The Phoenix defeated Adelaide United 3-2 at Sky Stadium in Wellington, moving a victory ahead of the defending champions Central Coast Mariners.
Ben Old scored twice for the Nix, either side of Oskar van Hattum’s first A-League goal.
Main image: Scott Wootton (left) is the first to congratulate striker Ben Old. Photo credit: Natural Light Photography Company.
Van Hattum scored within a minute of coming off the bench after head coach Giancarlo Italiano made four substitutions to try to break the 1-1 tie.
“I said, ‘I’m not satisfied with the draw, I need to win the game here because we’re at home, and we need to take the initiative,'” Italiano told reporters after the game.
“The way the game works
Was going at that time I just felt that the group needed that energy, and my goal was to win the game.
“Because we’re a team first and foremost, I knew when those boys came on, they’d give their everything. That was exactly what we needed at the moment, and they performed admirably.
“I thought Oskar van Hattum and Kosta [Barbarouses] would make excellent substitutes off the bench.
“With Fin Conch (Conchie) coming on in the center, I believed he’d give us a little more with the ball, and he nicked the ball for the first goal, so I was really thrilled.
“I’m very pleased that Oskar van Hattum scored his first goal as well. I think he deserves it. He’s been doing exceptionally well.”
Wellington now has 40 points, one fewer than the Phoenix achieved in the 2019-20 season, when they finished third on the ladder, a club record.
There are seven rounds left in this campaign, with 21 more points up for grabs.
“I believe we are now established in the six. I’m not sure if missing the six is mathematically impossible, but I believe we’ve accomplished that task.
“I think the next goal is to make sure we lock up that top four, which is incredibly crucial, and then we’ll proceed from there.”
Giancarlo Italiano made two changes to the XI that started last week’s scoreless draw in Perth. New signing Youstin Salas and Bulgarian playmaker Bozhidar Kraev replaced
Fin Conchie and Isaac Hughes, academy grads, are among the starting lineup.
Following the warm-up, Italiano was obliged to make a bench substitution, replacing Oskar Zawada with teenage fullback Matt Sheridan.
The Phoenix failed to establish a rhythm in the first half.
Scott Wootton, the Nix’s center back, fired the first shot in the 11th minute, which was solidly stopped by an Adelaide defender.
Wellington’s next shot came 11 minutes later, when Old stormed into the box, but his chance was wiped out.
Adelaide also had a few opportunities in the first half hour, but none of them troubled Phoenix goalkeeper Alex Paulsen.
Ben Old broke the offside trap and ended the stalemate in the 36th minute with a well-placed right-footed strike.
Old was initially penalized for offside, but the video assistance referee intervened and the score was granted.
The Reds had the next four scoring chances, but they were unable to challenge Paulsen’s goal.
Kraev should have extended the Nix’s lead in first-half stoppage time following some brilliant build-up play by Old and David Ball, but the Bulgarian shot wide of the Adelaide post.
Paulsen preserved Wellington’s halftime lead with a couple of key stops, the first of which was an acrobatic save on Austin Ayoubi.
A quarter of an hour into the game, the Reds had the opportunity to level the score.
Fellow Adelaide forward Luka Jovanovic came up to take the penalty, which he blasted off the left post.
Kraev rattled the left post at the other end of the pitch immediately after, but it deflected away from the goal.
Tim Payne headed a Kraev cross straight at Adelaide’s goalkeeper, James Delianov.
Italiano then went to his bench, bringing in Barbarouses, van Hattum, Conchie, and Sam Sutton.
Seconds after going on, three of the four combined with Old to set up Wellington’s second goal, which was scored by van Hattum.
Sutton made a good save on Delianov shortly afterwards, and from the resulting corner, Old rifled home the Nix’s third goal, this time with his preferred left foot.
Substitute Hiroshi.
Ibusuki scored a consolation goal for the Reds in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time, but Adelaide couldn’t stop the Phoenix from taking all three points.
The Wellington Phoenix will return across the Tasman next weekend to face Melbourne City on Saturday night.
