Football: Wellington Phoenix draw with Newcastle Jets

Mateo Poljak of the Jets contests the ball against Kosta Barbarouses of the Phoenix. Photo / Getty

Wellington Phoenix 2 Newcastle Jets 2

The Wellington Phoenix have remained unbeaten under their interim coaching duo but have twice given up the lead to draw 2-2 with the Jets in their Boxing Day clash in Newcastle.

Chris Greenacre and Des Buckingham have now overseen a win and two draws since taking over from Ernie Merrick, and should be offered the roles fulltime before the New Year, despite Wellington still sitting outside the A-League playoff spots.

In energy-sapping heat, which necessitated drinks breaks midway through each half, both sides struggled to fashion clear-cut chances in the first half-hour. The Phoenix's Brazilian midfielder Gui Finkler went closest, curling a free-kick over the wall and against the post.

The opening goal came after 35 minutes when impressive Phoenix fullback Jacob Tratt made one of his regular forays into the attacking third and fed Roy Krishna in the penalty area. The Fijian slid a short pass to Kosta Barbarouses, who benefitted from a slightly lucky bounce before poking home the first goal of his second stint at the Phoenix. Late in the first half, Jets left-back Ivan Vujica drove into the area, forcing a good near-post save from Glen Moss.

If the first period was relatively uneventful, the second started with a bang. The Jets injected Danish striker Morten Nordstrand and his impact was immediate as he pulled back an inviting ball from the right for Andrew Hoole to gleefully rifle home the equaliser. Little more than sixty seconds later, the Phoenix had the lead back though, when Tratt again released Krishna down the right, his pullback from the by-line tapped home from a yard by Gui Finkler for his second goal in as many weeks.

But after an hour, Newcastle drew level again through their most dangerous attacker. Andrew Nabbout received the ball wide on the left before cutting in, turning Phoenix skipper Andrew Durante inside-out and curling in a precise effort off the far post for his third goal of the season.

That goal gave heart to the Jets, who were coming off consecutive A-League wins and had also won three of their last four home games against Wellington, scoring three or more goals in each of those victories. Shortly after their second equaliser, Hoole drew a superb save from Glen Moss to keep things level.

Both sides searched in vain for the winning goal with the Jets coming closest, but on the balance of chances created, possession and territory, a draw was a fair result. The Phoenix next meet cellar-dwellers Adelaide United at home on New Year's Day.