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25Apr21
Last Gasp Penalty Clinches Come-From-Behind Win
by Jeremy Ruane
A last-gasp penalty from Tomer Hemed earned Wellington Phoenix a dramatic 2-1 come-from-behind win over title-chasing Adelaide United 2-1 at WIN Stadium on Anzac Day, with the 1903 fans present temporarily seeing the Kiwi side temporarily climb into the A-League play-off spots.
Wellington set their stall out early, James McGarry's pressure in the second minute forcing an opening on the left. Ulises Davila was the chief beneficiary, the Mexican wrong-footing Juande before crossing to the far post where Ben Waine rose above Jordan Elsey to get in a header, only to hit the crossbar from three yards.
Adelaide survived that scare, then set about dominating territory and possession in a half which was dominated by defences - Joshua Laws' block of Craig Goodwin's seventh minute snapshot was a case in point in this regard.
Wellington went close again on the quarter hour, McGarry playing the ball forward to Waine, whose lay-off invited Davila to dart towards goal. United goalkeeper Joe Gauci blocked well in a one-on-one situation, with Louis Fenton, following up, firing the rebound past the post, one of very few goalscoring opportunities in a tight half of football.
Adelaide enjoyed the next opening three minutes later. Ryan Strain and Goodwin combined, with the latter whipping in a wicked cross to the far post where Ben Halloran was arriving at pace to meet it. Not as fast as the retreating figure of Laws, however - the defender averted the danger.
Nine minutes later, Juande pounced on a loose ball and set up Goodwin for a thumping drive which Oliver Sail parried at his near post, the only save of note he had to make in the first half.
His opposite number, Gauci, made the last such denial in first half stoppage time, David Ball being denied by the goalkeeper after he let fly from twenty-five yards with a first-time effort on receipt of McGarry's throw-in.
What the first half lacked in goalscoring opportunities the second spell more than made up for - it was compelling viewing! United hit the ground running from Adam Kersey's whistle, and in the 48th minute engineered the first chance of the half.
Juande pounced on a stray pass and swiftly linked with Goodwin, whose angled pass for Tomi Juric saw the striker's poor touch foiled by the alert figure of Laws. Stefan Mauk latched onto the rebound and spread play wide to Josh Cavallo, who had joined the attack from his left-back role.
His low cross zoomed across the face of goal towards Juric, until Tim Payne's timely intervention diverted the ball to safety. Adelaide weren't done with, however - far from it - and within seconds, Halloran was unleashing a twenty-yarder which Sail spilled, the goalkeeper looking on with relief as Goodwin, following up, fired wide.
Adelaide's next attack, in the 51st minute, saw them open the scoring. Strain and Mauk teamed up with Juric to bring Halloran into play. He slipped the ball inside to Strain, who got to the by-line before pulling the ball back into the stride of Mauk. His strike never looked like missing the bottom far corner of the net - a fine team goal!
One wasn't enough as far as United was concerned, and they went hunting for more. Goodwin cut in off the left into the area two minutes later, evading Alex Rufer's attentions in the process. The attacker unleashed a rising drive which Sail parried at his near post, forcing McGarry into a hurried clearance.
Referee Kersey ignored Adelaide's penalty claims when Juric went down under Laws' challenge ten minutes into the second spell, after which Mauk's super pass sent Halloran haring through the inside right channel, from where he let fly. And fly is what Sail did in response, producing a flying save to his right to keep United at bay.
Completely against the run of play, Wellington levelled the scores in the 58th minute via a counter-attack. Davila chipped the ball over the top for Hemed, who was felled by George Timotheou on the edge of the area in response.
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Before referee Kersey could blow for a foul, however, Waine swooped on the loose ball and swiftly rounded Gauci before tucking the ball home into an empty net to score in a fourth consecutive game, equalling a club record.
Adelaide were taken aback by Wellington's temerity in drawing level, Strain's blocked 64th minute shot the only attempt to break the deadlock by either side in the fifteen minutes after the equaliser. This brief famine wasn't to last, however, with the final fifteen minutes of the match producing a feast of chances.
United were first to pull the trigger in this grandstand finale. Strain fed the overlapping figure of Halloran, who raced to the by-line before picking out Juric six yards out from goal. Sail somehow pulled off a superb parried save to deny the striker, with Cavallo lashing the rebound over the bar.
Wellington responded with a 79th minute counter-attack, substitute Cameron Devlin releasing Ball down the left. He cut inside before drawing a parried save from Gauci, but no one in a yellow shirt was on hand to capitalise on the rebound.
A flurry of substitutions followed, then all hell broke loose as both teams went all out for a dramatic winner. Davila lashed a twenty-five yarder inches over the bar, then a foul on Wellington's captain by Timotheou wasn't called by referee Kersey.
Adelaide instantly attacked with their opponents' concentration distracted by the error. Halloran led the charge before bringing substitute Al Hassan Toure into play. His shot under pressure sizzled past the post.
Gauci was rooted to the spot as Hemed met Fenton's cross with a volley which brushed the net, while seconds later, Fenton released substitute Jaushua Sotirio down the right, from where the newcomer sent a cross careering through United's goalmouth, beyond all his incoming team-mates.
Back came United, via Juande's free-kick which wasn't cleared. Halloran let rip with a volley which roared over the crossbar, while soon after, Laws blocked a shot from Timotheou before Payne headed clear as Halloran closed in for the kill.
Sotirio charged through the inside right channel seconds later and duly let fly, only for Gauci to turn the ball round the post. Clayton Lewis' corner prompted a scramble, with Sotirio's header hitting the crossbar in the thick of it all.
But in the process of heading the ball, he was taken out by Gauci, prompting referee Kersey to point to the penalty spot and give Wellington the perfect chance to win the game deep in stoppage time.
In the immediate aftermath, there was a gathering of the clans, with Toure and the combative figure of Devlin leading the arguments for each side - both were booked in the immediate aftermath.
While all this nonsense was unfolding, Hemed was preparing himself to take a spot-kick which could earn Wellington a vital three points in their pursuit of the play-offs … it was never in doubt, the Israeli sending Gauci the wrong way to clinch a 2-1 win for the home team on what was potentially their last game at WIN Stadium.
Wellington's final home games are scheduled to take place back in their New Zealand homeland, with Sky Stadium almost certain to be a sell-out for the club's first game on home soil in over a year when they play Western United there on May 22.
A trio of road games precede that fixture, however, with victories vital as the race for a top six finish increases in intensity. But if this clash with Adelaide is anything to go by, Wellington certainly has the fortitude for the task ahead of them.
Wellington: Sail; Fenton, Payne, Laws, McGarry (booked, 37) (Sutton, 81); Davila, Rufer (booked, 10), (Devlin, 74 (booked, 90)), Lewis, Ball (booked, 65); Waine (Sotirio, 81), Hemed (Taylor, 90)
Adelaide: Gauci (booked, 90); Strain, Elsey, Timotheou, Cavallo; Mauk (booked, 38) (Toure, 82 (booked, 90)), Juande, D'Arrigo; Halloran, Juric (Yengi, 82), Goodwin (Kitto, 70)
Referee: Adam Kersey
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