The new-look Wellington Phoenix have earned a share of the spoils in their A-League season opener.
The Phoenix have come back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with the Glory in Perth, thanks to goals from off-season recruits Ifeanyi Eze and Carlo Armiento.
Eze and Armiento were two of four players who made their A-League starting debuts for the Nix, while New Zealand Under-20 international Xuan Loke made his first appearance as a second-half substitute.
Despite playing away from home, Wellington dominated possession (70.6%-29.4%) and completely controlled the game after going two goals behind.
Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano was “really happy” with the final result.
“Two-nil down, to come back to get a result away from home, especially in Perth, I’ll take it,” Italiano told media post-match.
“I thought we started slow. We couldn’t adjust to their directness. Obviously, they’d planned against our high line and every time the ball was loose, they were just playing balls in behind us.
“But as the game panned out, it felt like our game plan started working. There was belief growing but the goal was perfect timing, just before halftime. And it was a great goal for the second goal. I was so happy.
“It was something that we planned; early delivery behind with a player coming in at the back stick and I thought it was an unbelievable finish from Carlo.”
It was the team’s first competitive fixture playing the high line and Italiano concedes there are “going to be teething issues”.
“There’s no perfect system. If we want to have more of the ball and be this team on the front foot, we need to be more adventurous and that’s the high line. The most important thing is the players don’t lose faith in the system and see ... that because we’re playing the high line we’re creating the chances. It’s just now a matter of the team building that maturity for the season.”
All Whites Tim Payne and Lukas Kelly-Heald came straight into the Wellington Phoenix starting XI less than 48 hours after rejoining the squad from Europe, with Kelly-Heald starting in place of Isaac Hughes, who was a late withdrawal with an ankle injury.
Along with Eze and Armiento, Manjrekar James and Ramy Najjarine were the other players making their A-League debuts for the Phoenix.
The Nix started shakily, and Perth made them pay in the 16th minute, when Jaiden Kucharski put the Glory in front with a smart one-time finish. Josh Oluwayemi got a fingertip to Kucharski’s shot but wasn’t able to push it around the post.
Kucharski had the ball in the back of the net a second time a few minutes later, but the flag went up for an off-side in the lead-up and the video assistant referee (VAR) confirmed the assistant referee’s decision.
Najjarine had Wellington’s first goalscoring opportunity of note midway through the first half but he couldn’t quite get hold of his shot.
Moments later, the Glory had their second goal when Adam Taggart tapped home from six yards out after Oluwayemi saved his initial effort. The goal was initially ruled out for offside but the decision was overturned following a VAR intervention.
The Phoenix took control after Taggart’s goal.
Payne smashed a shot into the side-netting in the 31st minute after Eze had driven into the box and a couple of minutes later, Sutton made a good save to deny Armiento after the Nix had won possession high up the pitch and Roa Conchie found the left wingback in space.
The Glory were millimetres away from conceding an own goal in the 44th minute, with Sutton doing just enough to ensure the whole ball didn’t cross the line.
Wellington finally got their reward in the third minute of first-half stoppage time when Kazuki Nagasawa played a clever ball over the top for Eze, who got the better of Perth centre back Brian Kaltak one-on-one and chipped over the Glory keeper with his weaker right foot.
The Phoenix remained in command in the second half and came close to equalising 13 minutes after halftime when Payne curled a left-footed effort from the edge of the box after a free-flowing attack. Unfortunately for him, Sutton was able to get a fingertip to his shot and push it over the crossbar.
Despite the Nix’s dominance, Oluwayemi was required to make a couple of saves at his near post to deny Trent Ostler and Nathanael Blair.
Armiento equalised in the 69th minute with a quality left-footed finish at the back post after getting on the end of a cross from Payne, his fellow wingback.
The opportunities were few and far between for both sides in the remaining 20 minutes plus stoppage time as the Distance Derby became scrappy.
Perth Glory 2 (Jaiden Kucharski 16, Adam Taggart 26) Wellington Phoenix 2 ( Ifeanyi Eze 45+3, Carlo Armiento 69)
Halftime: 2-1