Wellington Phoenix is ​​on a winning streak with the A League win over Newcastle Jets

David Ball of the Phoenix scores against Newcastle. Photo / Getty

Wellington Phoenix 2
Newcastle Jets 0

The Wellington Phoenix have won a winning streak in four games, beating the Newcastle Jets 2-0 at McDonald Jones Stadium.

The goals of front men David Ball and Ben Waine on either side of half were enough to secure three points for Wellington and lift them from the bottom of the A-League rankings.

It was a much-needed result for Wellington, who have struggled for consistency this season but achieved a craftsmanship by getting just a second win and the first out of the campaign.

Unlike many of their appearances this season, the Phoenix gave up most of their possessions and territory, and spent much of the first half blocking, crawling, and fighting to keep their goal intact. Goalkeeper Oli Sail, preferred over Stefan Marinovic, was used to deny Roy O’Donovan early in the game and was rescued shortly afterwards at the feet of Nikolai Topor-Stanley. At the start of the second spell, he stood out again and flew to the right to put a header from Valentino Yuel around the post.

Ulises Davila and Reno Piscopo, on the other hand, seemed most likely to create opportunities for the Phoenix, and both were involved in the opening goal, exchanging passes for ball on the edge of the box after two games. Suspension – found the net with the help of a poor diversion from defender Nigel Boogaard.

Wellington’s second goal came from a foul in Newcastle in which Johnny Koutroumbis miscontrolled a ball on the edge of his home territory. The ball fell to teenage Kiwi Waine, who happily found the bottom corner of the net with a clean finish with his right foot from distance to score his second A-League goal.

Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay shook his deck and put Josh Laws, Clayton Lewis and Ball on the grid, with James McGarry and Mirza Muratovic falling on the bench and Cam Devlin absent due to illness.

The Jets, unbeaten in the last five games, grew increasingly frustrated looking for a goal, were given unnecessary free kicks and were unable to consistently harass Sail. Wellington’s defense – expertly put together by Tim Payne and Liam McGing – took the pressure off and negotiated safely the occasional Newcastle threat.

Aside from his goal, Ball’s energy was vital as Israeli marquee Tomer Hemed returned after a three-game injury-related absence, replacing Waine in the second half.

Although Talay lacks the free-flowing properties of football, he has encouraged his squad to play since arriving. The way in which they achieved victory will have brought him just as much satisfaction and relief.

The Phoenix now have a week to prepare for next Sunday’s soaring Perth Glory visit.

Wellington Phoenix 2 (Ball 22 ‘, Waine 53’)
Newcastle Jets 0

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