Grace Jale scored another memorable goal to lead in-form Wellington Phoenix to a 2-0 win over former team Perth Glory in the Ninja A-League.
Jale came back to haunt the Glory with a second long-range stunner in as many home matches early in the second half before Olivia Fergusson sealed the points in the 69th minute on Saturday.
Wellington have lost just one of their past six fixtures, with the result at Porirua Park moving the Phoenix Wellington up to fifth in the standings through Round 10 – ahead of Central Coast Mariners on games won, though the latter are still to play, and one clear of Adelaide United who are also scheduled to play.
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As for Perth, they are 10th and five points outside the top six amid a three-match winless run.
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It was a scoreless opening 45 minutes in Wellington, where Mebae Tanaka had two good chances to put the Phoenix head.
The deadlock was broken two minutes into the second half when Jale came back to haunt her former side.
For the second home game running, Jale scored from distance – this time the New Zealand international beat Casey Dumont from outside the penalty area.
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Fergusson made it 2-0 with 21 minutes remaining – the Englishwoman rose highest to head home Lara Wall’s inch-perfect cross as she scored for the second consecutive match.
Perth had two big chances to reduce the deficit late on but they were denied twice in an incredible sequence – firstly by ‘Nix goalkeeper Carolina Vilao and then the crossbar as the Glory suffered a third straight loss to Wellington.
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