Brilliant Bonevacia brace sets up Nix win
endless headaches with his close control, audacious dribbling and incisive passing, and lighting up AAMI Park with two stunning long-range first-half strikes.
The first came after the Phoenix dominated the opening exchanges, Bonevacia drilling home a rightfooted thunderbolt from 23 metres to put the Phoenix ahead after just nine minutes. It was Wellington’s 350th A-League goal.
He was at it again after 26 minutes from even further out. This time his shot wasn’t hit quite as sweetly, but it beat Melbourne goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas, cannoned off both posts and into the net to double Wellington’s advantage.
Phoenix coach Des Buckingham made four changes to the side that demolished Newcastle 5-0 a week ago, with internationals Andrew Durante, Tom Doyle and Roy Krishna all returning, as well as Matthew Ridenton, although he lasted just 15 minutes before being forced off with a suspected ACL knee injury.
Lewis Italiano kept his place in goal, with regular No 1 Glen Moss cooling his heels on the bench.
Stung into life and needing a draw to confirm second place in the A-League’s regular season, Victory came out firing in the second half, laying siege to Italiano’s goal. But the Phoenix expertly soaked up the pressure and held firm, marshalled brilliantly by skipper Durante. As well as the outstanding Bonevacia, Kosta Barbarouses continued his recent resurgence, giving his former teammates a hectic night.
With 18 minutes remaining, Spanish defender Alan Baro was red carded after he brought down Barbarouses as he sped towards goal, denying the Kiwi flier a clear scoring opportunity.
Shane Smeltz iced the cake in the final minute, tapping in a Tom Doyle cross to seal the points.
The result leaves Wellington four points behind sixth-placed Perth and five points behind fifth-placed Western Sydney with two regular season games remaining. That means the Phoenix must win one and probably both of their remaining games, while hoping their nearest rivals slip up.
The Phoenix next face runaway leaders Sydney FC — who have lost just once in 25 matches this season — in Wellington on Saturday night.