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24Feb21
Melbourne Prevails In Cellar-Dwellers' Showdown
by Jeremy Ruane
Melbourne Victory climbed off the bottom of the A-League table on February 24, overcoming Wellington Phoenix 2-0 to condemn the beaten side to the last rung on the league ladder.
Referee Shaun Evans allowed an awful lot to let go in an at times testy encounter, one which accurately reflected why both teams are where they are on the league table. The official booked seven players, but there were a number of other occasions when the yellow card could have been produced, such was the willing nature of the contest.
Just two chances of note materialised in the opening twenty minutes, the first forcing a fine flying save from Oliver Sail as he kept out Rudy Gestede's header from a Callum McManaman cross after Robbie Kruse had ignited the game's first attack with a surging run.
Wellington's response, seven minutes later, was an opportunistic effort from fullback James McGarry, whose deft twenty-five yard chip of Max Crocombe bounced to safety off the top of the crossbar.
Determined defending by Melbourne prevented both Rene Piscopo and Ulises Davila from breaking the deadlock for the visitors before the half-hour mark, while in between these visits the aerial menace that was Gestede directed a header past the post at the other end of the ground.
Seven minutes before half-time, another Sail save, this time with his legs, denied McManaman. Then after a couple of shots had been blocked, the goalkeeper once again prevailed at McManaman's expense, before Jacob Brimmer went close with a curling effort to conclude a stirring sixty-second burst of action which also featured a Wellington counter-attack.
Right on the stroke of half-time, a fine block by Melbourne captain Leigh Broxham kept out a Rene Piscopo effort, after his deft back-heeled pass to Davila had ignited a Wellington counter-attack which also featured Louis Fenton.
Back came Melbourne, forcing a corner, which Brimmer delivered onto the head of Gestede. It was a case of third time lucky for the number nine, whose header bulleted beyond the diving figure of Sail to open the scoring in this third minute of first half stoppage time.
That goal gave the home team belief aplenty, and they came out all guns blazing early in the second spell, with Sail forced to turn a McManaman shot round the post two minutes after the resumption of play following an impressive first contribution to the match by half-time substitute Zayden Bello, one
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of two debutants Melbourne fielded in this contest.
Luke McGing conceded another corner soon afterwards, and from Brimmer's delivery, Gestede headed Melbourne into a two-goal lead, powering the ball home from six yards to leave Wellington with a mountain to climb if they harboured any hopes of avoiding defeat.
They tried to scale it, but in truth, without any of their recognised strikers available to them courtesy a combination of injury and suspension, they were never going to peg back this deficit, that lack of a cutting edge in attack their downfall.
In the 53rd minute, Cameron Devlin's delicious defence-splitting pass invited Piscopo to cross from the by-line, but his pull-back bisected the attackers and defenders who were heading towards Melbourne's goal.
Alex Rufer then skied a great chance, set up by the combined efforts of Davila and Piscopo, with the latter foiled by Crocombe soon afterwards as Wellington continued to strive for a way back into the contest.
Melbourne responded through Brimmer, who unleashed 58th and 71st minute efforts from distance which Sail was called upon to keep out - the midfielder fired another attempt over the bar late on, before being foiled by Fenton's timely tackle with the game's last genuine opportunity.
In between the efforts which required Sail's intervention, Fenton was unable to direct his header on target following a Davila cross, while the Mexican was denied by Bello's timely tackle eleven minutes from time, as he looked to revive Wellington's drooping spirits.
Seconds later, Davila's deft touch invited substitute Charles Lokoli-Ngoy to burst into the penalty area, but his hesitance was punished by Crocombe, the last time his goal would come under threat as Wellington meekly slumped to the bottom of the table.
Melbourne: Crocombe; Broxham (booked, 34), Shotton (booked, 37) (Bello, 46), Ryan (Anderson, 5 (booked, 62), Markovic (booked, 55); McManaman (Barnett, 72), Brimmer, Kruse, Kirdar, Rojas (Butterfield, 24); Gestede (Lawrie-Lattanzio, 72)
Wellington: Sail; Fenton (booked, 51), Payne, McGing, McGarry (booked, 25); Muratovic (booked, 18) (Lewis, 50), Rufer, Davila, Lewis, Piscopo (Lokoli-Ngoy, 75); Waine
Referee: Shaun Evans
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