PHOENIX FORCED TO WAIT FOR A-LEAGUE PREMIERSHIP FATE, DESPITE WIN OVER MACARTHUR

Wellington Phoenix completed their side of the equation, but must wait another few days to learn their A-League premiership fate.

 

The Phoenix had the first half chance, when Ben Old chased down a long ball from Scott Wootton and Sam Sutton sent a long-range speculator well over the crossbar. Moments later, Old forced a save from former Wellington keeper Filip Kerto.

Skipper Alex Rufer made a long run to the penalty area and found Old at the far post, but his attempted cross hit the crossbar and Macarthur defused the situation.

Tim Payne found Barbarouses in the box, but his left-footed effort was straight at Kerto.

Striker Kosta Barbarouses sprang free from his markers, as the linesman's flag went up for offside, then went down. Kerto partially covered the shot, David Ball guided the ball over the line, but the offside call stood.

Wellington finally took advantage of all their possession, when Nicholas Pennington found Barbarouses with a long ball and the striker slotted it past the keeper for the lead.

On the other side of the Tasman, almost simultaneously, Central Coast Mariners also took a lead against Newcastle.

Macarthur won the first corner of the match, when Kealey Adamson had shot deflected wide of goal. Then Ulisses Davila found Phoenix keeper Alex Paulsen from close range.

The Phoenix had their second, when Sutton found Old down the left and his cross was met at the far post by Tim Payne's thundering header.

They reached halftime 2-0 ahead, with the Mariners clinging to a 1-0 advantage across the ditch.

As the second half began, Newcastle equalised with the Mariners, but still not enough to secure the silverware for Wellington.

With a two-goal Phoenix buffer, the attention turned to events elsewhere.

Replacement Jerry Skotadis forced Paulsen to tip a shot over the crossbar, while at the other end, Sutton sent a left-footed effort across goal.

Meanwhile, the Mariners scored a second goal against the Jets to put one hand on the trophy... and then another to make victory safe.

In Wellington, Phoenix striker Oskar Zawada made a brief cameo in his battle for fitness and was brought down in the box for a late penalty. The Pole was handed the honours from the spot and he slotted it past his countryman in the bottom right corner.

Wellington Phoenix 3 (Barbarouses, Payne, Zawada penalty) Macarthur 0

More to come

2024-04-27T09:20:26Z dg43tfdfdgfd