Wellington Phoenix celebrated a home win over Sydney FC for the first time in their history thanks to Saturday’s 2-0 triumph over the slumping Ninja A-League champions.
The Phoenix had trumped Sydney away from home in March 2023 but never before had they claimed maximum points against the Sky Blues on home soil… until the weekend.
Grace Jale’s long-range strike in the 60th minute and Zoe McMeekena’s first A-League goals two minutes from the end ensured in-form Wellington extended their unbeaten streak to four matches at Porirua Park, where the start of the second half was delayed for almost an hour due to storm activity in the area.
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With the win, Wellington climbed up to fourth in the standings and seven points behind leaders Melbourne City as defending champions Sydney fell to the foot of the table.
Millie Farrow had a golden chance to give Sydney the lead away from home in the 20th minute. The Englishwoman forced Wellington into a mistake as the Phoenix coughed up possession trying to play the ball out. However, the former Chelsea forward was unable to steer her effort on target having found herself in a one-on-one situation.
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It was an evenly contested opening period before the start of the second half was delayed 45 minutes due to storm activity in Wellington.
Once the match resumed, the in-form Phoenix gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about after New Zealand international Jale broke the deadlock in sensation fashion on the hour mark.
Jale found the back of the net with a long-range strike – her first since re-joining Wellington at the start of 2024-25.
Wellington sealed the points when 20-year-old defender McMeeken rose highest to make it 2-0 with two minutes of regulation remaining.
