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23Nov19
Wellington Scores First Win Of Season
by Jeremy Ruane
Wellington Phoenix scored their first win of the Hyundai A-League season at Westpac Stadium on November 23, seeing off a largely toothless Brisbane Roar 2-1 in front of 6,790 fans.
In a contest which will never go down in history as one of football's finest fixtures, the home team opened the scoring in the tenth minute. Ulises Davila worked a short corner with David Ball, the return pass allowing the Mexican to flight a cross to the far post, where Steven Taylor towered over Macauley Gillesphey to power home a header from six yards.
Taylor was on hand seven minutes later to preserve Wellington's advantage, clearing off the line from Jordan Courtney-Perkins after Aaron Amadi-Holloway's teasing cross had lured Stefan Marinovic off his line. His captain was in the right place at the right time to spare his blushes.
The very tight midfield battle dominated the game, and there were numerous fouls which punctuated proceedings. Referee Adam Kersey initially allowed one by Matti Steinmann on Stefan Mauk in the nineteenth minute to go unchecked for good reason.
Courtney-Perkins had latched onto the resulting loose ball on half-way and set sail downfield, not stopping until he reached the penalty area, from where he sent his shot blazing over the bar. The official instantly booked Steinmann for his challenge - a great piece of refereeing from which Brisbane spurned a chance they should have taken.
Wellington went close to doubling their advantage half-way through the half. Tim Payne - an excellent performance - and Callum McCowatt worked a one-two on the right which saw the overlapping fullback pull the ball back into the stride of Jaushua Sotirio.
His shot lacked power, but the improvised bicycle kick Ball produced to try to retrieve the situation very nearly paid off - Max Crocombe had to be alert to respond to the ball's change of direction thanks to Ball's intervention.
The home team continued to threaten, with Liberato Cacace next to do so on the half-hour. Released by McCowatt, the fullback motored down the left before getting into the penalty area where, with Ball and Sotirio better placed, a rush of blood to the head saw the defender execute a defender's finish to a promising opening.
Roy O'Donovan, Brisbane's talisman, had been well contained by Wellington to this point in time, his only threat on goal in the first half coming via a wildly wayward headed effort nine minutes before the interval after Scott Neville, Jake McGing and Mauk had combined on the right.
After McCowatt sent a twenty-five yarder swerving past the far post following another Cacace raid, Alex Rufer came close to bringing the house down five minutes before half-time with a splendid solo run, during the course of which he dummied his way past two opponents, swept past two more then played a one-two off a defender's shins before forcing Crocombe to save with his legs in a one-on-one situation.
It was the last act of note in a first half which left Brisbane coach, former Liverpool goalscoring machine Robbie Fowler, wondering how he could get his side to drag themselves back into the contest.
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Before they had a chance to do so, they found themselves two goals down five minutes into the second spell. Seconds after McCowatt had driven a volley straight at Crocombe, the 'keeper was beaten all ends up from the edge of the box by Davila, who latched onto a stray pass then ran at the Brisbane rearguard before battering a shot into the bottom far corner of the net - 2-0.
And so very nearly three sixty seconds later, as Crocombe careered out of goal and collided with the retreating figure of Tom Alfeld as Sotirio pursued a lofted ball forward. The 'keeper swiftly recovered to block the striker's bid to latch onto the sphere - a real let-off for Brisbane.
Sotirio was rightly denied what would have been a cheap penalty soon after when he went down far too easily after Mauk placed his hand on the striker's shoulder, while the offside flag denied Davila his second goal of the game in the 64th minute.
Brisbane began to come back into the game with twenty minutes remaining, substitute Aiden O'Neill lashing a twenty yarder narrowly past Marinovic's right-hand post. And after Davila had replied by steering a shot over from ten yards following a shot on the run from Cacace which ricocheted into the goalscorer's path, the visitors kept on coming in their pursuit of an unlikely comeback.
Substitute Brad Inman made a strong impression down the left upon entering the fray, and twas he who fired Brisbane's first shot on target in the 82nd minute, a close range effort which Marinovic blocked at the foot of his right-hand post.
O'Donovan was denied a goal by the offside flag seconds later, but five minutes from time Mauk set up a grandstand finish, stabbing home from close range after Jay O'Shea and Inman had combined down the left.
Two minutes later, Inman jinked his way down the left before whipping in a cross which deceived all-comers, eventually finding its way to Jai Ingham. His low cross was back-heeled goalwards by Mauk, but Marinovic thwarted O'Donovan's efforts to turn home the equaliser from close range.
The home team was hanging on at this point, and when O'Shea picked out Neville with an 89th minute free-kick, the defender only had to get the ball on target from an acute angle to earn Brisbane a dramatic late leveller. But it swerved away past the far post, much to Wellington's relief.
The home team looked to seal the deal in stoppage time via Cacace, whose swashbuckling run past three opponents culminated in a pass towards Ball which was foiled by Aldred's timely intervention. But Wellington had already done enough to end their winless streak in this season's A-League - they're up and running at last!
Wellington: Marinovic; Payne, Taylor, Devere, Cacace (booked, 34); Sotirio (Waine, 85), Steinmann (booked, 19), Rufer, McCowatt (Devlin, 65); Davila (L. McGing, 88), Ball
Brisbane: Crocombe; Neville, Aldred (booked, 52), Gillesphey; J. McGing (Ingham, 50), Pepper (booked, 90), Mauk (booked, 14), Courtney-Perkins (O'Neill, 65); Amadi-Holloway (Inman, 46), O'Donovan, O'Shea
Referee: Adam Kersey
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