Phoenix seal three-peat against glory

Two goals from Shane Smeltz have helped the Wellington Phoenix refuel their Hyundai A-League 2007/08 season with a 3-0 thumping of Perth Glory at Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

The win seals a three-peat for the A-League’s new boys against the West Australian outfit, following a 4-1 win at home in round six and a 1-0 win in Perth in round 11.

The Phoenix have now broken clear of the Glory on the ladder, rising to seventh spot and within reach of the Melbourne Victory as the season reaches the business end.

It was an emphatic performance from the Phoenix across the park in front of 8039 fans, the home side making the Glory pay for their ill-discipline when defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley was marched after bringing down stand-in skipper Vaughan Coveny as he lined up a clear shot on goal in the 27th minute.

Smeltz bagged his first from the ensuing penalty and the Phoenix had their tails up. The home side went two up just four minutes later when the impressive Ahmad Elrich sent a perfect cross in front of the Perth goal for Felipe to tap in.

Smeltz rounded off the scoring in the 72nd minute when he rose high to head a pinpoint Vince Lia cross past hapless Glory keeper Tando Velaphi.

It was a horror night for Perth, who suffered further ignominy when skipper Jamie Harnwell was sent off in the 74th minute for a horrible tackle on Coveny. With the visitors reduced to nine men and run ragged by the Phoenix, they were never going to pose a danger.

The win comes as a welcome tonic for the Phoenix, who have been unlucky not to pick up more competition points in recent matches.

Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert said the result was just reward for his team’s hard work.

“I’ve been happy with how we’ve been playing for six weeks and we got tonight what we probably deserved three or four more times previously. From the players’ point of view they’ve never been negative and they took this match by the scruff of the neck and quite convincingly won it.

“Everybody really stood up and we were better across the park. We scored goals that we weren’t scoring [in previous matches] and we got into decent positions. The commitment was fantastic this week – it’s fantastic every week – and just a little bit of the rub of the green doesn’t go astray either.

“I’m pleased for the guys, they’ve worked hard and they deserve it.”

Coveny, wearing the captain’s armband in the absence of Ross Aloisi and Tim Brown, turned in an exceptional performance marshalling his men and menacing the Glory defence.

The veteran striker said the entire team had lifted against Perth after a tough run of results.

“From the outset I thought we were brighter, more chirpy and on our toes from the start. I think that really gave us confidence and I’m sure we’re going to get some positive results in the next five games.”

While the win keeps alive the Phoenix’s chances of making the top four in their inaugural season, Coveny said the team would be taking its remaining five matches “one game at a time”.

“You never say never [in terms of making the top four]. It’s a tough road for us, we got five games and we basically need to win all of those. We’re an outside chance but, in saying that, after tonight the players have a lot of confidence – there’s a lot of happy faces and people smiling and we hope to come out again on Friday night [against the Queensland Roar] and perform well again. There’s no reason that we can’t back this up with another solid performance.”

Glory coach Dave Mitchell said his side got what it deserved.

“We were outplayed tonight. What I saw of the Phoenix they were very unlucky to lose to Adelaide [2-1]. Wellington are a good side and they don’t deserve to be bottom but we’re a good side and we don’t [deserve to be bottom] either. So the league is very even and sometimes it’s the rub of the green that can make a very big difference in this game.”

The Phoenix’s next match is against the Queensland Roar at Westpac Stadium in Wellington at 7.30pm (NZT) on Friday.


Match summary



Wellington Phoenix 3 (Shane Smeltz 28’pen, 72’, Felipe 32’)

Perth Glory 0



HT: 2-0



Crowd: 8039 at Westpac Stadium, Wellington