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23Dec23
Late Goals See Wellington Extend League Lead
by Jeremy Ruane
Wellington Phoenix extended their lead at the top of the Isuzu Ute A-League ladder to three points on December 23, two stoppage time goals earning them a 2-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers in front of 7,294 fans at Sky Stadium to give Giancarlo Italiano's team the ideal Christmas present.
It was attritional fare for much of the contest, defences dominating proceedings as both sides rather cancelled each other out - the visitors began the game knowing that victory would see them take over from Wellington at the top of the Christmas tree.
The home team gave their fans a scare in the seventh minute when their penchant for predictably playing out from the back saw Scott Wootton closed down by Marcus Antonsson, who led the line well for the visitors. Nothing came from the threat, but the message was there for Wellington - they need to mix it up a bit, play long from the back, as well as short.
Finn Surman pinged one forward from the back in the thirteenth minute, in doing so creating Wellington's first threat on goal. Bozhidar Kraev was the intended beneficiary of his team-mate's ball forward, but Lawrence Thomas anticipated the threat well and thwarted the Bulgarian at close quarters.
It wasn't until the half-hour that the next hint of a goal materialised, with the lively Aidan Simmons catching Costa Barbarouses in possession. The attack-minded fullback evaded another opponent before unleashing a shot which deflected through harmlessly to Alex Paulsen.
Three minutes later, David Ball and Ben Old combined on the left for the benefit of Barbarouses, who looked to pick out Kraev as the move reached the business end. Alex Bonetig stepped in to avert the danger, as did Surman in the 41st minute to snuff out the best chance of the match so far.
Dylan Pierias got in behind Wellington's defence on the right and set up Nicolas Milanovic for a shot. Paulsen parried the ball well to his left, but Pierias was following in, only for Surman, hurtling across goal, to fling himself in the way of the shot, preventing a certain goal.
Wellington responded swiftly, Barbarouses having a goal disallowed for handball sixty seconds later. Back came the visitors, with Antonsson firing the final shot of note in the half past the post in the 43rd minute after good work by Simmons to create the opening.
The cagey nature of the game continued after the interval, with the first incident of note materialising in the 57th minute. Bonetig sent Pierias down the right, from where he delivered a cross with which the airborne figure of Milanovic only just failed to make contact, the player sliding just past the far post as the ball careered away from danger.
Old had no support from fellow yellow shirt-wearers when he engineered an opening and delivered a cross on the hour mark, unlike Barbarouses halfway through the second spell. He made his way into the penalty area off the left flank before delivering a deft cross to the far post which was intended for Kraev.
Bonetig had other ideas, however, heading the ball
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over his own crossbar, with Tim Payne's resulting corner being headed narrowly past the post by Alex Rufer, whose discipline issues are starting to become a bit of a problem - the captain picked up another yellow card in this match to leave himself one booking away from a one-match suspension.
Western Sydney enjoyed their best spell of the match in the next fifteen or so minutes, interrupted only by an offside call against Kraev in the 85th minute which ruled out a Wellington goal.
The visitors first threatened in the 73rd minute, Alex Badolato firing narrowly wide after more good work by Pierias. Five minutes later, it was Badolato's turn to create the opening, his low cross careering across the bows of Antonsson as he slid in looking to steer the sphere inside the goal frame.
Simmons was next to carve out a chance, cutting in off the right across the top of the penalty area before reaching a point where a low drive was in order. Wootton blocked this to safety, then looked on with relief as Badolato battered a shot straight at Paulsen nine minutes from time.
Six minutes later, Badolato and substitute Lachlan Brook worked a one-two on the left, the latter's return pass allowing the former to step inside and curl a twenty-five yarder towards the top far corner of the net. Paulsen flung himself to his left to tip the ball onto the far post and out for a … goal kick! The visitors were not amused at this oversight by the officials, to put it mildly!
They were even less enthused two minutes into stoppage time as Wellington broke the deadlock. Rufer spotted Barbarouses' angled run in off the right and delivered a ball downtown which was made to measure for the All White to latch onto.
He nipped in front of the hitherto inactive Thomas to reach it, then rounded the stranded 'keeper before, despite the despairing efforts of Marcelo to deny the opportunity, rifling the ball into the top far corner of the net, to the delight of the local faithful, who, like their on-field representatives, were still celebrating when Western Sydney kicked off and put the ball in the vacant Wellington net to equalise in controversial fashion.
The rulebook was the home team's saviour, however, referee Casey Reibelt ruling out Wests' equaliser for offside, much to the visitors' chagrin. Their disappointment turned to outright dismay in the fifth minute of stoppage time, however, as Wellington doubled their lead with virtually the last kick of the game.
Wests were pressing hard for an equaliser but lost possession, and downfield surged Barbarouses on the counter-attack, a sixty yard run which concluded when he slipped a pass into Old's stride. He drilled the ball first time into the bottom far corner of the net to clinch Wellington's 2-0 victory in style.
Wellington: Paulsen; Payne, Surman, Wootton, Sutton (Kelly-Heald, 78); Pennington (Al Taay, 74)), Rufer (booked, 30), Kraev; Barbarouses (Hughes, 90), Ball (Supyk, 74), Old
West. Syd.: Thomas; Simmons (Russell, 13), Marcelo, Bonetig, Clisby; Hendrix, Priestman (Cleur, 74), Milanovic (booked, 75); Pierias (Younis, 74), Antonsson (Brook, 86), Yuel (Badolato, 66)
Referee: Casey Reibelt
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