No rise for Wellington Phoenix after double blow against Roar
Wellington Phoenix have blown an opportunity to move up to fourth on the A-League Men table after dropping points against previously bottom of the table Brisbane Roar.
The Phoenix’s seven-game unbeaten run came to an abrupt end when they conceded four minutes after levelling the score midway through the second half to lose 2-1 at Moreton Daily Stadium in Redcliffe yesterday.
The sixth-place Phoenix could have improved two places and opened up a six-point gap on seventh with a win over the Roar.
The disappointing result was exacerbated by a concerning knee injury to captain Alex Rufer.
Rufer was forced off the field in the first half after banging his knee against Rahmat Akbari.
Akbari opened the scoring after just eight minutes, nodding the ball over Oli Sail after squeezing between Scott Wootton and Tim Payne to connect with a Ryo Wada cross.
Rufer was one of the Phoenix’s best before limping off. He was replaced by Nicolas Pennington and was seen icing his knee on the bench before halftime but stayed behind in the changing rooms after the break.
The Phoenix drew level in the 72nd minute when substitute Gary Hooper, playing his first game since returning from a calf injury, guided an on-target header from Jaushua Sotirio past Jordan Holmes.
But the Roar hit back just four minutes later, Henry Hore scoring off a second-chance effort to clinch an upset win after his initial shot was saved by Sail.
The Phoenix came agonisingly close to scoring a late equaliser but Hooper curled his shot outside the upright from the edge of the penalty area.
Despite the defeat, the Phoenix remain three points clear of seventh-place Sydney FC and have two games in hand.
They will be sweating on the health of Rufer ahead of next Friday’s clash against Newcastle Jets as they will be without All Whites Ben Old, Ben Waine, Clayton Lewis and Oli Sail, while David Ball will also miss the game through suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in the dying stages.