A 10-man Wellington Phoenix have kept their A-League soccer playoff hopes alive with a gutsy 1-1 draw against Adelaide United.

The result was achieved despite their match skipper Tim Brown being sent off early in the second half.

Brown was shown the yellow card in the first half for an ill-judged tackle and later produced a crude tackle on Adelaide striker Travis Dodd early in the second spell, leaving referee Chris Beath no option but to send him off.

It was the third red card for a Phoenix player from the last four matches.

When Brown left the field, the Phoenix, who needed at least one point from this match to keep their season alive, were level 1-1 with Adelaide.

They began the match on 25 points, three behind fourth-placed Central Coast Mariners, who lost 0-3 to Melbourne last Friday.

Adelaide lost no time letting the Phoenix know they were in for a tough encounter.

Defender Robert Cornthwaite forced goalkeeper Glen Moss to make a brilliant save as he blocked a point-blank header off a free kick in just the third minute.

Adelaide’s wait to crack open a nervous Phoenix defence did not last long when Travis Dodd drifted to the edge of the box and a little pass found Paul Reid unmarked before the striker placed his shot into the top right-hand corner past Moss’ reach.

The pressure placed on the Phoenix was reflected in the three yellow cards Beath dished out to Jon McKain, Brown and Leo Bertos as the home side battled to stay in the game.

Coach Ricki Herbert’s gamble in giving Costa Barbarouses his first start of the season paid off in the 31st minute.

The Phoenix attack finally found their rhythm and a clever interchange on the left between Bertos and Shane Smeltz sliced open the defence.

Bertos took a return pass from Smeltz and his cross was nodded home by Barbarouses for his first professional goal.

The Phoenix started the second half brightly with Daniel creating a chance on the right after taking a pass from Smeltz but his shot from a narrow angle was blocked.

Indiscipline hit the Phoenix moments later when Brown was sent off but Adelaide failed to capitalise despite needing at least a win to stay ahead of Melbourne in the race for the minor premiership and an automatic place in the Asian Cup.

A delighted Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert said Sunday’s result showed what his team was made of.

“We could have crumbled but they showed some real character today,” Herbert said.
He said his side’s yellow cards weren’t so much for indiscipline but a reflection of the time of the season when desperation comes into the play.

Adelaide’s Travis Dodd said the team had failed to create pressure when Phoenix were reduced to 10-men.

“I think we should have played smarter especially when Phoenix got down to 10 man — made them run a bit, work a bit harder — (but) not to be,” he said.

© AAP 2012

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