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27Apr24
Wellington Top The A-League Standings ... For Now
by Jeremy Ruane
Wellington Phoenix concluded their Isuzu Ute A-League Premiership campaign on top of the standings on April 27, but whether they win the Premiership Plate is out of their hands, given second-placed Central Coast Mariners are a point behind with a game in hand on their trans-Tasman rivals.
Giancarlo Italiano's charges did what they had to do in front of 15,428 fans at Sky Stadium, prevailing 3-0 over Macarthur Bulls to ensure that Central Coast have to get at least a draw in their final game to deny Wellington the silverware.
The home team began this game as if on a mission, and it didn't take them long to fire their first shots in anger. Sam Sutton sent a twenty-yarder whistling over the bar in the seventh minute, while Ben Old, who was instrumental in creating that first opportunity, curled a twenty-five yarder straight into the all-enveloping gloves of Filip Kurto sixty seconds later.
Wellington had the ball in the net in the thirteenth minute, but David Ball's hopes that his lengthy goalscoring drought was over were dashed at the sight of the offside flag - Costa Barbarouses had strayed beyond the last Macarthur defender in the build-up.
Five minutes later, Bozhidar Kraev led the charge towards the visitors' goal, before feeding the overlapping figure of Old, whose lobbed acute-angled cross hit the bar. Macarthur survived that scare, and another in the twentieth minute as Alex Rufer rewarded Tim Payne's charging run down the right with a measured pass which the fullback directed into Barbarouses, whose shot on the turn was smothered by Kurto.
A goal had to come, and Wellington's deserved lead finally materialised in the 22nd minute. Nick Pennington sent Barbarouses surging through the inside right channel with a raking through ball which the striker controlled neatly before firing across Kurto and into the far corner of the net, to the undisguised delight of the biggest crowd to witness the home team in the capital this season. (The 18002-strong Eden Park crowd in mid-March tops that chart).
Stung by conceding, Macarthur mounted their first attack soon after falling behind. But Scott Wootton blocked Kealey Adamson's shot seconds after Finn Surman's timely tackle thwarted the progress of Ulises Davila, once of this parish.
Unperturbed, the Mexican came again, directing a shot at full stretch straight at Alex Paulsen after Adamson and Valere Germain had opened up the Wellington rearguard. Cue a thumping angled Jed Drew volley which flew narrowly over the bar as Macarthur continued to pursue a swift equaliser.
Those hopes were dashed in the 29th minute as Wellington doubled their lead. Wootton, Sutton and Old combined on the left, the last-mentioned's cross to the far post finding Payne flying in to send a thumping six-yard header crashing into the net - 2-0.
And so nearly three soon after, Kurto dashing out of his penalty area to clear his lines as Ball chased Surman's lofted ball downfield. Wellington kept
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Macarthur at arm's length for the remainder of the half, despite injury scares for both Sutton and Payne, while Rufer saw a shot diverted to safety in the shadows of the half-time whistle.
There was only one team in it after the break, and they weren't wearing yellow! The infuriating habit Wellington have of resting on their laurels, sitting on their lead … call it what you will, it was there for all to see throughout the majority of the second half, as they invited wave upon wave of Macarthur attacks.
Not before Adamson had headed over his own crossbar to divert a Kraev cross to safety, however. But come the 53rd minute, the half's first shot in anger was fired, a four-man move opening Wellington up, only to be snuffed out by Kraev's vital tackle, which thwarted Germain in the area.
The same player curled a shot past the far post halfway through the second spell, Daniel De Silva and Davila creating the opening in a half which saw former Wellington star Clayton Lewis controlling proceedings for large chunks of the second spell as the visitors piled on the pressure in a bid to halve the deficit.
Occasionally, Wellington broke the mould and threatened to extend their advantage, firstly through Sutton twenty minutes from time as he curled an effort past the far post, then again seven minutes later, the adventurous fullback volleying across the face of goal after a lightning-quick raid featuring Old, Youstin Salas, Rufer and Kraev.
In between these efforts, Jerry Skotadis saw an acute-angled effort tipped over the bar by Paulsen, while Davila curled a twenty-yarder past the far post as Macarthur continued to press. But time was their enemy, and when Wellington next mounted a counter-attack, in stoppage time, referee Ben Abraham awarded a penalty as substitute Oskar Zawada was felled in the are by Kurto.
It was Pole on Pole from the spot, but they were poles apart where the outcome was concerned, Polish goalkeeper Kurto diving the wrong way as Zawada, his countryman, iced Wellington's cake with a confident penalty into the bottom corner.
There was still time for Rufer to draw a save from Kurto before the final whistle sounded, to the delight of the natives, who were well aware that in a match which kicked off concurrently, Central Coast was accounting for Newcastle Jets to ensure the Premiership Plate wouldn't be presented on Kiwi soil on this occasion.
Having guaranteed themselves a home semi-final by finishing in the top two, Wellington now have a week off while their opponents are discovered, with the second leg of said semi set down for this venue on May 18.
Wellington: Paulsen; Payne, Surman, Wootton, Sutton; Pennington (Zawada, 87 (booked, 87)), Rufer (booked, 54), Old; Barbarouses, Ball (Salas, 71 (booked, 84)), Kraev (Van Hattum, 81)
Macarthur: Kurto; Adamson (Skotadis, 61), Uskok, Jurman, Vujica; Lewis, Davila, Popovic (De Silva, 46); M'Mombwa (Scott, 61), Germain (Rose, 70), Drew (booked, 40 (Jones, 61))
Referee: Ben Abraham
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