Western Sydney Wanderers FC
2
Match Complete
Wellington Phoenix
3
| 89' |  | R. Krishna | ||
| K. Baccus | | 84' | ||
| 82' | | R. Krishna | ||
| 77' |  | C. Sheridan | ||
| R. Bonevacia | | 70' | ||
| B. Hamill | | 62' | ||
| K. Yeboah | | 59' | ||
| B. Hamill | | 42' | ||
| 36' | | L. Fenton | ||
| 24' | | A. Rufer | ||
| 8' | | A. Durante |
| 23 | Shots | 14 | ||
| 8 | On Target | 6 | ||
| 15 | Fouls | 15 | ||
| 7 | Corners | 5 | ||
| 4 | Offsides | 3 | ||
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 | ||
| 3 | Yellow Cards | 3 |
The Western Sydney Wanderers and the Wellington Phoenix face off at ANZ Stadium in Round 12 A-League action. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:50pm (AEDT).
Sitting in eighth place, with just nine points to show for their efforts, the Western Sydney Wanderers have reached the crossroads of what, to this point, has been a forgettable season.
Scoring goals has proven as difficult as preventing them, and the in-form Phoenix will be a strong test for the red and black tonight.
Wellington arrive in the harbour city with the taste of a loss well and truly exterminated from their mouths.
They have not seen defeat since the 24th of November, when the Reds travelled to the shaky isles and beat them 2-1.
Since then, Sarpreet Singh, Roy Krishna and David Williams have been on fire for the men in yellow and their form has been in direct contrast to anything that the Wanderers have been able to produce up front.
Kwame Yeboah has been brought into the Wanderers squad for that exact reason, while Raul Llorente also comes back into the team this week.
Wellington lose Mandi Sosa after his send-off last week, with the stability of the Phoenix squad continuing after being noticeable all year.
Prediction
If there ever was a bet of the week, or the year even, it is the Phoenix to win this one on the back of two brave draws.
One last week where they held on for a point against Adelaide on the road and the week prior, where they were close to taking all three against the Victory.
The Phoenix are in form and the Wanderers are nowhere near it.
Wellington Phoenix 3, Western Sydney Wanderers 0
Catch all the action on The Roar with live coverage from 7:50pm (AEDT).
Game information
Where: ANZ Stadium, Sydney
When: Tuesday 8th January 2019, 7.50pm (AEDT)
TV: Fox Sports
Betting: Western Sydney Wanderers $2.10, Draw $3.60, Wellington Phoenix $3.30
Squads
Western Sydney Wanderers
5. Brendan Hamill (c), 7. Nick Fitzgerald, 8. Jordan O’Doherty, 9. Oriol Riera, 10. Alex Baumjohann, 11. Bruce Kamau, 13. Tass Mourdoukoutas, 14. Mathieu Cordier, 17. Keanu Baccus, 20. Vedran Janjetovic (gk), 21. Tarek Elrich, 24. Raul Llorente, 27. Kwame Yeboah, 28. Roly Bonevacia, 33. Tate Russell, 34. Patrick Ziegler, 40. Nicholas Suman (gk), 49. Abraham Majok
Wellington Phoenix
1. Filip Kurto, 5. Ryan Lowry, 6. Dylan Fox, 8. Mitch Nichols, 9. Nathan Burns, 11. David Williams, 13. Liberato Cacace, 14. Alex Rufer, 15. Michal Kopczynski, 16. Louis Fenton, 17. Callan Elliot, 18. Sarpreet Singh, 19. Tom Doyle, 20. Oliver Sail (gk), 21. Roy Krishna, 22. Andrew Durante (c), 23. Max Burgess, 27. Steven Taylor
Paul
Guest
You didn't mention the atrocious refereeing by Barreiro. He does not call clear fouls on Wanderers players but blows the whistle when the Nix players get touched, but not fouled. Barriero is a disgrace along with most other A-league referees. They tend to blow fouls for one team only.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Every club in the A-League has hand me downs.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
The Wellington Phoenix have grabbed a late winner to further frustrate and defeat the Western Sydney Wanderers 3-2 at ANZ Stadium.
