Wellington Phoenix’s A League title hopes fade after Newcastle draw

Alex Rufer (C) of the Phoenix during the A-League - Wellington Phoenix FC v Melbourne Victory FC at Sky Stadium last week. Photo / Photosport

The Wellington Phoenix’s chances of claiming a first A-League premiers’ plate are all but gone.

They were held to a 1-1 draw in Newcastle on Friday night, leaving the Central Coast Mariners in prime position.

The Phoenix looked on course for another dramatic victory – after last week’s heroics – but captain Alex Rufer hit the woodwork with a 95th-minute penalty.

It was a jarring result. It means the Mariners are only one point behind the capital team, with a game in hand.

The Phoenix have to win their last regular season match next Saturday against Macarthur and hope that the Mariners drop points against either Adelaide United or Newcastle.

On Friday both teams had plenty of opportunities in an open game, though Wellington were dominant for most of the match.

A rare error from goalkeeper Alex Paulsen gifted Newcastle an early lead, before Kosta Barbarouses drew level in the 71st minute.

The visitors kept pushing, rewarded with a late, late spot kick for handball, but Rufer was unable to take advantage, his side footed effort hitting the outside of the post.

The first goal was a shock, both with the timing and the manner of the concession. The Phoenix were just starting to get into their rhythm, when the Jets scored against the run of play. A seemingly innocuous Lachlan Bayliss cross ended up in the back of the net, squirming out of Paulsen’s grip and over the line.

The Phoenix had to find something but the Jets were resilient. Mo Al Taay forced a good stop from keeper Ryan Scott, while Rufer was composed but too straight with a volley.

Paulsen made up for his error just before halftime, with a point blank stop from Bayliss, after a quick Newcastle counter.

The Phoenix improved after the break, with a series of chances. A long range Sam Sutton long range pile driver was on target but pushed away, before Barbarouses headed over from a tasty Ben Old cross. But Newcastle were always dangerous, shown when Apostolos Stamatelopoulos hit the crossbar from an acute angle.

But the pressure was building, and after further chances to Barbarouses and Old, the Phoenix got a merited equaliser, with Barbarouses nodding home at the far post.

The best team move of the night almost lead to a second for Barbarouses but his half volley found the woodwork. Oskar Zwada entered the fray late, for his first appearance since February, but couldn’t engineer an opportunity.

Newcastle Jets 1 (Alex Paulsen own goal 15′)

Wellington Phoenix 1 (Kosta Barbarouses 71′)

Halftime: 1-0

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.