Oli Sail celebrates a save during the contentious win over Sydney. Photo / Getty
Oli Sail celebrates a save during the contentious win over Sydney. Photo / Getty
Wellington Phoenix 1
Sydney FC 0
The Wellington Phoenix have overcome two red cards, a pair of stoppage-time penalties and, toughest of all, referee Shaun Evans to somehow earn their first away win of the season.
Ufuk Talay’s side had for 70 minutes been relatively comfortable in defending the early 1-0 lead that Oskar Zawada seized against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium.
Then, in as wild a half hour as the A-League has ever seen, Evans opted to increase the degree of difficulty with four pieces of refereeing that left the visitors increasingly apoplectic.
Eyebrows were first raised when Evans sent off Bozhidar Kraev for a questionable second yellow card in the 71st minute. The contact was debatable, but that call alone would have caused little consternation on any other day.
Those eyebrows, though, went a bit higher when with five minutes left Evans dished out another red card to Nicholas Pennington.
The problem on this occasion was the Phoenix midfielder had clashed head-to-head with Max Burgess, with the Sydney attacker sparking the tussle before Pennington raised his arms. However, after showing yellow to Burgess, Evans flashed red to Pennington.
Nicholas Pennington of the Phoenix and Max Burgess of Sydney FC clash. Photo / Getty
Still, with nine men on the pitch, the Phoenix had looked like holding their lead and escaping with their first clean sheet of the season.
Until, halfway through eight minutes of stoppage time, those eyebrows hit their limit as Evans somehow spotted a handball in the area when replays clearly showed Phoenix defender Tim Payne being struck in the back.
Incredibly, the Phoenix again managed to survive, with Oli Sail producing a magnificent save to deny Adam Le Fondre, turning away a powerful penalty before the defence scrambled to safety.
Except, that safety lasted only a couple of moments, before Evans was again pointing to the spot. On this occasion, the ball had at least hit Callan Elliot’s arm in the post-penalty chaos, but an argument could well have been made that the contact didn’t warrant the punishment that followed.
No matter, in the 99th minute, with almost the last kick of the game, Le Fondre blazed high into the stands, and the Phoenix celebrated one of the most dramatic victories in club history.
Withstanding those late obstacles would have been especially sweet given Wellington had been repeatedly frustrated by the concession of goals so far this season, dropping 12 points from winning positions.
But after Zawada’s 10th-minute strike, and despite Evans’ repeated intervention, a well-organised Phoenix held their nerve to collect a valuable three points and leapfrog their opponents into the top six of a logjammed ladder.
Earlier in the day, the Phoenix women produced a meritorious defensive performance of their own but fell 1-0 to Western United in Melbourne.
After earning their first point of the season earlier in the week, the Phoenix threatened to become the first side this season to take points from United, who have begun life in the A-League Women with six wins from six.
Wellington were one of those victims when they fell 4-1 at home in the second game of the campaign, part of a four-match stretch in which the Phoenix conceded 12 goals.
They have since tightened up at the back and, led by centre back Mackenzie Barry, that defensive solidity was again on display at City Vista Reserve, before a well-taken header from Tyla-Jay Vlajnic in the 78th minute sealed the result.
Phoenix goalkeeper Brianna Edwards had in the first half produced her side’s best moment with the double save to deny Hannah Keane, who bagged a double when the sides met in November.
But the Phoenix were once more ineffective in attack and failed to register a shot on target, leaving them on last on the ladder with just three goals in seven games this season.
