Wellington Phoenix claim their best start to a season since 2012/13 after drawing against Brisbane Roar at Suncorp stadium this evening.
It was a great day for football as Wellington Phoenix travelled to their first away fixture of the season and confidence was high as they pressed Brisbane Roar early on.
Roy Krishna was in fine form as he looked for that history breaking 34th goal which will now have to wait for another week.
Krishna looked to get in behind the Roar defence several times only for Brisbane to hold him up well.
Louis Fenton and Liberato Cacace looked dangerous heading down the wings as they tried to connect with teammates inside the area but Brisbane were solid at the back.
It was a similar story for Wellington Phoenix as Andrew Durante, Steven Taylor and Tom Doyle looked tough to beat, dealing with any dangerous ball into the area.
It took only nine minutes for Wellington Phoenix to signal their attacking intent with Doyle driving down the right, cutting inside and releasing a shot against Jamie Young. Young saved well but the ball came out to Taylor, who couldn’t get his shot on target.
As the game grew, so did Brisbane Roar’s confidence as they began to get a grip of the game.
Tobias Mikkelsen looked very lively down the left, looking to latch on to any balls in behind the Phoenix backline.
It wasn’t until the 38th minute that Brisbane really endangered the Nix goal. Connor O’Toole crossing in with Adam Taggart unable to connect to open the scoring and it remained 0-0 heading into the break.
Phoenix came out with a similar attacking intent as the first half as Krishna enjoyed another shot on goal but Young was hard to beat at his near post.
Brisbane began to attack Phoenix regularly but the away side defended with their lives on the line and wouldn’t let anything in behind.
Taylor and Durante were leaders at the back as Wellington Phoenix looked to break on the counter through Nathan Burns and Fenton.
Filip Kurto made a vital save in extra time as Alex Lopez drove through the midfield and released a rasping shot, which Kurto saved well and to the right, away from the oncoming Taggart.
It ended 0-0 and Wellington Phoenix come away with a very good draw against a dangerous Brisbane side.
Starting XI
1.Filip KURTO, 4. Mandi, 11. David WILLIAS, 13. Liberato CACACE, 14. Alex RUFER, 16. Louis FENTON, 18. Sarpreet SINGH, 19. Tom DOYLE, 21. Roy KRISHNA, 22. Andrew DURANTE, 27. Steven TAYLOR
Wellington Phoenix Substitutions
67’ OFF 11. David Williams ON 23. Max Burgess
83’ OFF 14. Alex Rufer ON 8. Mitch Nichols
86’ OFF 21. Roy Krishna ON 9. Nathan Burns
Brisbane Roar Substitutions
64’ OFF 22. Tobias Mikkelsen ON 33. Henrique
89’ OFF Eric Bautheac ON 26. Nicholas D’Agostino
Next Match Details
Wellington Phoenix vs. Western Sydney Wanderers, Westpac Stadium, 7:35pm kick off (NZT)
