Team Wellington and Wanderers SC claimed a point apiece from Sunday's 1-1 ASB Premiership draw between the two sides at David Farrington Park in Wellington.
Second-placed Team Wellington opened the scoring in the 13th minute as Alex Feneridis found Bill Robertson in the area in the aftermath of a cornerand the captain made no mistake in firing home out of the reach of Wanderers goalkeeper Zac Speedy.
The visitors - who have developed well over the course of the competition since losing 4-1 in the reverse fixture before Christmas - stayed in the game however and had the ball in the home side's net in the 39th minute through Moses Dyer, only to see it chalked off for offside.
But Darren Bazeley's young side were able to draw level before the break, winning a corner in the 45th minute which was headed back across goal by Judd Baker and eventually bundled in by Cheauxyan Maukau-McPhee.
The second half had regular action at both ends with Speedy's save of a Feneridis free kick and a Nicolas Bechar effort which fizzed over the Wanderers crossbar the best of the scoring chances.
The result sees Team Wellington move up to 30 points, six adrift of leaders Auckland City FC while Wanderers SC sit alone in sixth place on 17 points having been ruled out of semi-final contention earlier in the day by Hawke's Bay United's win over Southern.
Team Wellington coach Matt Calcott says after a frantic opening to the game, things settled down into more of a rhythm but the improved Wanderers sized proved a tough nut to crack.
"I think it was a bit of a funny game to be honest with you," Calcott said.
"I think everyone came out with a bit of a hiss and roar and no one could get the ball down. I think after halftime things started to open up a wee bit.
"They are certainly a side that has improved over the last three or four months and you see the benefits of a team being in a five or six day a week programme and you can see why they've picked up a number of results in the second half of the season."
With the bye next weekend followed by their final round-robin match against Waitakere United, Calcott said there is still work to be done within the squad as the playoffs and Oceania Champions League fixtures draw ever closer.
"I think we still need to make improvements as we get towards the crucial semi-final and final and Oceania Champions League and we'll need to make a number of improvements if we want to make that a success."
