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Western Make Most Of Wellington's Defensive Flaws

by Jeremy Ruane

Western United scored a come-from-behind 4-2 win over Wellington Phoenix in the opening game of the 2024-25 Ninja W-League season at Ironbark Fields on 1 November, turning things around within four minutes of the visitors taking a fifteenth minute lead.

Wellington were good value for that advantage, having dominated the early exchanges after Chloe Logarzo had attempted to chip Carolina Vilao from distance, an effort which Wellington's new goalkeeper dealt with comfortably in the fourth minute.

After this, Alyssa Whinham started delving into her box of tricks, mixing jinking runs with probing passes as she inspired her yellow-clad team-mates' charges. Mekae Tanaka followed her lead, darting between two opponents in the eighth minute before playing in Manaia Elliott beyond the last defender, only for the age-grade international's touch to fail her at the worst possible moment.

Unperturbed, Wellington came again five minutes later, a tame Whinham shot poor reward for the clever play of Annalie Longo and the deft touch of Grace Jale. But the visitors didn't have long to wait before breaking the deadlock.

Maya McCutcheon - another of the new recruits for a club which has lost virtually an entire starting eleven from last season's squad - picked out Emma Main on the left, from where she delivered a cross.

Alana Cerne failed to clear it, and before she could blink Whinham had pounced, taking the ball clear of all-comers before whipping in a low cross for Tanaka which the retreating figure of Sasha Grove beat her to, only to turn the ball into the roof of her own net - an "oggie" to open the scoring after fifteen minutes of play.

Wellington's players huddled in delight inside Western's goalmouth, presumably saying to each other phrases like, "Don't lose focus. Maintain your concentration levels. Keep this up". Whatever it was they said, no heed was paid to it, for within four minutes of going behind, Western not only equalised, but took the lead.

Straight from the kick-off, Grace Maher went downtown, a long ball over the top which allowed Logarzo to power past Rebecca Lake and unleash a shot on goal. Vilao parried her effort, but directed the ball straight to the feet of the 55-times-capped former Matilda, who drilled it home to level the scores.

Unlike Wellington, Western kept their focus immediately after finding the net, and were rewarded for doing so in the nineteenth minute with the game's third goal in a remarkable four-minute burst.

Emily Roach beat Longo to a loose ball and instantly directed it to Catherine Zimmerman, who promptly sent Kahli Johnson careering away down the left. Quite where Tiana Jaber was in the midst of all this remains a mystery - the Wellington central defender went AWOL, and her team paid a heavy price for her absence. For Johnson picked out Aimee Medwin with her cross to the far post, inviting the midfielder to turn the ball home from eight yards - 2-1.

Quite what newly follically-challenged Wellington coach Paul Temple made of his team's defensive capitulation before his eyes at this moment remains to be seen, but worse was to come, as their inability to accurately pass the ball from defence to midfield - the same passing inaccuracies witnessed by this writer from Wellington Phoenix's National Women's League team just last Sunday, so it's a club-wide issue which needs sorting - came under the spotlight.

Jaber and Mackenzie Barry - of all people - were particularly guilty of this folly, with United players the beneficiaries of frequent misplaced passes into Wellington's defensive midfield area. Little wonder both were dragged at half-time - their efforts simply weren't good enough! (And that's not something you say of Barry very often - she's usually the Rock of Gibraltar in defence!)

On the occasions when they got things right, the likes of Whinham and Longo would make things happen, with Elliott and Main the players who most benefited from their promptings. But they couldn't turn those openings into goals, a deflected shot from Elliott being grabbed by Alyssa Dall'oste in the 23rd minute before she fired waywardly over the bar three minutes later.

Main then chanced her arm with an effort which landed on the roof of the net after Wellington got lucky - Keiwa Hieda got in on the left but lost possession at the vital moment, prompting a

counter-attack.

Wellington rode their luck again on the half-hour, Jaber's wayward pass inviting Logarzo to take charge of proceedings just twenty-five yards from goal. She brought Medwin into play, but this time her shot hit the stanchion, rather than the back of the net.

Wellington's luck ran out six minutes from half-time, when Barry found reason to pass the ball to Logarzo rather than a fellow team-mate. She promptly brought Zimmerman into the frame, and her low cross was swept home from the edge of the six-yard box by Johnson - 3-1.

Make that 4-1 within sixty seconds, as Wellington yielded possession cheaply yet again. Johnson was the beneficiary this time, scooting away down the left once more before firing in a low cross which the visitors failed to clear.

Logarzo latched onto the loose ball and let fly, her shot ricocheting skywards. What goes up must come down, but Vilao and Jaber got in each other's way - the goalkeeper failed to take charge and command her area, then compounded this failing by spilling the dropping ball, which bounced onto the post and into the goalmouth.

Logarzo lunged towards the loose ball, but was denied her second goal of the game by Vilao's desperate attempt to make amends for her blunder. Alas for the 'keeper, Zimmerman was following in, and made no mistake from point-blank range to leave Wellington with it all to do in the second half.

A formation change was priority one in that regard, the back three becoming a back four, which instantly plugged some of the gaps which Western had profited from in the first half. It revived the attack somewhat, too, with Jale going close with a curling effort in the 47th minute before the statuesque striker stormed through United's defence onto McCutcheon's ball over the top, only to be thwarted by Dall'oste's brave save at her feet eight minutes later.

After Vilao had dealt with a long-range effort from Melissa Taranto, Main motored down the right to the by-line, from where she pulled the ball back to Whinham. Talent to burn she may have, but finishing is a flaw in her game, as she proved on this occasion, shooting straight at Dall'oste when scoring seemed the easier option.

Wellington's defensive frailties were exposed again in the 67th minute, substitute Sandra Ibarguen dashing through between McCutcheon and Lake before looking to step inside the latter to improve her angle on goal.

As she did, Ibarguen's knee buckled beneath her - we all know what that sight usually means in women's footballing circles. Aye, that! Amazingly, however, she was able to return to the fray, although she understandably wasn't running with quite the same conviction as before the incident.

United attacked again in the 74th minute, earning a corner. Logarzo's delivery was headed back to her by Jale, allowing the Matilda to take on and get the better of the Football Fern before delivering a cross which struck Johnson on the back of the neck with the goal gaping in front of her.

Ten minutes from time, debutant Wellington substitute Lara Wall earned her team a penalty when going down under Grove's challenge in the area, prompting referee Georgia Ghirardello to point to the spot.

Cue a convergence of United players on the twelve yard mark, their behaviour rather thuggish, and certainly not what one expects in such circumstances. Putting off Main was their objective, but they failed miserably, as she fair hammered her spot-kick home via the underside of the crossbar - 4-2, with eight minutes still to play.

In the time remaining, Wellington substitute Liv Ingham was fortunate to avoid being sent off for a scything challenge on Logarzo, while Lake directed a header from a Longo corner straight at Dall'oste. But the visitors were the architects of their own downfall in this one, Western's 4-2 victory owing far more to Wellington's defensive frailties than it did to their own endeavours.

Western: Dall'oste; Cerne, Dehakiz, Maher; Grove, Medwin (Ibarguen, 56), Roach (Taranto, 56), Hieda, Zimmerman (Prakash, 90); Logarzo, Johnson (Sardo, 83)

Wellington: Vilao; Jaber (McMeeken, 46), Lake, Barry (Wall, 46); Tanaka (Brazendale, 46), Longo, McCutcheon, Whinham, Elliott (Ingham, 75 (booked, 83)); Main, Jale

Referee: Georgia Ghirardello

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