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Wellington Phoenix
1
Match Complete
Melbourne City FC
0
| A. Durante |  | 95' | ||
| S. Taylor | | 61' | ||
| 51' | | R. Griffiths | ||
| 38' | | B. Schenkeveld | ||
| 17' | | L. Wales | ||
| D. Williams |  | 5' |
| 9 | Shots | 16 | ||
| 5 | On Target | 6 | ||
| 14 | Fouls | 17 | ||
| 5 | Corners | 6 | ||
| 2 | Offsides | 1 | ||
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 | ||
| 2 | Yellow Cards | 3 |
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Wellington Phoenix have returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Melbourne City at Westpac Stadium.
In a game of two metaphorical and literal halves, Wellington took the lead off the back of a David Williams goal after only four minutes and held it for the remainder of the contest.
City were awful in the first half yet threw everything at the home side in the second and did all bar score.
Filip Kurto was astonishing in goal for the home side; blocking and parrying everything that came his way.
The win moves the Phoenix to within a point of City and closer to a top four position. City will lament their inability to convert the second half chances they created.
After a lacklustre first half, City brought everything to the table in the second yet still could not crack the Phoenix’s stoic defence.
Final score
Wellington Phoenix 1
Melbourne City 0
Wellington Phoenix face Melbourne City at Westpac Stadium as Round 16 A-League action continues. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 5:35pm (AEDT).
After their first loss since the 24th of November, the Phoenix will be licking their wounds after falling to Sydney FC in mid-week.
Mark Rudan started that match with a powerhouse bench, resting a few players during this busy time of the competition.
Something tells me that City may not enjoy quite as many quality players sitting on the pine at the start of this match, with Rudan sure to attempt to get the Phoenix back into winning ways as quickly as possibly.
Melbourne City produced the miraculous against the weird and wonderfully inconsistent Western Sydney Wanderers a day earlier, when they found the net three times late to snatch the most unlikely of 4-3 victories at AAMI Park.
It was lucky in some ways and evidence of a Wanderers side in disarray, something they proved once again last night, yet also a morale boosting comeback that saw City stay well within reach of the top three on the table.
With just 15 goals conceded this season and Bart Schenkeveld leading an impressive defensive unit, breaching the City fortress is proving incredibly difficult.
Wellington have been the best attacking team of late and so this sets up as an interesting match up between two teams relying on very different playing styles.
If Roy Krishna, David Williams and Sarpreet Singh fire, the visitors will be under siege.
Wellington are at full strength for this clash and City welcome back Dario Vidosic into the squad.
With both teams essentially injury free, this stands to be a high quality affair.
Prediction
Can the flair and skill in the Wellington forward line punch holes in the stoic City defence? Probably.
Can City find the net from another unlikely source and keep surprising everyone with their ability to score without a designated striker? In my view yes.
Will the VAR play a role? Don’t ask!
Wellington Phoenix 1 Melbourne City 1
Where: Westpac Stadium, Wellington
When: Saturday 26th January 2019, 5:35pm(AEDT)
TV: Fox Sports
Betting: Wellington Phoenix $2.60 Draw $3.50 Melbourne City $2.70
Catch all the action on The Roar live coverage from 5:35pm (AEDT).
Wellington Phoenix
1.Filip Kurto (Gk), 4.Mandi Sosa, 5. Ryan Lowry, 6.Dylan Fox, 7.Cillian Sheridan, 9.Nathan Burns, 11.David Williams, 13.Liberato Cacace, 14.Alex Rufer, 15.Michal Kopzcynski, 16.Louis Fenton, 18.Sarpreet Singh, 19.Tom Doyle, 20.Oliver Sail (Gk), 21.Roy Krishna, 22.Andrew Durante (C), 23.Max Burgess, 27.Steven Taylor
Melbourne City
1.Mark Birighitti, 2.Ritchie De Laet, 3.Scott Jamieson (C), 4.Harrison Delbridge, 5.Bart Schenkeveld, 7.Rostyn Griffiths, 8.Riley Mcgree, 10.Dario Vidosic, 13.Nathaniel Atkinson, 15.Kearyn Baccus, 18.Eugene Galekovic (Gk), 19.Lachlan Wales, 21.Ramy Najjarine, 25.Iacopo La Rocca, 22.Curtis Good, 26.Luke Brattan, 27.Florin Berenguer-Bohrer, 30.Moudi Najjar
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