The Wellington Phoenix celebrate the late goal that lifted them past Melbourne Victory. Photo / Photosport
The Wellington Phoenix celebrate the late goal that lifted them past Melbourne Victory. Photo / Photosport
The Wellington Phoenix have grabbed a slice of history.
In their 17th season, they have banked a top-two regular-season finish for the first time, with a vital 1-0 win over third-placed Melbourne Victory on Friday night.
It happened in the most dramatic circumstances, with the Phoenix scoring in the 96th minute through a header from defender Finn Surman that deflected off Victory counterpart Roderick Miranda and into the net.
The result means Wellington return to the summit of the A-League, ahead of Central Coast Mariners who travel to Western United on Saturday. But most importantly, it gives Wellington a free pass to the second week of the finals, where they will feature in the home-and-away semifinals, as they have an unassailable buffer over the Victory.
It will also restore confidence and belief, after last week’s 2-1 loss to the Mariners. And it continues the personal fairytale for Surman, who has played every minute this season after starting only one match last year.
In wet conditions, it was a tense, tight affair. Wellington dominated the flow of the match but Melbourne Victory carved out the better chances, before the late drama.
The Phoenix’s final two games are away to 10th-placed Newcastle, before fifth-placed Macarthur visit the capital in the last weekend of the regular season.
The Wellington side reverted to a 4-3-3, after last week’s experiment with five at the back, with Alex Rufer, Mo Al-Taay and Tim Payne restored to the starting lineup.
In the first half, Melbourne Victory were mostly restricted to shots from distance, as well as plenty of corners which were dangerous in the conditions. The Phoenix looked dangerous in transition – a theme of their season – but were profligate with their chances.
Alex Rufer in action against Melbourne Victory. Photo / Photosport
Ben Old had the best opportunity in the first period, with his feet getting tangled up as he tried to connect with a Kosta Barbarouses cross. At other times the Phoenix eschewed shooting chances – preparing to look for the final pass which wasn’t accurate enough, against the uncompromising Victory defence.
The Phoenix lifted their levels in the second half, with a cutting edge to their passing, but there was always a body in the way to block the decisive pass or attempted shot.
Among the substitutes introduced were former Phoenix cult hero Roly Bonevacia. Bozhidar Kraev, who was the pick of the home team along with Rufer, went close with a long-range effort. Bruno Fornaroli looked likely – after a Phoenix mistake – but Alex Paulsen came up with a strong save.
The Phoenix kept pushing, though their slide-rule passes were consistently anticipated, while Sam Sutton did well to deny Eli Adams at the far post.
In the dying minutes, Old pushed a rebound agonisingly wide from a Barbarouses free kick and that felt like the final opportunity.
But there was one more, with Oskar van Hattum providing the perfect delivery from a free kick near the right touchline, as Surman got in between his markers and the celebrations began.
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. A football aficionado, Burgess will never forget the noise that greeted Rory Fallon’s goal against Bahrain in Wellington in 2009.
