Football: Wellington Phoenix bounce back with win against Melbourne City

Phoenix player David Williams celebrates his goal against Melbourne City. Photo / Photosport

Wellington Phoenix 1
Melbourne City 0

The Phoenix match turned into the Filip Kurto Show tonight, as the Polish goalkeeper made a remarkable eight saves in the last half hour to earn his side victory.

The A-League encounter in Wellington was a classic match of two halves, with the hosts dominating the first 45 minutes but Melbourne City reversing the roles after the break.

David Williams opened the scoring against the club where he spent five years in the fifth minute with a sharp first-time left-foot finish into the top corner from a Liberato Cacace cross.

The same combination had a good chance to double the lead midway through the half but Williams side-footed another excellent Cacace cross over the crossbar from around the penalty spot.

The Phoenix created other good scoring opportunities before halftime — one to Alex Rufer and two to Roy Krishna — but were unable to convert.

As Melbourne City wrested control of the match, there was a suspicion those missed first-half chances could come back to haunt the hosts.

The visitors needed over an hour to notch their first shot an target but that proved the first of many as the previously unemployed Kurto suddenly found himself the busiest man on the pitch.

The 27-year-old made an excellent close-range save to keep out Melbourne's initial effort from Lachie Wells and went on to pull off at least two more saves when a goal looked the likeliest outcome. The second-half shot count was 12-3 in City's favour.

Wellington struggled to retain possession after the break, often turning over the ball in their own half or hacking it clear under pressure.

A Krishna counter-attack looked the likeliest source of a second Phoenix goal, but he got barely a sniff, well contained by the City defence.

Wellington rode their luck and held on to record just their fourth victory over Melbourne City in 17 attempts. The win lifts them to fifth, just one point behind fourth-placed City, and gets Mark Rudan's side back on track after Sydney FC ended the club's record nine-game unbeaten run on Wednesday.

The Phoenix complete their tough run — playing the top four teams in the space of 14 days — with the most difficult assignment, a trip to Perth to take on the first-placed Glory on Saturday night.

Wellington Phoenix 1 (D. Williams 5)
Melbourne City 0