Two second-half goals were enough to secure the points for the Wanderers, remaining in top spot after a tight contest against Perth.
The first 45 minutes was a close battle between two sides who looked like they were just waiting for the other team to make a mistake. The Wanderers lost in-form marquee man Dario Vidosic after only 11 minutes as he was forced-off with a hamstring injury and the biggest chance of the early stages fell to Chris Harold, but he was unable to get the ball under control quickly enough and Scott Jamieson was able to track back to clear his lines.
In the second-half the game really came to life and Romeo Castelen put the hosts ahead with a cracking shot which rebounded in off the post. Only moments later, however, Nikolai Topor-Stanley brought down Harold in the box and gave away a penalty, which Andy Keogh slotted into the back of the net.
It then became a bit of a cat and mouse affair as neither side wanted to lose the match, but it came down to an excellently taken goal from the super-sub Brendon Santalab in the 85th minute.
Western Sydney Wanderers
Liam Reddy – 5.5: Continued to look for the short ball to keep possession even when the Perth strikers were pressing high up the field. Got his defenders into a bit of trouble on a couple of occasions.
Scott Neville – 7: The Wanderers tried to play out of the back a number of times and Neville did an excellent job at keeping composed and maintaining possession. He Also got forward well when needed and delivered some good crosses into the danger areas.
Alberto – 6: Very solid showing at the back from Alberto and he was composed when called upon.
Nikolai Topor-Stanley – 4.5: Sloppy on a number of occasions when he was trying to play it out of the back. Was solid throughout the game defensively, but had a brain explosion and brought down Harold in the area to give the opposition a penalty only moments after Western Sydney took the lead.
Scott Jamieson – 7: Got back on a number of occasions to save some very clear cut opportunities. Tracked back to stop Harold in the first-half and then made a last ditch slide in the late stages from a very dangerous ball in.
Andreu – 6.5: Good performance from the experienced midfielder as he was able to stem the flow of the Glory attacks on a number of occasions.
Dimas – 6.5: Very solid in the middle of the park. Went unnoticed and fulfilled his role very well.
Mitch Nichols – 7: Missed a one-on-one with early in the first-half although he had to take the shot early as Ante Covic was quickly of his line. Also managed to get the assist for Castelen’s goal.
Dario Vidosic – N/A: Was forced off with a hamstring injury after only 10 minutes.
Josh Sotirio – 5: Worked very hard while he was on the pitch, failed to really get in behind Josh Risdon and trouble the back four.
Mark Bridge – 6: Frustrating night for Bridge as he was lacking the service required to really have an influence on the game. He was moved to a slightly wider position after Santalab came on though and delivered a fantastic ball in for the assist.
Substitutes
Romeo Castelen – 8: Replaced Vidosic after he was forced off with an injury. Worked very hard after coming on in the first-half but lacked the final ball at times. Had a good chance on the break and made no mistake finishing into the bottom right corner from 18 yards out to open the scoring.
Brendon Santalab – 6.5: Scored a fantastic goal off the bench yet again to put the Wanderers into the lead.
POPULAR ARTICLES
How Twitter reacted to Wellngton Phoenix’s 2-1 win over Melbourne City
A-League – Player Ratings – Wellington Phoenix 2 Melbourne City 1
A-League – What We Learned – Wellington Phoenix 2 Melbourne City 1
Perth Glory
Ante Covic – 5: Looked a little shaky in the first-half, dropping a couple of easy takes. He could not have done anything about the first goal, but was caught in no man’s land for the second and Santalab dinked it over him.
Marc warren – 5.5: Castelen came on and caused him some trouble with his pace and skill.
Shane Lowry – 6.5: Solid performance from the centre-back as he did his job well. Kept Bridge very quiet on the night.
Alex Grant – 7: His positioning throughout the game was superb and was there on a number of occasions to cut out key passes and stop the Wanderers from getting in behind.
Josh Risdon – 6: The right back managed to keep Sotirio quiet in the first-half.
Krisztian Vadocz – 6: Very composed on the ball and his retention was superb. Dropped into the hole between the midfield and back four and acted as the link between the two on a number of occasions. Did drop out of the game a bit in the second-half, however.
Nebo Marinkovic – 5: Had a fabulous chance to open the scoring early in the second-half, but completely shanked the volley. His set piece delivery was also lacking at times.
Gyorgy Sandor – 6: Was able to link up the midfield and the strikers well at times and worked hard tracking back defensively as well.
Diego Castro – 6.5: Another good performance from Castro and his delivery into the box possibly deserved better.
Chris Harold – 6: His work rate was very high, but he missed a couple of big opportunities. He was put clean through in the 22nd minute but dwelled on it for too long and also had a free header from about seven yards out in the second-half but was unable to hit the target. He did, however, get in behind to win the penalty, so he had a very mixed game.
Andy Keogh – 7: Worked himself into the ground in this match. Managed to get himself on the score sheet from the spot.
Substitutions
Richard Garcia – N/A: Struggled to get into the game after his substitution.
Mitchel Oxborrow – N/A: Not on for long enough to have any effect on the game.
Kosta Petratos N/A: Not on for long enough to have any effect on the game.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
