Melbourne City has squandered the chance to move atop the A-League standings, denied after a first half blitz was enough to earn Wellington Phoenix a narrow 2-1 win in the New Zealand capital.
Early goals to Louis Fenton and Matthew Ridenton put the ninth-placed Phoenix into the box seat, and despite Aaron Mooy’s deflected effort that hauled City back into the contest with 70 minutes to play, it was a mere consolation effort.
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To play finals football, Wellington Phoenix must manoeuvre its way through an incredibly difficult run of fixtures which features every team in the top six, including another meeting with Melbourne City in four weeks’ time.
The overwhelming odds suggest this is a bridge too far, but coach Ernie Merrick and chairman Rob Morrison won’t care, and upon reflection, nor will the squad after a distraction filled 2015-16 A-League season.
The announcement of a 10-year license extension has deemed this season a joyous success. This team lives to fight another day and look to be enjoying their time on the park.
In a typically frantic opening period, goals to Fenton and Ridenton had the home support in raptures.
The goals came by way of almost identical situations, albeit on opposite flanks.
Michael McGlinchey created the first with a devilish cross in behind the City defence with Patrick Kisnorbo’s leg outstretched in vein, as Fenton capitalised from six yards. The second came after a horrid defensive showing, as City squandered a multitude of opportunities to clear before Roly Bonevacia picked out Ridenton, who roamed in front of City goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen to score without a defender in sight.
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Fortune favours the Mooy
When things are going your way, there’s little the opposition can do to counter that. Despite City’s form, everything seems to be going Mooy’s way at the moment.
Just ask Glen Moss, whose goal was breached from an Aaron Mooy free kick, a speculative attempt at first glance, because the wind speed in Wellington was over 42km/h, and blowing in the face of City’s star midfielder. But alas, the free kick, that probably would have been caught easily by Moss otherwise, deflected off the Phoenix wall and nestled comfortably in the far corner of the net.
In a first half of football that the home side should have comfortably won considering the blustery conditions, it did not, carrying the most slender of 2-1 leads but remained resolute in the face of an onslaught of City pressure after the break.
Are the Citizens letting it slip?
Since an impressive 3-1 win against the Phoenix on 25 January, City were outclassed by Western Sydney, beaten by Newcastle, and held on for dear life to earn a point against Melbourne Victory. It has been an incredibly poor month for John van’t Schip with his side’s only highlight coming in the 4-1 win against an undermanned Central Coast Mariners last round.
Harry Novillo should return to the starting line-up next week following a club-imposed suspension, and the Frenchman will need to build on the working relationship formed with Bruno Fornaroli to ensure the team can regain its attacking consistency.
City had the chance to go top with a win in this fixture, and duly blew it, raising more questions about a famously fragile mentality that had seemingly been cured.
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