WELLINGTON 3
NORTH QUEENSLAND 0
Three second-half strikes into the teeth of a howling Wellington southerly last night saw the Phoenix notch up their third win on end in soccer's A-League.
The scores were tied 0-0 at the break, but goals to new signing Eugene Dadi, old hand Paul Ifill and defender Jon McKain saw them shut out the North Queensland Fury for a well-deserved win.
Dadi was first off the mark barely two minutes into the second half. Leo Bertos's corner into the wind kept low, Dadi climbed high and found the back of the net with a well-placed header.
He was later left bleeding profusely after a clash of heads with Fury defender Matt Smith and retired from the game.
Ifill made the win secure with his ninth goal of the season with 12 minutes remaining as the Phoenix's midfield built pressure with some intelligent distribution.
Ifill found himself out wide with space to spare, his first touch proved immaculate and a crashing shot left Fury goalkeeper Justin Pasfield with no chance.
McKain, better known for his feats as an uncompromising defender, added insult to injury in the 90th minute when his looping header lobbed over Pasfield to make it 3-0.
The biting winds and lashing rain meant there was no place for the free-flowing soccer of last week, when the Phoenix's 3-1 win over Brisbane eased them into fifth place on the Hyundai A-League ladder.
Last night, both teams struggled with the conditions early on. The Fury had a couple of early chances, the most dangerous after barely two minutes when an uncharacteristic McKain error left Robbie Fowler clear in the box. But pressure from the scrambling defence and some strong work from Liam Reddy saw Fowler's shot crash into the side netting.
- NZPA
