Wellington Phoenix mounted a storming comeback to overcome Melbourne Heart at Westpac Stadium on December 27, recovering from two goals down inside the first fifteen minutes of this thirteenth round Hyundai A-League encounter to prevail 3-2 in front of another paltry 6,401-strong hometown crowd. They were cheering in just the second minute when Wellington mounted their first attack, Tyler Boyd and Leo Bertos combining on the right to present Dani Sanchez with a shooting chance which he was unable to direct on target. But you could have heard a pin drop in Westpac Stadium thirteen minutes later after two Melbourne goals in seventy seconds left the locals staring up at the footballing equivalent of Mt. Cook, New Zealand's highest peak. Andrew Durante's clumsy foul on Jason Hoffman just outside the penalty area earned Wellington's captain a booking, but worse punishment was inflicted by Golgol Mebrahtu, whose sumptuously struck free-kick left Mark Paston helpless as it arced over the wall and dipped into his top left-hand corner in the fourteenth minute. Straight from the kick-off, the visitors swiftly sought a second goal, with Hoffman and Fred, his captain, combining to play David Williams in through the inside-left channel. His low cross ricocheted off the shin of Durante straight past Paston - 2-0, with just fifteen minutes having been played. It was vital for Wellington that they reduced the deficit in fairly short order, and after David Vrankovic's timely challenge had denied Sanchez in the act of shooting, the home team gave their fans something to cheer in the twentieth minute. Melbourne were playing the ball out of defence when Hoffman was caught in possession by Vince Lia, who, with three options to choose from, slipped a pass into the stride of Louis Fenton, who curled home a gem from the edge of the penalty area - 2-1, game on! Clint Bolton, who, like Paston at the other end of the park, stood no chance as the ball went past him, almost presented the home team with an equaliser in the 24th minute when clearing in wayward fashion to Manny Muscat, some twenty-five yards out from goal. The Maltese international mistimed his instant reply, however, allowing Bolton the chance to recover and this time launch a far better clearance which culminated in Ben Sigmund hurtling back to thwart the progress of Williams, as he charged into the penalty area off the left flank. After Bolton had tipped over a cross-shot from Bertos, and punched clear an angled cross from Jeremy Brockie, who also had a goal-bound shot blocked by a Melbourne defender, both teams spurned chances to alter the scoreline on the stroke of half-time. Tony Lochhead's measured cross to the far post saw Brockie soaring over all-comers, only to direct his header over the bar. While from Bolton's resulting goal-kick, Josip Tadic did Lochhead a treat on half-way before surging forward and firing over an angled cross which was just too far in front of the charging figure of Williams, who would surely have scored with just Paston to beat. 2-1 to Melbourne it remained, however, an advantage which Wellington set about changing with gusto from the second referee Shaun Evans blew his whistle to start the second spell. The home team effectively set up camp in Melbourne's half, and proceeded to pound away in

search of, initially, an equaliser. They were nearly caught out just three minutes into the half, however, Matt Thompson's jinking run and through ball sending Mebrahtu in between Durante and Sigmund, whose sturdy covering challenge had to be perfectly timed, and was. That episode aside, it was one-way traffic, with Bolton's goal the main attraction. The visitors' rearguard action, in which fullbacks Michael Marrone and Sam Mitchinson both impressed, meant their goalkeeper had just one save to make in the first twenty minutes of the half, a smothered effort to deny Sanchez after Fenton's left flank run and cross. Come the 65th minute, however, Wellington were presented with a way back into the match, after Marrone had nudged Fenton as the latter looked to get on the end of a Bertos cross. Referee Evans had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot, from where Brockie rattled home the equaliser - 2-2. Melbourne swiftly countered, Marrone, Thompson and Mebrahtu combining for Fred to curl one narrowly past the far post. It was a miss which was to prove costly for the visitors, as their hosts hit the front nineteen minutes from time. Sanchez was leading the charge from midfield, and let loose a shot which cannoned off a defender perfectly into the stride of Brockie, who shrugged off a challenge before angling a shot across the advancing figure of Bolton and in by the far post to give Wellington the lead for the first time in the match, much to the delight of their fans. They weren't content with just the one-goal advantage, however. Muscat picked the pocket of Thompson in the 74th minute and promptly attempted a chip of the out-of-position Bolton. The ball narrowly cleared the bar, much like a Fenton twenty-yarder eleven minutes later, six minutes prior to which Sanchez sent a shot fizzing past the post after the massed ranks of Melbourne's defenders thwarted the attempts of Boyd and Brockie to capitalise on the Spanish playmaker's through ball. With four minutes remaining, Wellington came desperately close to doubling their lead. Following a cleared corner, Sanchez swept the ball across the park to pick out Sigmund, who stormed into the Melbourne penalty area and slipped a pass towards the near post. Durante, his central defensive partner, was lurking with intent, his prime one being to score at the right end, of course. A deft back-heeled flick did for the defender, but lacked the power to beat Bolton. Being just a goal behind, Melbourne fancied their chances of spoiling Wellington's end-of-year party, this being the final match of both teams in 2012. Deep in stoppage time, they nearly did so, with Thompson's blocked shot falling perfectly for Mitchinson to let fly. But Sigmund's timely block sent the ball spinning into the side-netting, and after the resulting corner was cleared, so were the visitors' hopes of pinching a point from a match in which they bottled a two-goal lead, much to the delight of the Wellingtonians, whose come-from-behind 3-2 win keeps them well in play-offs contention. Wellington:     Paston; Bertos (Totori, 75 (booked, 90)), Sigmund, Durante (booked, 13), Lochhead; Lia (booked, 9) (Smith, 83), Muscat, Sanchez; Boyd, Brockie, Fenton Melbourne:     Bolton; Marrone, Vrankovic (booked, 37), Gray (booked, 7), Mitchinson; Thompson, Fred (booked, 90), Hoffman (MacAllister, 73); Mebrahtu (Germano, 83), Tadic, Williams (Kaya, 67) Referee:     Shaun Evans