Football: Wellington Phoenix claim first ever win in A-League Women

Chloe Knott of the Phoenix celebrates scoring a goal with teammates. Photo / Getty

Wellington Phoenix 3
Canberra United 0

The Wellington Phoenix women scored their first-ever A-League win by beating Canberra United 3-0 last night.

Goals from Chloe Knott and Grace Jale five minutes before and after halftime put the Phoenix in control.

A fortuitous own goal around the hour mark gave the visitors to the Australian capital a three-goal cushion and additional breathing room to close out the match.

After starting their debut A-League campaign with a draw, the Phoenix had lost nine straight but were hopeful of ending that streak against second-to-last Canberra, also on a 10-game winless run.

After some one-sided defeats early in the season, the Phoenix had improved to twice lead 2-1 at halftime in the past month, only to lose 3-2.

Again, the Nix were up at the break after Knott blasted past 17-year-old debutant Chloe Lincoln in the Canberra goal. The ball fell to Knott charging into the area after nifty footwork in the build-up from Alyssa Whinham.

And this time, they built on that lead. A fantastic ball from Knott split the Canberra defence and allowed Jale to run in behind and tuck a well-placed left-foot shot inside the far post in the 50th minute.

The decisive third arrived in the 62nd minute, when Talitha Kramer crossed from the left and Ava Pritchard's off-target shot was deflected in by Canberra defender Ally Haran.

The hosts pressed hard to get back in the match, but this time, the Nix would not be denied a historic win.