[ad_1]
Brett Hemmings/Getty Images
Wellington Phoenix fullback Sam Sutton vies for the ball with Sydney FC’s Joe Lolley.
At Allianz Stadium, Sydney: Sydney FC 3 (Rhyan grant 11’ Robert Mak 86’, Fabio Gomes 90+4’) Wellington Phoenix 1 (Kosta Barbarouses 81’) HT: 1-0
Ufuk Talay has won the battle of the Wellington Phoenix coaches past and present after an uncharacteristic mistake from goalkeeper Alex Paulsen gifted Sydney FC a late 3-1 win at Allianz Stadium on Friday.
In-form forward Kosta Barbarouses looked to have salvaged a point for the A-League Men leaders when he finished off a counter-attack in the 81st minute to draw the Phoenix level.
Standout Ben Old sparked the attack when he broke through midfield and released substitute Oskar van Hattum, who teed up for Barbarouses to score his fourth goal in three matches.
But just as the match looked to be heading towards a 1-1, Sydney reclaimed the lead just five minutes later after a costly mistake from Paulsen.
The 21-year-old kicked the ball straight to Sydney midfielder Max Burgess from a goal kick and the errant pass was ruthlessly punished by Slovenian international Robert Mak.
Sydney striker Fabio Gomes, who played the final pass for Mak, then added a third deep in stoppage time to give Talay bragging rights over Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano, his former assistant.
It was just the Phoenix’s second defeat.
Sydney FC had bossed the opening proceedings of Friday’s match with Talay getting his tactics spot on against the team he coached for four years by pressing the Phoenix into submission.
The Phoenix could not handle Sydney’s aggressive defensive gameplan and struggled to play out from the back.
They conceded after just 11 minutes when the ball fell kindly to an unmarked Rhyan Grant at a corner kick after the initial header from Jaiden Kucharski took a deflection off a defender.
The Phoenix’s defeat has opened the door for Melbourne Victory to end 2023 on top of the table if they manage to beat Adelaide United on Saturday.
Up next
The Phoenix travel to South Australia next Thursday for a mid-week match against Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium. The Phoenix’s season ended there last season, beaten 2-0 in the 2022-23 elimination final. Adelaide finished third last season but have failed to reach the same heights since star man Craig Goodwin left for Saudi Arabia.
[ad_2]
Source link
