Football: Precious three points for impressive Phoenix

Roy Krishna makes a break against Melbourne Victory. Photo / Getty

Wellington Phoenix 2
Melbourne Victory 0

For the Wellington Phoenix, this was job done on two counts. They grabbed a vital win over the Victory, to propel themselves up the table.

And just as importantly, they delivered a crowd of almost 11,000, to keep up the attendance metric demanded by the FFA. In fact, the crowd probably should have been significantly higher - given the occasion and on a sunny Auckland evening - but perhaps reflected local apathy towards QBE Stadium.

The Phoenix had built a 2-0 lead by halftime - and could have had more - then stood firm against an impressive second half Victory fightback, with captain Andrew Durante resolute at the heart of defence.

For most of the match, the home fans chanted "10 more years", in reference to the ongoing battle with the FFA over a new licence, but the Phoenix will equally hope it's a decade before they have to play on a pitch like this again.

It's not a new topic but it was a disgrace, unfit for a Sunday kick-around. It was almost embarrassing that the A-League champions were asked to play on such a surface. The field resembled a snooker table - only one that has been used in a country pub for 20 years and ripped up, torn and burnt.

Both sets of players did their best but the constant bobble of the uneven surface, allied with the effect of the sand that has been used to repair the damage, led to a lot of scrappy football and errant passes.

"The games shouldn't have been played - it was substandard for elite football," said Victory coach Kevin Muscat. "Grass is a pretty vital ingredient for a football game - and unfortunately there was none there today. There was some green sand."

It also saw frustration boil over on several occasions and a total of eight yellow cards. But despite all that, there was some lovely football, mostly from the hosts in the first spell, and Melbourne in the second. Roly Bonevacia produced some wonderful touches, and Roy Krishna and Michael McGlinchey were a constant threat up front.

Yesterday was about much more than the result but the victory and performance wouldn't have done the Phoenix's cause any harm.

Krishna opened the scoring with a peach of a goal in the 18th minute. A heavy touch looked to have taken him too far but from near the byline he threaded an impossibly precise ball between the goalkeeper and near post.

The Phoenix should have gone further ahead through Bonevacia but he was thwarted by a magnificent save by one-time Phoenix keeper Danny Vukovic. But the Dutchman made amends just before halftime, stabbing home a loose ball after Krishna and McGlinchey combined in a counter-attack.

The Phoenix lost their initiative for almost 30 minutes after halftime, restricted to attacks on the break as the Victory monopolised possession. Melbourne created several good chances but were denied by timely interventions from Phoenix defenders or smart saves from Glen Moss. A prolonged stoppage with 15 minutes to play when the referee went off injured helped the hosts and took some of the momentum out of Melbourne's play. From there, they were good enough to hang on.

Wellington Phoenix 2 (R Krishna, R Bonevacia)
Melbourne Victory 0
Halftime: 2-0

- By Michael Burgess at QBE Stadium