Western United’s Isuzu UTE A-League Premiership aspirations have been dealt a serious blow in a 4-1 loss to Wellington Phoenix as Jaushua Sotirio starred in Ballarat.
Needing a win to keep pressure on red-hot league leaders Melbourne City, second-placed Western found themselves down 3-0 at half-time on Saturday thanks to goals from Scott Wootton, Sotirio and Gael Sandoval.
Desperately needing a positive result of their own after losing their previous two games by a combined 11-0 scoreline, Phoenix absorbed Steven Lustica’s 54th-minute strike then added a second Sotirio goal to seal the win in his return to the starting XI.
With 21 games played, Western now find themselves eight points adrift of defending champions City, who were to play their 24th game on Saturday night against rivals Melbourne Victory.
Their once-vaunted defence having conceded 12 goals in their last five games, John Aloisi’s Western will look to regroup against Perth Glory in Tasmania next Saturday.
Moving into fifth, the Phoenix will also prepare to face Perth, but on Wednesday evening.
In what would soon prove a false dawn, Western dominated possession and territory across the opening half-hour of the first-ever A-League Men game at Morshead Park.
Phoenix’s first corner of the game in the 29th minute proved devastating when David Ball nodded the ball on to an open Wooten at the back post to score the opener.
Getting out in transition, a focus of his side, Sandoval slipped Sotirio through to blast home three minutes later.
A mistimed challenge from Ben Garuccio as he and Nicholas Pennington battled for a Sam Sutton chip then gave away a first-half stoppage-time penalty for Sandoval to convert.
Some sharp interplay in the 55th minute sprung Lustica to drag a goal back but Sotirio’s finish from a Reno Piscopo cutback in the 63rd restored the three-goal buffer.
Western created further hopeful chances and even had a late penalty shout but couldn’t break down an embedded Phoenix defence.
