Football: Wellington Phoenix let lead slip after World Cup break in A-League

Oli Sail of the Phoenix looks dejected after Yeni Ngbakoto scored an equaliser. Photo / Getty

The Wellington Phoenix have returned to A-League action with a 1-1 draw against Western Sydney Wanderers in Wollongong tonight.

A well-placed header on the hour from Bozhidar Kraev appeared to have secured victory for the Phoenix, playing their first match in almost a month following the World Cup break.

But with little more than 10 minutes remaining, a wide free kick from Yeni Ngbakoto evaded the defence and was allowed to drift untouched inside Oli Sail’s far post.

Wellington would have felt they had executed their plan well enough to come away with three points, content to leave the majority of possession to their opponents while facing few threats in front of goal.

And the result will especially sting given the way they began the season before the World Cup break, conceding costly late goals on a couple of occasions while earning one win from their first six games.

A second looked to be coming when Kraev broke the deadlock. The Bosnian import connected with a teasing cross from Clayton Lewis to score his fourth goal of the season, but his teammates were perhaps then guilty of subsequently dropping too deep.

A lapse in set-piece defence eventually allowed the Wanderers to find an equaliser, leaving Wellington to settle for a point. Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay was frustrated to let slip another lead, finding fault with a WIN Stadium pitch that showed obvious signs of wear and tear.

“The boys worked quite hard,” Talay told Paramount Plus. “As much as I don’t like excuses, I think the pitch became a leveller, because we like to put the ball down and try to play.

“To concede the way we did, I think our line was a little bit too high, and the ball evaded everybody and ended up in the back of the net.

“But overall, I thought we had a good game. We had a good goal that got us into the lead, and very disappointed to concede the way we did and walk away with only one point.”

Earlier, the Phoenix women continued their underwhelming start to their second season, succumbing to a 3-0 defeat by Canberra United.

Wellington had last week shown signs of resilience against defending champions Melbourne Victory, being edged 1-0 after beginning the campaign with back-to-back 4-1 losses.

But facing another side without a win, the Phoenix were outclassed by Canberra at McKellar Park, committing costly errors that led to each of the home side’s goals.

Former Australia striker Michelle Heyman grabbed a brace on either side of halftime, building on the early lead established when Grace Maher struck in the ninth minute and condemning the last-placed Phoenix to a fourth straight defeat.

Wellington Phoenix men 1 (Bozhidar Kraev 61)

Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Yeni Ngbakoto 79)

Halftime 0-0

Canberra United 3 (Grace Maher 9, Michelle Heyman 27, 53)

Wellington Phoenix women 0

Halftime: 2-0