Wellington coach Gemma Lewis lauded her side’s efforts as they ground out a gritty 0-0 draw against the Western Sydney Wanderers to begin life as an A-League Women’s side.
After kick-off was delayed by 15 minutes due to thunderstorms surrounding Wollongong’s WIN Stadium, the Phoenix gave a good account of themselves in an end-to-end encounter.
While the Phoenix failed to score, there were plenty of positives in their maiden outing at this level.
“I’m super proud of them,” said Lewis. “It’s a hard task to press that much throughout the game.
“You could see they were feeling it towards the end. They’re on a high. There were no expectations on us and we felt we had something to prove.
“We got a draw and we want to keep pushing and keep improving.”
Things could have been vastly different when Western Sydney’s Bianca Gallic fed Sheridan Gallagher through the middle of the Phoenix defence in the 12th minute.
The forward turned and bore down on goal but was only able to hit the crossbar from the edge of the box.
That was to be the sole flashpoint in the first half as Catherine Cannuli’s Wanderers side enjoyed the lion’s share of possession but were unable to turn their dominance into goals.
Their end product was lacking and when the Phoenix opted to press, Western Sydney often squandered possession or were forced to go long.
The Phoenix were well organised and defended smartly in the opening 45 minutes, with Grace Jale the spark for Gemma Lewis’ side.
Wellington, though, showed no signs of relenting in their spirited start as Zoe McMeeken’s whipped cross just after the half-time break found Chloe Knott, who was unable to test Wanderers keeper Sarah Langman.
Western Sydney responded with Gallagher setting up Erica Halloway after some smart play at the byline but Lily Alfeld was on hand to deny the Wanderers forward.
As the game wore on, the younger Phoenix outfit seemed to tire, with Jale taken off with a half an hour left to play and McMeeken treated for cramp.
Rosie Galea had a chance to snatch a winner in the 85th minute for the Wanderers but all she could do was fire her effort into the side netting.
Cannuli, who was booked in the dying stages of injury time for leaving her technical area and touching a live ball, said her side struggled to match the energy of the Phoenix.
“It was frustrating. I don’t think either side settled into the game at all,” she said.
“I think Wellington came out with a lot of energy and pressed us and got into our faces.
“We didn’t settle into the match and it’s a good learning curve for us going into round two.”
