Wellington Phoenix 1
Adelaide United 1
KEY POINTS:
A 10-man Wellington Phoenix enjoyed one of their finest hours last night, as they deservedly held Adelaide United to a 1-1 draw and kept their A-League soccer playoff hopes alive for another week.
The result was achieved despite their match skipper Tim Brown being sent off early in the second half.
Brown was shown the yellow card in the first half for an ill-judged tackle and later produced a crude tackle on Adelaide striker Travis Dodd early in the second spell, leaving referee Chris Beath no option but to send him off.
It was the third red card for a Phoenix player from the last four matches.
Club skipper Andrew Durante was sent off against Queensland Roar and midfielder Troy Hearfield against Sydney FC while defender Jon McKain sat out the match against Newcastle for earning a fifth yellow card of the season.
When Brown left the field, the Phoenix, who needed at least one point from this match to keep their hopes of a playoffs spot alive, were level 1-1 with Adelaide.
They began the match on 25 points, three behind fourth-placed Central Coast Mariners, who lost 0-3 to Melbourne last Friday.
Adelaide lost no time letting the Phoenix know they were in for a tough encounter.
Defender Robert Cornthwaite forced goalkeeper Glen Moss to make a brilliant save as he blocked a point-blank header off a free kick in just the third minute.
Adelaide's wait to crack open a nervous Phoenix defence did not last long, when the early lack of communication between centre backs Karl Dodd and Ben Sigmund was exposed.
Adelaide skipper Travis Dodd drifted to the edge of the box and a little pass found Paul Reid unmarked before the striker placed his shot into the top right-hand corner past Moss' reach.
The pressure placed on the Phoenix was reflected in the three yellow cards Beath dished out to Jon McKain, Brown and Leo Bertos as the home side battled to stay in the game.
Coach Ricki Herbert's gamble in giving Costa Barbarouses his first start of the season paid off in the 31st minute.
The Phoenix attack finally found their rhythm and a clever interchange on the left between Bertos and Shane Smeltz sliced open the defence.
Bertos took a return pass from Smeltz and his cross was nodded home by Barbarouses for his first professional goal.
Growing in confidence despite Adelaide having a slight edge in possession, Wellington had another good sight at goal when Sigmund's cross found no takers in the 6m box in the final minute of the first half.
The Phoenix started the second half brightly with Daniel creating a chance on the right after taking a pass from Smeltz but his shot from a narrow angle was blocked.
Indiscipline hit the Phoenix once again moments later when Brown was sent off but Adelaide, playing their fifth match in 15 days, failed to capitalise on their numerical superiority despite needing at least a win to stay ahead of Melbourne in the race for the minor premiership and an automatic place in the Asian Cup.
The Phoenix were forced to soak up intense pressure in the final nine minutes, four of them time added for stoppages, but their defence held out.
Wellington's final round match is away to Melbourne on Friday night.
- NZPA
