Wellington Phoenix ended their eight-game drought in the Isuzu UTE A-League after holding on to beat Newcastle Jets 2-1.
Not since January 20 had the Phoenix celebrated a win but they recorded an overdue win thanks to goals from Kosta Barbarouses and Kazuki Nagasawa at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday.
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The Phoenix breathed a huge sigh of relief at the end of the game after seeing off the rallying Jets.
Not only were Newcastle denied a penalty during the closing stages when Kota Mizunuma was deemed to have dived before Wellington goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi produced a stunning 97th-minute save to prevent a dramatic equaliser.
There was chaos before kick-off when Jets goalkeeper Noah James suffered an injury in the warm-up after being struck in the head with a ball.
When the match got underway, the Phoenix controlled proceedings for large parts.
While Thomas Aquilina nearly put the Jets ahead in the 10th minute, it was all Wellington with Newcastle keeper Ryan Scott kept busy.
A backheel from Nagasawa released Sam Sutton, who forced a saved from Scott six minutes later.
Scott then pulled off a great double save to thwart Scott Wootton and Corbin Piper in the 26th minute before Lachie Wales’ goal-line clearance denied Barbarouses moments later.
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It was all hands to the pump for the Jets but there was no denying Barbarouses and the Phoenix in the 34th minute – the Wellington great was clear through on goal and slid a ball across Scott for the 102nd goal of his storied A-Leagues career.
Nagasawa doubled the lead seven minutes later after capping a fine team move, which saw Tim Payne surge into the penalty area before the New Zealand international picked out his ‘Nix team-mate for a close-range finish.
Clayton Taylor came off the bench at half-time and the Jets star should have at least hit the target as his effort sailed just over the crossbar on the hour mark following a dazzling run from Eli Adams.
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Oluwayemi was credited with an own goal in the 65th minute following a contentious moment where the Phoenix goalkeeper felt he was fouled by Aquilina, but after a VAR review, the goal stood, much to his dismay.
That sparked Newcastle into action and triggered an outrageous scramble inside the box as Wellington somehow survived. In the words of Paramount+ co-commentator Andy Harper, “cue the benny hill music” – there was a scrambling Oluwayemi and blocked shots from all directions, with the Phoenix desperately holding firm.
The Jets came home with a wet sail as a nervy Oluwayemi was targeted by the home side.
Kota and the Jets thought they should have been awarded a penalty late in the game but the Japanese star was yellow carded for simulation. Following a VAR review as Newcastle appealed for a spot-kick, the former Yokohama F.Marinos winger was ruled to be offside in the build-up.
