Genreau goal seals consecutive wins for Macarthur

Macarthur FC proved too strong for Wellington Phoenix as they claimed a 1-0 victory at WIN Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

A Denis Genreau goal was the difference in Wollongong on Sunday afternoon as Macarthur overcame Wellington Phoenix by the odd goal.

It took some time before the match revved into life with the first half full of a host of half chances as both sides slowly began to find their shooting boots.

A hopeful effort from Beñat Etxebarria caused a heart in mouth moment for Phoenix shot stopper Ollie Sail who adjusted well to keep out the Spaniard’s speculative halfway shot.

The second half saw both teams carve out more chances with the Bulls first to test Sail only seconds after the restart before Adam Federici got down well to deny Alex Rufer who was later ruled to be in an offside position.

The breakthrough eventually arrived through Genreau on 65 minutes with the midfielder tapping home from close range after Sail’s impromptu save from Tim Payne fell into his path.

Going a goal behind saw Wellington step up a gear as they aimed to snatch a point from the affair with Ben Waine becoming a central figure for Ufuk Talay’s side after entering the action.

However, Macarthur were able to keep the highly-prized clean sheet as they secured back-to-back A-League wins which saw them jump into third on the ladder.

Key Moments

A slow start to proceedings at WIN Stadium saw much of the ball remain parked in the middle of the pitch. A James McGarry half volley put Macarthur’s defence on notice with his effort coming within inches of Federici’s goal after a heavy deflection from Aleksandar Jovanovic.

https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6244895095001

A slight knock to the recently returned Steven Taylor forced a reshuffle from Wellington with Talay calling upon Josh Laws to replace the Englishman.

A cheeky opportunity from Etxebarria provided the first real scare for the home side with the Spanish maestro trying his luck from the halfway mark, only to be denied by a switched on Sail in the 27^th minute.

https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6244891706001

Neither side were able to take a stronghold, but it was the Bulls who were able to close out the half the better of the two sides with Loic Puyo’s strike sailing over the crossbar following Tommy Oar’s lay off.

A lack of cohesion became an unwanted feature of the first stanza with Macarthur’s leading goal scorer, Matt Derbyshire, failing to produce any positive chances, while his Wellington counterpart, David Ball was also struggling to have his usual influence.

The Bulls came out with a newfound desire after the break and made their best case to break the deadlock via Puyo as he connected with Ivan Franjic’s ball into the penalty area.

Puyo’s improvised strike forced a smart save from Sail who was able to palm away the potentially lethal opportunity.

https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6244892386001

Phoenix’s most dangerous opening came on the hour mark with Alex Rufer’s sweetly struck volley forcing Federici into action before the Wellington midfielder was adjudged to be offside.

A determined Macarthur outfit were clearly not in the mood to settle for a goalless stalemate and were eventually rewarded with the opening goal of the contest on 65 minutes via Genreau.

Genreau was in the right place at the right time as he pounced on Sail’s save to drive it home from close range.

The remainder of the contest saw Phoenix push the visitors’ defence to the limits with Talay deciding to call upon a number of his attacking options to rejuvenate his side’s lack of cohesion in the final third.

Waine was Welllington’s danger man as the second half wore on but neither he nor his teammates were unable to manufacture the desired equaliser before the full time whistle sounded.

https://players.brightcove.net/5519514571001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6244894853001