Wellington Phoenix secured a huge victory in their pursuit of a finals spot on Saturday afternoon as they defeated Brisbane Roar 2-1 at Suncorp Stadium.
The home side took the lead in the 14th minute and it was another moment Wellington Phoenix keeper Josh Oluwayemi won’t want to see again.
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Marshalling his near post, Oluwayemi failed to deal with James McGarry’s in-swinging corner which landed at his near post and took a late deflection off of defender Dimitri Valkanis before nestling in the back of the net.
Oluwayemi then somewhat atoned for that early error as he pulled off an excellent save to claw Sam Klein’s header off the goal line in the 28th minute.
Wellington carved out their first chance of the half in the 32nd minute as Japanese midfielder Kazuki Nagasawa stung the palms of Dean Bouzanis before Captain Alex Rufer then sent a ferocious shot towards goal which crashed back off the crossbar.
The away side were on top and dragged themselves level in the 36th minute as a well-rehearsed set-piece saw Corban Piper nod home the equaliser at the back post.
Oluwayemi was busy in the second half as he produced an acrobatic save to tip a looping effort over the bar before Bouzanis then thwarted Nagasawa with a fine save, tipping the Phoenix midfielder’s low shot round the post in the 77th minute.
Wellington delivered the sucker punch in the 86th minute as substitute Luke Brooke-Smith played an inch-perfect pass into the path of striker Ifeanyi Eze who then coolly dispatched the ball beyond Bouzanis to make it 2-1.
Brisbane players and officials were then seething deep into stoppage time as Jordan Lauton’s shot clattered off the outstretched arm of Wellington defender Manjrekar James but no penalty was awarded and the Nix held on for the win.
The result sees Wellington move up into eighth spot on the ladder and now just one point outside the top six.
As for Brisbane, defeat means Michael Valkanis’ side now drop to tenth on the ladder and four points outside the finals places.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT THEY SAID
Hear from goalscorer Ifeanyi Eze, who spoke to Paramount+ at Full Time after bagging the winning goal.
Phoenix interim Head Coach Chris Greenacre spoke to Paramount+ after the win at Suncorp Stadium.
