Princess Ibini came off the bench and scored the 98th-minute winner as Sydney FC stunned 10-player Wellington Phoenix 2-1 in the Ninja A-League on Saturday.
The match appeared to be petering out for a draw after Manaia Elliott cancelled out Maddie Caspers’ first-half opener before Ibini took matters into her own hands at Leichhardt Oval.
Ibini combined with Abbey Lemon, playing a neat one-two before slotting the ball into the back of the net in the eighth minute of stoppage time to deal a blow to Wellington’s finals hopes after they had Tiana Jaber sent off during the closing stages.
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Two-time reigning champions Sydney climbed off the foot of the table as a result, while Wellington are eighth and now two points adrift of the top six.
It was a tight and tense affair at Leichhardt Oval, where the Sky Blues were eyeing a rare win having celebrated just one victory in their past seven matches.
The eighth-placed Phoenix, meanwhile, were looking to claim back-to-back wins to keep their finals hopes alive.
Clear-cut chances were few and far between until the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time.
Birthday girl Caspers capped a fine team goal as she broke Wellington’s resistance with a moment of composure on her 18th birthday.
Wellington captain Annalie Longo nearly restored parity in the 67th minute after her effort flashed agonisingly wide of the goal and the Phoenix almost equalised moments later.
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In her first starting appearance, Sydney goalkeeper Jasmine Black pushed Elliott’s looping header onto the crossbar and away to safety.
Elliott was not to be denied 15 minutes from the end after being played through by Longo, whose perfectly-threaded pass released the New Zealand international to finish beyond Black.
The Phoenix were reduced to 10 players with five minutes of regulation remaining after Jaber saw red for a second bookable offence.
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Just as the two sides looked destined to share the spoils, Matildas forward Ibini popped up at the death to spark wild celebrations.
Sydney have now scored six goals via substitutes this season, no team has more.
