Phoenix women beaten but set record
Wellington Phoenix coach Natalie Lawrence will always remember her team’s first A-League Women game at home, even if the result was one she would like to forget.
The Phoenix were emphatically beaten by former champions Melbourne City at Sky Stadium yesterday afternoon after conceding four second-half goals to lose their season opener 4-1.
But Lawrence said the lopsided result did not spoil what was a ‘‘momentous’’ occasion for women’s football in New Zealand, the Phoenix setting an A-League Women record for the largest crowd at a standalone regular season game.
It was well short of the club’s ambitious 10,000 target, but Lawrence said it meant the world to her players to have a crowd of 5213 show up to watch them play their first game on home soil.
Only a handful of fans had watched them play last season, when they were based in Australia.
‘‘I have a huge sense of pride,’’ Lawrence said after the City defeat.
‘‘If you look at the day as a whole it’s going to be a memorable one for the players and their families.
‘‘This game is such a remarkable moment in history.
‘‘In the chairman’s lounge you’ve got a countless number of ex-Football Ferns who have either never played professional football or had to play overseas.
‘‘Now we have them in our squad and you can play here. We can have fans here. That’s what the day is about for us.’’
The Phoenix lost 4-0 to City in their only encounter last season.
They got through to halftime yesterday without conceding but they were torn to shreds in the early stages of the second half, with Chilean international Maria Jose Rojas running rings around their defence as the visitors took a commanding 4-0 lead.
Rojas was part of Sydney FC’s premiership-winning squad last season but she only signed with City a few days ago, brought in as a late injury replacement for Football Fern Hannah Wilkinson.
‘‘We weren’t expecting her at all,’’ Lawrence said.
‘‘We had played against her against Sydney last year and she came on and did well, but today she hit another level and caused us a whole world of problems, especially in the second half.’’
The first two goals were scored after Rojas got the better of Phoenix captain Kate Taylor in one-on-one situations, while the third came via the penalty spot after Rojas won a spot-kick after being fouled by Zoe McMeeken.
‘‘Our one v one defending, it’s nothing to do with how we set up. Principally you’ve got to win your one v one battles and we didn’t at times.’’
The Phoenix pulled one goal back in the 81st minute when Ava Pritchard’s shot took a deflection off Kaitlyn Torpey and beat City goalkeeper Sally James from a corner-kick.
That got the record crowd on their feet.
‘‘The crowd and the fans were incredible. 4-0 down and they were still pushing us every step of the way.’’*