The Western Sydney Wanderers and Wellington Phoenix played out a bruising 1 all draw at Parramatta Stadium tonight.
Seconds into the fixture a Hersi cross flashed across goal. Two Wanderers stretched for the ball but were unable to make the tap-in. Bridge stretched far enough to stab the ball toward goal but he saw the shot cleared off the line by a Wellington defender.
Western Sydney used their first substitution after 15 minutes as a result of a disgraceful aerial challenge by Maltese international Manny Muscat. Aaron Mooy had already headed the ball onward when Muscat came charging in with a flying elbow and shoulder, collecting the Australian midfielder in the head. The bruising illegal challenge would have resulted in a send off and several weeks on the sidelines if Muscat was playing against the Parramatta Eels in a league match was somehow punished with just a yellow card. Mooy was already knocked out when his head slammed against the Parramatta Stadium turf. After a long delay Mooy was replaced by Iacopo La Rocca.
The deadlock was broken when Wellington failed to heed the warning signs for leaving Polenz unmarked at corners. Polenz's first ever senior goal came after a headed clearance fell kindly for the fullback, and he volleyed toward goal. Wellington keeper Glen Moss couldn't react fast enough as the ball arrowed through a sea of legs and found the back of the net.
Wellington's wily manager Ernie Merrick had seen enough of the Wanderers domination and replaced the ineffectual Stein Huysegems with Jason Hicks on the half-hour, and followed that at half-time by replacing Kenny Cunningham with Phoenix talisman Paul Ifill. The changes had the intended effect as Wellington took the game to the Wanderers in the second half.
Against the run of play, and from a free kick, the Wanderers saw another Hersi cross flash across goal. It bamboozled everyone but Michael Beauchamp who had gambled with a run to the back post, but the captain couldn't lift his leg high enough for a tap-in from only centimeters out from goal.
Ante Covic kept his team from losing the lead with a remarkable double save in the 58th minute. When La Rocca failed to clear the ball fell to the feet of Wellington's hit-man Jeremy Brockie, Covic turning the thunderbolt away to the feet of Ifill, Covic scrambling forward to close the angle quickly and saving with his legs. Unfortunately for Covic his heroics went unrewarded as D'Apuzzo was left for dead by Ifill, as he delivered a killer ball to Brockie who finished smartly past Covic at the near post.
Both teams had their chances to steal all three points in the final quarter of the match. The 63rd minute saw Carlos Hernandez try to take Covic unawares. While standing deep on the left wing for the Phoenix, Hernandez fired in a wicked curling shot aimed at the top corner. Covic was up to the task and kept the shot away. Brendon Santalab then came within inches of the winner for Western Sydney, after a mazy run through midfield, he fired a shot that seemed destined for the top corner only to be denied by the woodwork.
The Wanderers next match is the Sydney Derby, at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday the 26th of October, against Sydney FC. Kick-off is at 7:45PM.
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