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29Apr23
Wellington Secures Play-Off Spot In Unconvincing Fashion
by Jeremy Ruane
Wellington Phoenix secured the last play-off spot in the Isuzu Ute A-League end-of-season series in unconvincing fashion on April 29, holding a spirited but toothless Macarthur Bulls side 1-0 at a rain-soaked Campbelltown Stadium to condemn the beaten team to the wooden spoon.
Macarthur, needing to win to avoid finishing in last place for the season, set out their stall early on, Jake Hollman lashing a twenty-five yarder narrowly over the bar in the fourth minute after combining with Ivan Vujica and Matt Millar.
Two minutes later, Wellington fullback Lucas Mauragis was very fortunate to avoid being booked by referee Adam Kersey for hauling back Hollman as the lively midfielder raced past him. The resulting Jed Drew free-kick was headed over the bar by Millar.
It was clear that temperaments were on edge in this match when Rufer and Millar tangled in the ninth minute, the Macarthur man retaliating after Wellington's captain nudged him over then attempted to kick the ball out from under him, an action to which Millar understandably took umbrage, swiftly shoving the All White to the floor.
The referee, to his credit, calmed things down, but didn't forget Rufer's role in proceedings, referring to it when he booked him for persistent infringement later in a half which saw a fifth booking for the season issued to Wellington coach Ufuk Talay, he who doth protest too much!
Wellington opened the scoring in the eleventh minute of play. Yan Sasse capped off his driving run with a through ball which put David Ball in on goal. Filip Kurto dashed off his line to block well at the striker's feet, but the sphere spun away into the stride of Oskar Zawada.
With nary a Macarthur man near him, he drilled home unerringly into the bottom far corner of the net to give the visitors the goal they needed - for Wellington to miss out on the play-offs from here, the home team would need to score twice, which would aid their own cause in the process.
Needless to say, they set about the task with gusto, but came up against a Wellington defensive display which contrasted starkly with that seen in their last five matches, in which opponents scored seventeen goals against the Wellingtonians.
Not today. It wasn't pretty, and it certainly wasn't a stylish win, nor a convincing one - there was always the sense that Macarthur might draw level at any time. Try as they might to do so, there was no way through the sterling resistance of Scott Wootton, Tim Payne and, in front of them, the tireless Steven Ugarkovic - the efforts of that trio ensured Wellington got the job done.
Macarthur huffed and puffed, and enjoyed the lion's share of possession. But it's what they did with it which mattered in this match, or, more to the point as things panned out, what they failed to do with it. Their play lacked intensity, their passing and movement was pedestrian, and there was no killer instinct on display. One was left wondering if they really wanted to win, to be perfectly blunt!
Lachlan Rose saw shots blocked by Wootton and Rufer before the half-hour mark, during which time Wellington twice went close to doubling their lead. Callan Elliot's charging run culminated in a one-two with Ball which resulted in the fullback's shot being blocked at close quarters by Kurto in the twentieth minute, Jake McGing making sure that the rebound didn't spin into the net.
Three minutes later, a Payne corner was cleared to Costa Barbarouses, whose splendid hip-turn volley from the edge of the penalty area deserved better fate than to career inches past Kurto's right-hand post.
More Macarthur pressure materialised in the final fifteen minutes of the half, with their best opportunity coming in the 32nd minute. Millar and McGing combined on the right, with the fullback's cross arcing beyond Rose at the near post. Drew was racing in behind him to meet the ball, but Elliot was matching him stride for stride, and did enough
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to prevent the set-piece specialist from getting a close-range shot on target.
It says much about Macarthur's inability to penetrate Wellington's defensive barrier that Oli Sail hadn't even been called upon to make a save to this point of the match. That changed in the 33rd minute, when Drew cut in from the left and drew a smothered save from the 'keeper, who blocked a deflected Jerry Skotadis shot on the stroke of half-time before Hollman directed his attempt to thrash home the rebound straight at Wellington's last line of defence.
Prior to this, Rufer, Wootton and Payne had blocked more attempts from Millar (twice) and Skotadis. It just wasn't happening for Macarthur, however, a trend which continued early in the second spell when Millar headed over from six yards after Kearyn Baccus and Hollman had combined on the right.
Wellington responded to this with a by now rare attack of their own in the 51st minute. Strong runs by Ugarkovic and Sasse opened the door for Barbarouses to let fly, only for McGing to block his attempt to double the visitors' advantage, something Ugarkovic tried to do in the 53rd minute, only to see his twenty-five yarder saved by Kurto.
After Skotadis' thirty yard screamer had flashed inches past Sail's left-hand upright, Zawada squandered a glorious chance to clinch victory in the 61st minute, Sasse having worked a one-two with Ball before sending Wellington's leading marksman racing through the inside right channel. With just Kurto to beat, Zawada fired his shot past the 'keeper, but narrowly past the far post as well.
Macarthur continued to press, their patient build-up culminating in openings for Hollman - skied from close range at full stretch - and substitute Jason Romero, who was inches away from latching onto fellow replacement Craig Noone's measured through ball.
The home team continued to ask questions, but Wellington rebuffed them at every turn. One attack ended in misfortune for the Australia Cup holders, Hollman landing heavily following a headed attempt. He had to leave the field, allowing the home team, who had already used their full quota of five substitutes, to introduce a sixth replacement on the grounds that Hollman's was a concussion injury.
Moudi Najjar entered the fray, and wasted little time in setting out his stall, drawing a smothered save from Sail in the 87th minute. Two minutes later, the 'keeper grabbed a twenty-yarder from Noone with time fast becoming Macarthur's enemy.
Penalty claims were forthcoming when Noone, having weaved his way past two along the by-line, drilled a shot goalwards, the ball striking the arm of Wootton and ricocheting to Sail, who wasn't going to be beaten at his near post. It was a case of ball to hand, however, soon after which Bachana Arabuli directed a looping fifteen yard header onto the crossbar, but did so from an offside position.
With the last attack of the game, Wellington substitute Bozhidar Kraev scampered away down the left before fizzing in a cross which Zawada, unmarked in the goalmouth with the goal at his mercy, somehow contrived to miss completely.
His fifteenth goal of the season had already done the job, however, earning Wellington a play-off at Adelaide United next weekend as the visitors' season carried over into May, the third time coach Talay has guided them into the play-offs during his four-year tenure.
Macarthur: Kurto; McGing (Arabuli, 74), Uskok, Jones (Aspropotamitis, 46), Vujica; Hollman (booked, 79) (Najjar, 86), Baccus (booked, 76), Skotadis (booked, 55) (Noone, 64); Millar, Rose (Romero, 64), Drew (Toure, 64)
Wellington: Sail; Elliot, Wootton, Payne, Mauragis; Sasse (Laws, 67 (booked, 79)), Ugarkovic (Lewis, 90), Rufer (booked, 26), Ball; Zawada, Barbarouses (Kraev, 81)
Referee: Adam Kersey
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