Phoenix falter at first playoff hurdle
Wellington start brightly but Victory take chances to earn semifinal spot
The Wellington Phoenix have fallen at the first finals hurdle in football’s A-League, beaten 3-1 by Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park last night.
Looking anything but overawed by their return to the playoffs after four years, the Phoenix played their part in an entertaining contest, but the Victory’s greater quality — headlined by superb Swede Ola Toivonen — ultimately proved the difference.
Wellington started energetically, Roy Krishna drawing a save from Victory keeper Lawrence Thomas inside the first minute. Their ascendancy continued for the first quarter of the game, zipping passes across the pristine surface and creating more chances than their hosts.
Mandi fired a 14th minute free kick straight into the defensive wall and five minutes later released Krishna with a precise long ball, the Fijian bringing David Williams into play before Ryan Lowry directed his shot into the side-netting.
Mark Rudan made six changes to the side humbled by Perth Glory five days ago, the most significant the return of Williams to his customary attacking role alongside Krishna, with Lowry handed just a sixth start of the season in the problematic right wingback spot.
Cheered on by a raucous home crowd of 16,000, Victory grew into the game, Honda testing Filip Kurto with a dipping effort from distance before Toivonen dispossessed Mandi in the centre circle and ran half the length of the field, eventually firing wide of the post.
The Phoenix’s aggression often crossed the line, with Michal Kopczynski and Williams both booked in the first half. From the last of the dozen free kicks Wellington conceded in the first stanza, Victory went ahead. Keisuke Honda curled a sublime ball towards the penalty spot and found Georg Niedermeier running untracked into the penalty area, the German defender cleverly steering his header past Kurto who had elected to stay on his line.
Seeking a way back into the game, Wellington made that task much harder just after halftime through their own carelessness. Toivonen seized upon a badly under-hit backpass from Mandi and fed Kosta Barbarouses, who slotted coolly under the advancing Kurto to notch his 15th goal of the season.
Rudan immediately introduced Sarpreet Singh, whose impact was instant, crossing deftly for Krishna to steer home his 19th goal of the season and throw Wellington a lifeline after
64 minutes. Singh’s influence was noticeable, the young kiwi finding space between Victory’s lines as Wellington looked for an equaliser.
But Toivonen snuffed out that hope with a superb third for Victory, sprinting after a through ball from Barbarouses which Kopczynski tried vainly to clear, advancing towards Kurto and dinking in a finish from the narrowest of angles.
Tempers flared in added time, with Kopczynski sent off for a second yellow card and given a parting shot by Victory coach Kevin Muscat who, along with Phoenix assistant coach Paul Gothard, was also booked in the resulting exchange.
The defeat ends Rudan’s tenure in Wellington and he is expected to be confirmed as coach of the A-League’s newest club, Western United.
Melbourne Victory 2 (Georg Niedermeier 42, Kosta Barbarouses
53, Ola Toivonen 71)
Wellington Phoenix 1 (Roy Krishna
64)