from two goals down, so this contest was effectively over inside the first ten minutes.
The onus, therefore, was on Western Sydney to dip their bread should they so please, i.e. pile on the goals and hand out a hiding. Borrello went close to a third goal in the seventeenth minute after Milanovic unselfishly gave him the ball when he could - and should - have gone for goal himself.
Eight minutes later, only Hideki Ishige's vital interception prevented Borrello from bearing down on goal, prompting a Wellington counter-attack which saw Lawrence Thomas slide out and just clear in front of Barbarouses - had the 'keeper mis-timed this clearance, it was a certain penalty, with the added bonus of a card of yellow or red hue raised aloft by referee Alex King.
Thankfully Wests survived that scare, which came completely against the run of play. Normal service soon resumed, with Sapsford going down under the challenge of Piper in the area in the 28th minute, Piper having erred initially by letting in Borrello.
Wellington survived that scare, and another five minutes later, Borrello's volley swerving narrowly past the post after Cleur and Sapsford presented him with the chance to increase the scoreline.
The visitors enjoyed a decent spell of possession after this, but lacked penetration - understandable when you're set up to defend first and foremost. Their best - only - shot on goal came in first half stoppage time, when Ishige sent the ball soaring into the stands from twenty yards.
Not surprisingly, Wellington introduced new faces for the second spell, but after Piper headed an Ishige free-kick over the bar from four yards, it was Wests who were back on attack in the 51st minute, a mix-up between Hughes and Matt Sheridan opening the door for Sapsford to draw a solid save from Oluwayemi.
Two minutes later, Jack Clisby sent a snapshot over the bar after a blocked Josh Brillante drive fell kindly for the fullback. Then Milanovic slammed a shot against the post after Kraev had charged into acres of space on the right.
The pressure from Wests was incessant at this point, with Milanovic going close again in the 56th minute. But Wellington were buoyed by the sight of Tim Payne's thirty yard run and shot two minutes later, and from the resulting goal-kick, they dragged themselves back into the contest.
A wayward clearance from Thomas presented
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possession to Sheridan, who worked a one-two with Payne on the right, the return pass inviting the All Whites' fullback to whip in a cross from the by-line.
Thomas parried it skywards, with Kazuki Nagasawa lurking underneath it. He headed the ball into the goal area where Ishige had his back to goal, but he made light of the fact by unleashing an overhead kick which sent the sphere sailing into the roof of the net - a fabulous goal which gave Wellington brief hope.
Those hopes were soon dashed, because Wests simply carried on doing what they'd been doing so well prior to conceding. Sapsford went close with a volley in the 61st minute, after Brillante and Kraev had carved out the opening, while they restored their two-goal advantage five minutes later, thanks to the contributions of two just-introduced substitutes.
After Milanovic had seen a shot blocked, Aydan Hammond took possession on the right and fed the overlapping figure of Cleur, whose low cross was swept home emphatically by Marcus Antonsson - as first touches go, this wasn't a bad one!
That made it 3-1, and left Wellington chasing a game which looked beyond them. Thomas punched clear under pressure from Barbarouses as he strove to get on the end of a Nathan Walker cross, while Piper headed another Ishige header over the bar.
Back came Wests with a staggering attack in the 73rd minute. Milanovic secured possession deep inside his own half and set sail downfield before bringing both Antonsson and Hammond into play.
The latter's shot was blocked by Oluwayemi, with the ball breaking for Cleur, whose cross for Borrello took a deflection off Scott Wootton which resulted in the ball hitting the striker and ricocheting past the post when Borello was lurking in the shadow of the crossbar.
A more conventional effort by Borrello soon followed, and was matched by a conventional save from Oluwayemi, diving to his right. Cue a flurry of substitutions which broke up the momentum of the game, one of whom was Wellington debutant Luke Brooke-Smith.
His was a lively display, and one wondered how the game would have gone had he been given his head far earlier in the piece, because he was very much the spark their game needed, as he proved in the 85th minute, winning a battle for possession before picking out Barbarouses. His low cross, intended, for Walker, was cut out by the retreating Alexander Bonetig.
Back came Wests, Antonsson being hauled down from behind in the area. Referee King said no to their penalty claims, prompting a Wellington counter-attack, with Brooke-Smith its spearhead. His efforts earned a corner, which Walker delivered into the goalmouth. Piper let rip from six yards on the volley, only for Thomas to produce a fine save, then recover with Barbarouses lunging in trying to prod the ball home.
With the last kick of the game, Western Sydney wrapped up their 4-1 win. Seconds after being denied another penalty claim, Scicluna latched onto the ball and fair hammered a twenty-yarder home via the underside of the bar, the ball clearly bouncing down over the line before bouncing back into play.
The inevitable VAR check took almost as much additional time to conduct as the initial amount signalled - three minutes. (Why? Bonkers!) Eventually, sanity prevailed, the goal was awarded, the full time whistle blew and Western Sydney could celebrate a win which leaves them in sixth place with one game still to play in the round, the result of which could leave Wellington languishing in tenth spot, a position they haven't occupied on the table for a wee while.
West. Syd.: Thomas; Cleur, Pelekanos, Bonetig, Clisby (Priestman, 85); Milanovic, Brillante (Mata, 77), Scicluna, Kraev (Hammond, 64); Sapsford (Antonsson, 64), Borrello (Temelovski, 77)
Wellington: Oluwayemi; Piper, Wootton, Hughes (Kelly-Heald, 75); Payne, Retre (Walker, 46), Rufer, Nagasawa (Al-Taay, 75), Sutton (Sheridan, 75); Barbarouses, Ishige (Brooke-Smith, 75)
Referee: Alex King
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