Heartbreak at home
A defensive blunder in the 91st minute proved a heartbreaker for the Wellington Phoenix FC tonight, the Central Coast Mariners snatching a last-gasp winner for a 2-1 victory at Westpac Stadium in Wellington.
Mariners striker Sasho Petrovski looked set to be cast as the villain for the visitors, muffing a penalty in the 64th minute, but ultimately the Central Coast marksman proved the hero on a tragic night for the Phoenix, pouncing on a defensive mix-up to score the winner at the death.
It was a heartbreaking end to the match for the Phoenix, who looked set to take a much-needed point from the Hyundai A-League 2007/08 round nine clash after they had cancelled out Dean Heffernan’s 16th minute strike courtesy of an absolute stunner from Ahmad Elrich in the 24th.
With time running down and the Phoenix dominating the second half, Petrovski was gifted the winner in stoppage time when he took advantage of indecision at the back between Jeremy Christie, Steven O’Dor and keeper Glen Moss. Christie’s back pass bobbled in front of Moss and Petrovski darted in to beat the stranded keeper and slot the ball home to secure three points for the injury-ravaged Hyundai A-League leaders.
Played in gorgeous conditions in front of 10,560 fans, the Phoenix were again stung early by an early goal when Petrovski pounced on a defensive lapse to link on the left with Heffernan, who ran into space inside the penalty area before cracking a left-foot drive underneath Moss.
The home side bounced back in emphatic style, however, marquee signing Ahmad Elrich scoring a showreel goal in his home debut. Taking a Daniel cross 25m out, the former Fulham and Socceroos star spun and smashed a right-foot thunderbolt past Mariners keeper Danny Vukovic into the top right corner.
The Phoenix dominated for long periods in the second half but were unable to break the deadlock and the match appeared headed for a draw. But Petrovski’s heartbreaker made the difference, the Mariners getting their first win and four games and the Phoenix stumbling to their third consecutive loss.
Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert was shellshocked by the result.
“We were disappointing,” he said.
“We really let ourselves down; we had the opportunity to bounce back from what’s been a couple of difficult weeks. We had a decent first half – probably the best first 45 we’ve had – and to throw that away at the death is tough.
“We had a lot of chances, we created some good opportunities and I thought we were decent today, but we were punished.”
Herbert said the defensive blunders that gifted the Mariners their goals were inexcusable.
“It’s poor at this level. They’re goals, aren’t they, and you just can’t afford to do that. The worst-case scenario was that we’d come away with a draw and that would have been a nice turnaround for us.”
With today’s loss at home coming after two tough away losses and with a gruelling three-match roadtrip across the Tasman to come, Herbert said the onus was now on his team to step up.
“I don’t think [playing] away is any different to being at home for us. As I’ve said all along, all the games in this competition are tough and whether you’re at home or away makes no difference.
“It’s just a matter of refocusing now and we’re going to have to be up for it against Adelaide on Friday. I think we’ve shown all the way along that we’re as good as any team in the league, but we’ve paid the price for costly mistakes at critical times and they’re making life a little tough for us.”
There were several bright spots for the Phoenix, with the midfield combination of skipper Ross Aloisi, vice-captain Tim Brown, Daniel and Vince Lia solid and assured. Striker Shane Smeltz continues to be a handful for opposition defences and the Phoenix looked promising getting the ball wide.
But it was Elrich’s star turn that caught the eye of the home fans. Playing in just his second match for the Phoenix and his first at Westpac Stadium, Elrich was full of running for 85 minutes and created several good scoring opportunities. His 24th minute wonderstrike will certainly go down as one of the season’s best.
“When I took the ball they stood off me and I just turned and cracked it and it went into the top corner,” Elrich said. “That’s what you practice at training and those are the ones you should hit because then the keeper isn’t expecting it.”
The final scoreline took all the gloss off what might have been Elrich’s dream debut in Wellington.
“We went down and got one back, but to concede the goals we did is very disappointing. At this level – any level, really – you can’t concede goals like that. To do that in the last couple of minutes is heartbreaking.
“These are the games that your season depends on. But we have to learn from this and take some positives away while addressing the more negative aspects. Now the focus is on getting three wins away.
“Look, this hurts and everyone in the team is feeling it. If you’re not disappointed then you’re not a true professional. It’s got to hurt – if it doesn’t hurt then you’re not playing from the heart and this team is one that always plays from the heart.
“We have to bounce back and show our true character and next weekend’s game is a massive one for us.”
Match summary
Wellington Phoenix 1 (Ahmad Elrich 24’)
Central Coast Mariners 2 (Dean Heffernan 16’, Sasho Petrovski 90+1’)
Crowd: 10,560 at Westpac Stadium, Wellington