Andrew Redmayne stepped up late to deny Roy Krishna from the spot as Sydney FC ground out a tough 1-0 win over Wellington Phoenix at Westpac Stadium.
Siem De Jong put the Sky Blues ahead after 25 minutes and despite a flurry of chances late on, the Nix couldn’t find a way past their opposition in what were windy conditions in the capital.
The visitors looked to have a penalty shout after eight minutes when Wellington’s Louis Fenton appeared to have handled the ball in the box but the referee’s call of play on was upheld by the VAR.
It mattered little as the Sky Blues went ahead 25 minutes in, De Jong thumping home a loose ball to open proceedings.
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The goal came at a cost however with Andrew Durante’s tackle from behind collecting De Jong’s ankle and prematurely ending the Dutchman’s involvement in the match.
Steve Corica couldn’t believe his poor luck shortly after when new boy Anthony Caceres was forced to make way through injury as well, bringing skipper Alex Brosque into the game.
The Nix would enjoy the majority of chances in the second half as they went in search of an equaliser against a depleted Sky Blues.
Nix young gun Sarpreet Singh was introduced just before the hour mark and almost had an immediate impact, forcing a good save from Redmayne.
Sydney left-back Michael Zullo would then become the centre of attention twice in the last half-hour, firstly being cleared of a possible handball in the box before a swiping challenge on Steven Taylor in the same area again piqued the VAR’s interest.
This time a spot-kick was given however and up stepped Roy Krishna to try and earn his side a share of the spoils.
It wasn’t to be for the Phoenix ultimately with Redmayne coming up trumps, guessing the right way to deny the Fijian as Sydney held on for a gritty victory.
