The Wellington Phoenix have been on the wrong end of a seven-goal A-League thriller, losing 4-3 to Western Sydney Wanderers at Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta.
A pulsating contest saw Wellington lead three times before being clawed back each time and eventually conceding an84th minute winner. Among the many talking points was a first Phoenix goal for Israeli marquee Tomer Hemed, a disallowed injury-time equaliser from the same player and a sensational strike from midfielder Cam Devlin who wasn't even included in the original starting side.
With the scores level at 1-1 after half an hour, a Phoenix attacking move appeared to have broken down when a Reno Piscopo shot rebounded off a defender to Devlin thirty yards from goal. The nuggety midfielder chested the ball down and fired an absolutely brilliant strike into the top right-hand corner to notch his first Phoenix goal and enter himself into the conversation for the A-League's goal of the season. It was a breath-taking finish.
Devlin was originally named among the reserves but received a late call-up when fullback Louis Fenton injured a hip flexor in the pre-game warmup. The resulting reshuffle saw midfielder Alex Rufer shifted to right-back, and he was to have a hand in the opening goal, feeding the ball into Ulises Davila on the edge of the penalty area in the seventh minute. The Mexican exchanged passes with Reno Piscopo before producing an assured finish past advancing Wanderers goalkeeper Daniel Margush.
The home side squared the ledger midway through the half when striker Bernie Ibini muscled his way to the bye-line before lifting a cross into the path of young fullback Daniel Wilmering who fired a left-footed volley into the roof of the net for his first A-League goal.
Devlin's strike sent Wellington into the break ahead, but the lead didn't last long, Jordan Mutch climbing between Phoenix defenders to meet a left-wing corner and plant a firm header past Oliver Sail early in the second half.
Hemed's moment came shortly after his introduction from the bench when Piscopo won Wellington a penalty and regular taker Davila allowed the Israeli to take responsibility, which he did with aplomb. But Western Sydney found a third equaliser less than sixty seconds later when Mitch Duke chested down a long pass on the edge of the area and swivelled to volley spectacularly past Sail, despite Phoenix protests about a push on centre-back Tim Payne as he leapt for the ball.
Western Sydney substitute Kwame Yeboah coolly put his side in front with six minutes left, but Hemed looked to have earned Wellington a share of the points in this extraordinary game when he lashed home in injury-time, only to see the goal chalked off by the VAR.
The game fell on the two-year anniversary of the Christchurch mosque shooting, with the home crowd impeccably observing a pre-match moment's silence. It was also exactly one year to the day since the Phoenix last played at Sky Stadium.
Wellington next face Brisbane Roar on Sunday, the first of three games in eight busy days. Western Sydney Wanderers 4 (Wilmering 23, Mutch 52, Duke 65, Yeboah 84)
