Wellington Phoenix defeated a lacklustre Melbourne City outfit 2-1 at Westpac Stadium on Friday night to keep their slim hopes of making finals alive.
Wellington Phoenix
Glen Moss – 8: One remarkable and crucial one-on-one block of Fornaroli was his highlight. Consistent performer did it again tonight.
Tom Doyle – 6: Was not up to his usual standards this season. Defended ably but didn’t stand out
Louis Fenton – 6.5: Scored the first goal and put in a decent shift. Was lucky not to be red carded by the referee after given only one yellow despite two bookable offences.
Andrew Durante [c]– 8: A bruising performance by the skipper. Looked happy to have signed a new contract with the club and gave his all.
Manny Muscat – 6.5: His versatility was key again tonight as he played in the right-back role behind usual incumbent Fenton. Put himself about well.
Albert Riera – 7: Decent passing, some crucial tackles and so quick to put pressure on the ball carrier. Integral part of the Nix.
Roly Bonevacia – 7: Huge battle with Malik in the middle of the park. Some fantastic touches and grabbed an assist.
Alex Rodriguez – 6: Looking better this game. His passes are bearing fruit once again.
Dylan Fox – 7: The youngster reads the game so well. He has really been a revelation this season. Another Aussie prospect for the future.
Matthew Ridenton – 7: Scored a goal and worked hard on the wing. Defied expectations.
Michael McGlinchey – 7: He always works and works! Sumptuous cross lead to Fenton’s goal.
Substitutes
Ben Sigmund – N/A: Came on to defend at the last. No impact.
Justin Gulley – N/A: No impact.
Kwabena Appiah-Kubi – N/A: On too late to make any impact. Bandy legs.
Melbourne City
Thomas Sorenson – 4: Came off at half-time for reasons unknown. No notable saves and conceded two.
Alexander Wilkinson – 6: Worked hard and did his job. Dealt with the Phoenix attack and had a good game overall.
Patrick Kisnorbo – 6: Early yellow card muted his impact somewhat. The skipper still managed to rally the troops after the shock start, but couldn’t pull them to victory.
Michael Zullo – 6: Part of a defensive unit that was made to work hard throughout.
Osama Malik – 6.5: His battle with Bonevacia was evident throughout. Tough and uncompromising, he was eventually out battled by his Nix counterpart.
Ivan Franjic – 5: Conceded the first to Fenton after fluffing his attempted clearance. A mixed game with some marauding runs the highlight.
Aaron Mooy – 6: Some dangerous set-piece work mixed with wind hysterics. Frustrated and closed down early throughout, but grabbed a deflected free-kick goal and hit the bar with another. Was not at his mercurial best tonight by a long shot.
Anthony Caceres – 5.5: He had his good and bad moments – at least this time he didn’t pick up a suspension.
Benjamin Garuccio – 5: Was largely shut out by the Nix and eventually came off without troubling the statisticians.
Bruno Fornaroli – 5: Was blunted and spent large amounts of the game on the ground as the Nix defence gave him plenty of special attention. Couldn’t find the net.
Nick Fitzgerald – 6: He caused the Phoenix defence some problems and had the best of the City opportunities.
Substitutes
Daniel Bouzanis – 6: Made two decent saves and kept a second-half clean sheet on debut.
Jacob Melling – 4: Didn’t make the difference his coach required following his second-half introduction.
James Brown – 4: Had no say in the contest in his short second-half spell.
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