Wellington Phoenix secured their first win of the season at WIN Stadium after they dispatched of Perth Glory 3-0 on Sunday afternoon.
Phoenix displayed a masterclass in finishing after they saw off Perth Glory to claim their third victory of the A-League campaign.
An impenetrable defence saw Wellington secure back-to-back clean sheets in the process as they built upon last weekend’s victory at the Newcastle Jets.
A screamer by Reno Piscopo on the half hour mark saw Phoenix go ahead against the run of play before David Ball scored for successive matches when he connected with James McGarry’s cross five minutes later.
An aggrieved Glory side would have felt hard done by heading into the sheds 2-0 down and would have hoped to push their way back into the contest after the interval.
However, the second half began in similar proceedings as Wellington soon found themselves three up via Ben Waine.
The 19-year-old striker nudged home from close range after Tando Velaphi’s save fell kindly into his path on the hour mark.
Defensive gaps began to form for Glory as the second half drew to an end and it was Piscopo who came close to exploiting it with an individual run from the halfway line which was safely kept out by Velaphi.
As the full time whistle blew, Glory players appeared dejected after they threw everything at a well balanced Wellington who withstood everything thrown in their direction.
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Key Moments
Glory enjoyed the brighter start to the contest, running riot over Phoenix in the opening stages of the encounter.
Dane Ingham was able to forge plenty of space down the right wing and combined well with Andy Keogh just after the 10 minute mark.
The Glory defender bringing down Diego Castro’s cross field pass before playing a nifty one-two with Keogh just outside the 6 yard box.
However, a timely intervention from Phoenix’s Tim Payne denied Glory an opener and set the tone for a frustrating first half for the visitors.
Another opportunity fell the way of Keogh when his strike flew just over Ollie Sail’s crossbar in the 14th minute.
The Glory striker continued to pester Wellington’s defence and thought he had broken the deadlock with his effort four minutes later, only for the Irishman to be ruled offside when he collected Neil Kilkenny’s searching through ball.
Perth were eventually made to rue their dominant start to the match as Reno Piscopo scored a spectacular long range effort on the stroke of the half time whistle.
Ufuk Talay’s side soon found themselves two to the good when they once again scored against the run of play through David Ball who tucked home James McGarry’s cross from the left wing.
Perth continued to show promising signs in the attacking third, but a dogged Wellington defence saw them see off the first half with their 2-0 lead intact.
The second stanza began in similar fashion to the first with Wellington continuing to soak up Glory’s pressure before history repeated itself as Phoenix grabbed their third of the contest.
Ben Waine was the scorer for Wellington as he tapped home from close range following Ball’s shot which fell kindly into the path of the striker on the back of Tando Velaphi’s save.
The visitors thought they may have pulled one back just moments later however an inspired sequence of saves by Sail denied Bruno Fornaroli from point blank range.
A frustrated Fornaroli and Glory outfit were left at a wits end by Phoenix as Talay’s side closed out the match strongly.
Next Matches
Western Sydney Wanderers v Wellington Phoenix
Monday, March 15 2021
Bankwest Stadium
Kick-off: 7:05pm AEDT
Central Coast Mariners v Perth Glory
Sunday, March 14 2021
Central Coast Stadium
Kick-off: 4:05pm AEDT