Football is often about moments and there were two that saw Melbourne Victory’s season flash before their eyes. Those moments could also prove to be the catalyst for a a spot in the top six.
Just look at Melbourne Victory goalkeeper Paul Izzo and his second-half performance at Sky Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Yan Sasse and Steven Ugarkovic found themselves with golden opportunities to double Phoenix’s lead. However, Izzo produced two incredible saves in the 52nd and 56th minutes.
Those two moments proved inspirational and provided the platform for Victory to come from behind and upstage the fifth-placed Phoenix 2-1 in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
After watching Izzo keep Victory in the contest at one end, Bruno Fornaroli and Damien Da Silva found the back of the net at the other to ensure Tony Popovic’s side not only climbed off the foot of the table but they remain in the finals hunt.
“Going 1-0 down at half-time and you’re disappointed,” the Victory shot-stopper told Sky Sport NZ post-game.
“As a keeper, you know you have a big role to play if you want to give the lads a chance to come back and win the game.
“I said in my head, there’s going to be two or three moments where I’ll have to stand up. I just kept that focus and fortunately I was switched on enough to make those saves.
Referring to his saves, he added: “It’s like a goal for us as a keeper. It’s a truly great feeling but it’s part of the job.”
Victory, won back-to-back games for the first time this season as their finals flame still burns.
Last season’s semi-finalists are 10th in the standings and just three points adrift of sixth-placed Sydney FC, who meet Western United later on Saturday.
Victory are also looking ahead to Wednesday’s resumption of December’s halted Melbourne Derby against league-leading Melbourne City at AAMI Park.
“We got written off a couple of weeks ago. We keep grabbing some points. If we keep the momentum going, the belief is only going to grow more,” Izzo said
“We have a game midweek against City and what a way to make another statement.”
Fornaroli maintained his strong form with another goal for finals-chasing Victory.
Despite appeals for offside, he equalised in the 58th minute to take his tally for the season to seven goals.
The 35-year-old has scored in three consecutive games and six of his past eight appearances.
“Trust me, sometimes you can concede first goal and you start to think like that (it’s not going to be our day). But, we say it’s the last chance to keep going and keep believing,” Fornaroli said.
He is fifth on the all-time Isuzu UTE A-League list with 87, just three behind Archie Thompson in fourth and and five behind third-placed Shane Smeltz.
“I’m coming for them,” the Uruguay-born Socceroo joked.
‘Don’t play on my emotions cause I’m angry’
Oskar Zawada returned to the line-up following the birth of his first child, and he capped his comeback with the opening goal but it was not a happy outing.
It was a sublime lob that gave the Phoenix the lead and took his tally for the season to 13 goals, having scored in five consecutive matches – equalling a Wellington record.
But the ‘Nix were made to pay for wasted opportunities as the Victory rallied to stun the home side.
The Polish striker made it clear how he felt post-game after Wellington slumped to back-to-back losses.
“Don’t play on my emotions because I’m angry,” he replied when asked how frustrated he was with the result.
“I don’t want to say too much because if I say too much, it won’t help us. We lost the game. We conceded shit goals and we deserved to lose.”
Report – AAP
Melbourne Victory jumped off the bottom of the table and dented Wellington Phoenix’s finals bid with a come-from-behind 2-1 win at Sky Stadium.
Goals from Bruno Fornaroli and Damien Da Silva reeled in Wellington, who led on Saturday through in-form striker Oskar Zawada.
Da Silva made amends for his first-half blunder with a lion-hearted winner for Victory, breathing life into their flat season.
The French defender won a header at a 76th-minute corner and then pounced on the loose ball to score past a stranded Oli Sail.
It remains to be seen whether Victory, wooden-spoon contenders for the last few months, can salvage their campaign with a late run to the finals.
This win sealed their first back-to-back triumphs all season, leaving them three points off sixth-placed Sydney FC with five to play.
A few more late-season showings like this could keep Tony Popovic in the job for another campaign after he was linked with an early exit this week.
On their first visit to New Zealand in more than three years, Victory did it the hard way.
Zawada pounced for his 13th goal of a hugely impressive debut season in Australia, catching Victory’s defence cold.
Connor Chapman, Josh Brillante and Damien Da Silva were all too indecisive, allowing Sam Sutton to punch a header forward and Zawada to nick in, sidefooting past the onrushing Paul Izzo after beating him to a 50-50 ball.
Zawada is enjoying a rich vein of form, scoring on his last five outings, and 10 from his last 11.
A dour contest came alive in the second half, when Izzo produced two stunning saves to his left.
The gloveman denied a venomous strike by Yan Sasse – who was allowed to glide into the box and shoot – and Steven Ugarkovic as Phoenix pressed for a second.
Those saves would be crucial, laying the platform for Victory’s off-the-canvas win.
Fornaroli was on hand to head home Chris Ikonomidis’ corner after 58 minutes, which was flicked on to the Uruguayan by Da Silva.
Substitute Lleyton Brooks had great chances to score after being played through twice, only for the pacy forward to fluff his efforts.
Victory were finishing the stronger, with Callan Elliot producing a goal-line clearance from Ben Folami’s shot with Sail beaten.
From that corner, Da Silva produced his heroics, before running to the Victory bench and celebrating wildly.
The result leaves Wellington in fifth and in need of a form reversal after two straight losses if they are to secure their own finals place.
