Wellington have issued a firm statement to the rest of the competition that their early season form has by no means been an indicator of what they will offer as an opponent.
Stinging from a 3-nil shellacking last weekend, when they conceded an opening goal to Perth, it looked to be a long afternoon for the home-side.
But Wellington were not to be dealt with easily, immediately dragging a goal back through Dario Vidosic, who played superbly, and later took the lead through Paracki, who would have been eager to make up for last round’s blunder of the year.
Neither team seemed overly eager to build upon a resolute defence, as errors offered the main avenue to goal, perfectly summed up by Neville’s horror error that, somewhat ironically, allowed Paracki to score himself.
The second half again saw the home team concede early, and the tight 2-all affair looked like a lot more goals were on offer.
And further goals would prove to be the case, but entirely for the home side.
Wellington created space and movement out wide at every instance, and the ball found its way to Finkler, who controlled the ball in the area, and nailed the shot, to give the Phoenix the lead once again.
As has been indicative of the season theme so far, controversy was not far away, as the maligned VAR system was called upon to adjudicate whether or not Perth had conceded a penalty through a handball. The crowd bayed: VAR, VAR, VAR.
It was determined, eventually, that Perth had indeed given away a penalty, and Kaluderovic duly slotted a pinpoint perfect penalty, to extend the home side’s lead.
From there, Wellington appeared to be determined not to be denied, and Perth faded.
Krishna, who in this writer’s opinion was easily man of the match, raided that left-hand side with ease, and it was only justice when Kaluderovic put away a header, for the fifth, and a final nail in the away side’s coffin.
And so the referee blew time on a game that was not exactly a classic, with other teams likely to take advantage of poor and disorganised defences of both teams, but weary that both teams can attack. However, this was very much a game you could not take your eyes off, lest you would definitely miss something.
Perth will have a long flight home with a fair amount of introspection, as their unbeaten run against Wellington comes to a crashing halt.
Wellington, o the other hand, should now be spurred on by a performance that offers them belief. The kiwi team will now look to make something of a season that appeared to be slipping away.
Wellington will also move swiftly off the bottom, leaving a previously unheard of scenario of Brisbane and Melbourne propping up the rest of the competition.
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