If you were watching re-runs of Magnum P.I, Friends or Hawaii Five-0, you seriously wasted your time, as the A-League produced another five goal thriller.
Personally, the Phoenix looked the likely pre-match winners despite the bizarre odds the bookies were throwing up this afternoon and when Louis Fenton found the net after 36 minutes, it appeared I may have been on the right horse.
However, within six minutes the scores were level after Brendan Hamill headed home for the Wanderers and the local support vocalised its appreciation of the fight that the red and black were showing.
The scores were tied heading into the half-time break and remained so until the final ten or so minutes, when mayhem took over.
With the Wanderers looking likely to score, Roy Krishna broke down the left and Vedran Janjetovic lost the plot for the second time this year; leaving his area and the space for the Fijian to slot home from some distance in the 82nd minute.
It won’t be long before Markus Babbel makes a change in goal. Janjetovic is lacking in confidence and his error changed the momentum of the match.
To their credit, the Wanderers did bounce back, and they scored soon after when Kearyn Baccus found space at the back post and thumped home past Filip Kurto.
For the second time the Wanderers had come back and the Phoenix must surely have been happy to settle for a point? No way, and the new Irishman Cillian Sheridan played a beautiful ball in behind for Roy Krishna to head home and take the third lead of the night for the visitors.
Mark Rudan was pumped on the sidelines and the Phoenix’s run without defeat was maintained. The Wanderers continue to flounder in terms of results and tonight saw another point slip away.
It was a cracking night of football and one that built anticipation for what the Reds and the Victory have in store tomorrow.
Final Score
Western Sydney Wanderers 2 Wellington Phoenix 3
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Mark Rudan's complaining about 'Nix schedule. Spare me, please.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Look forward to it.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
Entertaining game. What are your thoughts on the Keogh-Fornaroli trade. I've written about it, should be out tommorow or Thursday.
Beach
Roar Rookie
You look at the the wanderers... Kamau, Fitzgerald, hamil. All of them players who weren't good enough for other clubs. Elrich is another hand me down. Riera is consistently awful. The main issue is recruitment. Give Babel another season and a squad clean out
Stevo
Roar Rookie
That’s why we let him go. He is NPL standard, if that.
Nick Symonds
Guest
Wow. The Phoenix are playing a "home"match on February 23 at Campbelltown against Sydney FC. Might get a good crowd the way they're going.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Match report to follow in ten minutes! Western Sydney Wanderers 2 Wellington Phoenix 3
Stuart Thomas
Expert
It was a cracking game and a terrific contest, but the Phoenix prevail at ANZ on another night of misery for the Wanderers. Western Sydney Wanderers 2 Wellington Phoenix 3
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Well done sir.
Beach
Roar Rookie
Bruce Kamau really is a terrible player
Stuart Thomas
Expert
It was my tip of the week folks. How the Wanderers were favourites for that match I will never know. Western Sydney Wanderers 2 Wellington Phoenix 3
Stuart Thomas
Expert
FULL-TIME Western Sydney Wanderers 2 Wellington Phoenix 3
Stuart Thomas
Expert
90+5 Kamau mucks up the last chance for the Wanderers and the visitors should play long from the goal kick. Western Sydney Wanderers 2 Wellington Phoenix 3
Stuart Thomas
Expert
90+4 The entire Wellington team is back and they defend well. Western Sydney Wanderers 2 Wellington Phoenix 3
Stuart Thomas
Expert
90+4 The Wanderers with some late hope in the attacking third. Western Sydney Wanderers 2 Wellington Phoenix 3
Stuart Thomas
Expert
90+3 They have come back twice, can they do it again and level the game at 3-3?
Western Sydney Wanderers 2 Wellington Phoenix 3
Stuart Thomas
Expert
90+2 The Wanderers have a half chance but the header is over the bar. Western Sydney Wanderers 2 Wellington Phoenix 3