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04Mar23
Wellington Hold Off Determined Newcastle
by Jeremy Ruane
Wellington Phoenix eked out a 2-1 win over Newcastle Jets at Sky Stadium on March 4, holding off a determined fightback by the Novocastrians, who conceded two goals in the final five minutes of the first half to the delight of the 6388 fans present.
There was little between the teams throughout much of the first half, with Newcastle the more dominant side but not engineering the chances to reflect their dominance of pitch and ball. Indeed, it was Wellington who first threatened in the contest, Oskar Zawada's deft flick allowing David Ball to burst forward before presenting Bozhidar Kraev with the chance to let fly from twenty yards.
That sixteenth minute effort curled past the post, to which the visitors responded two minutes later when Kosta Grozos slipped a pass into the stride of the charging Angus Thurgate. Scott Wootton curtailed his progress inside the penalty area, but the ball broke kindly for Trent Buhagiar, only for the striker to shoot straight at Oli Sail.
Wellington's 'keeper was called upon again in the 24th minute to deny a deflected effort from Grozos, after Manabu Saito had made in-roads down the left, but it was at the other end of the park where the best chance of the half materialised eight minutes before half-time.
Newcastle gave the ball away on halfway, allowing Ball to burst downfield, in tandem with Zawada, whose intelligent off-the-ball run split the visitors' defence. Ball eventually presented his fellow front-runner with the chance to take on the Newcastle rearguard, and he swept past two to the by-line before fizzing in a low cross.
Thurgate failed to clear the danger at his near post, allowing Ball to nip in and set up Yan Sasse for a shot which crashed against the near post. The rebound fell invitingly for Kraev, but he failed to exploit the opportunity, his tame effort being cleared off the line by the covering figure of Carl Jenkinson.
Wellington weren't done with, however. Sasse was soon in possession, and paved the way for Kraev to send a cross zooming across the goalmouth, Zawada not too far away from stretching out a leg to divert it goalwards.
Five minutes before half-time, the home team broke the deadlock. In the aftermatch of Kraev's ball across the box, Callan Elliot was fouled near the right-hand touchline, from where Sasse fired in an enticing free-kick to the far post.
Kraev went up for it, but Newcastle goalkeeper Jack Duncan was always favourite to claim the ball. His failure to do so, however, presented Elliot with the chance to slam the ball home from six yards - no defender will ever turn down that opportunity in the opposition's penalty area!
1-0 became 2-0 on the stroke of half-time, thanks to the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee. Tim Payne fired in a free-kick from distance to the far post which Zawada headed inside. The ball struck the outstretched arm of Thurgate, and Wellington players instantly claimed a penalty for handball.
Referee Shaun Evans, no favourite of Wellington fans after his last involvement in officiating a match in which their team was playing, was unconvinced, but after checking the VAR footage, agreed that a penalty was indeed warranted. Zawada slammed the ball home from twelve yards to double the home team's lead seconds prior to the half-time whistle being blown.
It was largely one-way traffic throughout the second spell, with Newcastle bolstered by a goal which got them back into the contest six minutes after half-
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time. Thurgate and Grozos worked an opening which invited Buhagiar to deliver a cross to the far post, where Saito was arriving on cue to turn the ball home and give the visitors a much-needed boost - 2-1.
They duly laid siege to Wellington's goal for virtually the remainder of the half, with the home team mounting sporadic raids which kept Newcastle on their toes defensively. It was their attacking endeavours on which much of the action focused, however, a Dane Ingham cross zooming across the goalmouth just beyond the incoming Sotirio in the 53rd minute.
Three minutes later, Soritio sent Buhagiar buccaneering down the right, from where he looked to pick out Saito's far post run once more. Elliot covered it this time, at the expense of a corner, from which Jason Hoffman sent a looping header onto the roof of Sail's net.
Still they pressed, Sotirio storming down the right before whipping in a cross which was destined to be turned home once more by Saito until the retreating figure of Wootton diverted it to safety.
Seconds after Kraev had been felled by Ingham on the edge of Newcastle's penalty area - referee Evans turned a blind eye to this tackle from behind, the visitors were hot on attack once more, Sail parrying a goalbound effort from Grozos to safety.
Wellington threw an extra defender into the mix, such was the pressure Newcastle were applying, but it made little difference. Thurgate was inches away from meeting Saito's 67th minute cross with a diving header on the edge of the goal area, while after substitute Costa Barbarouses had shot straight at Duncan - who was largely a spectator throughout this half, the visitors threatened again through Grozos, with Sail tipping his dipping free-kick over the bar.
The offside flag denied Barbarouses a match-clinching goal for Wellington in the 74th minute, prompting renewed efforts by the visitors to snatch a share of the spoils. Two minutes later, Grozos and Brandon O'Neill combined from a free-kick, the latter's last act of the match seeing him drill the ball into the danger zone.
It ricocheted off both Joshua Laws and Hoffman before flying inches past Sail's right-hand post, the 'keeper very much a relieved figure, given he was beaten all ends up by the ball's quickfire changes in direction.
A Steven Ugarkovic free-kick invited Alex Rufer to let rip from twenty yards seven minutes from time, but the outcome of his shot was matched at the other end of the park four minutes later as Beka Dartsmelia headed wide from Daniel Stynes' pinpoint cross.
It was all or nothing now for Newcastle, another Stynes cross parting the hair of Buhagiar some eight yards out from goal. Sail then grabbed a Carl Jenkinson twenty-yarder as the visitors piled on the pressure in search of a late equaliser, but when substitute Thomas Aquilina skied a chance from six yards on receipt of Dartsmelia's cross, the game was up for the visitors, who deserved better from a contest which saw the better team beaten 2-1 by Wellington.
Wellington: Sail; Elliot (Boxall, 90), Wootton, Payne, Sutton; Sasse (Laws, 63), Rufer, Ugarkovic, Kraev; Ball (booked, 38) (Barbarouses, 53), Zawada (Van Hattum, 90)
Newcastle: Duncan (booked, 41); Ingham (Aquilina, 83), Jurman (Stynes, 80), Jenkinson (booked, 85), Hoffman; Grozos, Thurgate, O'Neill (Dartsmelia, 77), Saito; Buhagiar (booked, 35), Sotirio
Referee: Shaun Evans
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