Wellington Phoenix solidify spot in A-League top six with win over Newcastle Jets

Oskar Zawada scored his 11th goal of the season for the Phoenix. Photo / Getty

The Wellington Phoenix probably felt like they were owed one.

Ufuk Talay’s side survived a pressure-filled second half to clinch a vital 2-1 win over Newcastle at Sky Stadium today, having built their lead in a manner that left the Jets aggrieved.

The visitors thought goalkeeper Jack Duncan had been fouled as he dropped a routine cross that allowed Callan Elliot to score his first A-League goal in the 40th minute, though those claims had a hint of desperation.

Then, on the stroke of halftime, referee Shaun Evans awarded the Phoenix a penalty following a VAR intervention to highlight a potential handball by Jets midfielder Angus Thurgate.

There was more merit to the Jets’ frustrations over that call, and after Oskar Zawada drilled his 11th goal of the season from the spot, Wellington were able to barely escape a second-half onslaught.

Evans, the Phoenix would have remembered, was at the centre of the club’s wild 1-0 win over Sydney in January, when they had two men sent off and a pair of questionable stoppage-time penalties awarded against them.

Much happier with the call in their favour, the home side eventually sealed a win that solidified their spot inside the top six.

“It’s a good feeling,” said captain Alex Rufer. “For me, it’s a penalty, so I don’t need to speak too much on that. We’ve copped handballs that were worse than that.”

Jets skipper Matt Jurman saw the incident differently, feeling Thurgate had been unlucky to be pinged while contesting a header.

“How are you supposed to jump with your hands down? It’s not normal,” Jurman said. “You see those not given and then you see it today given. At the end of the day, it’s come down to two decisions, and that’s cost us.

“A bit of consistency from the ref would’ve been nice. There’s a foul on the goalkeeper, he doesn’t give it, and then that changes the game.”

The Phoenix were fortunate to head to the break up two goals, having otherwise created little. They were then content to protect that lead - a risky strategy given their propensity to drop points - and did enough to see out the game after Manabu Saito had pulled back a goal in the 51st minute.

“We started the second half pretty poorly, conceding that goal,” Rufer said. “From there, there was a lot of pressure we had to withstand, and we defended well.”

The Phoenix women weren’t as successful in their attempts to defend a narrow lead, conceding an 80th-minute equaliser in their 1-1 draw with Brisbane later in the afternoon.

Marisa van der Meer put the hosts in front midway through the first half, turning home after another dangerous delivery from Michaela Foster.

But looking for their second win of the season, the Phoenix were left to rue their failure to put away a couple of half-chances, with Shea Connors scoring on the break to earn a share of the points.

The result, coming after the teams had played out a thrilling 3-3 draw in January, kept Wellington anchored to the foot of the table.

Wellington Phoenix men 2 (Callan Elliot 40, Oskar Zawada 45+6)

Newcastle Jets 1 (Manabu Saito 51)

Wellington Phoenix women 1 (Marisa van der Meer 26)

Brisbane Roar 1 (Shea Connors 80)