Phoenix equal record streak
Nine for Ulises Davila, nine for Wellington Phoenix.
The Mexican lit up Sky Stadium yesterday, scoring a spectacular long-range effort to give the Phoenix a professional 2-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers in an A-League game of few chances in Wellington.
Pushed forward in the absence of injured striker David Ball, Davila broke the deadlock with his goal 15 minutes into the match.
Teed up by Gary Hooper, Davila took one touch before launching a rocket past Wanderers goalkeeper Daniel Lopar in windy conditions.
It took Davila’s season tally to nine, while the result extended the Phoenix’s unbeaten streak to nine games, equalling the club record.
‘‘It doesn’t surprise me, I see it day in, day out at training,’’ captain Steven Taylor said. ‘‘You give him that much time and space, he will hurt you. His vision is phenomenal but how many times have we seen him do that this season? It’s nothing I didn’t expect.’’
A constant menace for the Phoenix, Davila struck the inside of the post in the early stages of the game. He produced another highlight reel moment when he (Ulises Davila 15min, Liberato Cacace 88)
1-0. slid in to win a loose ball deep in his own half before burning off Kwame Yeboah to launch a counter attack.
The job was finished off by leftback Liberato Cacace, who drilled a low-driven effort past Lopar in the 88th minute for his secondever A-League goal.
It was just the Phoenix’s second shot on target, the first resulting in Davila’s goal.
‘‘I thought it was a very disciplined performance,’’ coach Ufuk Talay said.
‘‘Without the ball I thought we were very good, nullified the space for them, made them have to shoot from distance and they started to deliver balls into the box from distance as well, which is never easy to deal with, but I think we dealt with it quite well. We scored two great goals. I’m happy for Libby, he’s done that a few times this season where he’s gone [forward] but hasn’t been rewarded for the run.’’
Hooper, who struck the post before the offside flag saved his blushes, lasted 79 minutes before he was replaced by Ben Waine.
With lowly Brisbane Roar up next, the Phoenix will back themselves to make it 10 games unbeaten.
Wellington Phoenix 2
Western Sydney Wanderers 0 HT: