Wellington Phoenix shared the points against Melbourne Victory in front a record-breaking crowd at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday night.
It was end-to-end action in the first half with both teams coming close to an opener but neither side were able to unlock the opposition’s defence.
The travelling side, Melbourne Victory, were well aware of the attacking flair of the Fijian Flyer, Roy Krishna, as he threatened early on. Midfielder, Mandi Sosa, nearly found Krishna in behind with a searching pass but Leigh Broxham cut it out with a last-ditch header.
Polish Goalkeeper, Filip Kurto, found himself in fine form yet again as he made a fantastic save to deny Victory the lead. Kenjok Athiu was set through on goal but Kurto was alive to the danger and made the all-important save.
David Williams was close to getting on the scoresheet, but his volley was blocked by the Melbourne Victory backline as Wellington Phoenix threatened several times on Lawrence Thomas’ goal.
The sides went into the break all level at 0-0, with the home side being cheered on by the 23,648 strong crowd and it wasn’t long before they were celebrating the first goal.
A searching cross from the right fell at the feet of Krishna, who couldn’t believe his luck, rifling into the top right corner to open the scoring in front of a rapturous crowd.
The celebrations were somewhat short-lived as Melbourne Victory were rewarded a penalty after a coming together in the box.
Up-stepped substitute, Keisuke Honda, who sent Kurto the wrong way and equalised for the Victory.
In the final ten minutes, both teams threatened to steal the win but both were unable to steal the three points as the spoils were shared on a memorable night in Auckland, ending 1-1.
FULL TIME | The points are shared after a fantastic #Nix performance in front of a record-breaking @edenparknz crowd. Thanks to everyone for making this such a special night!#StandUpWithYourNix #CreateHistory #WELvMVC pic.twitter.com/TbcUCOPxCv
— Wellington Phoenix (@WgtnPhoenixFC) February 15, 2019
Starting XI
1. Filip KURTO, 4. Mandi SOSA, 11. David WILLIAMS 13. Liberato CACACE,14. Alex RUFER, 15. Michal KOPCZYNSKI, 16. Louis FENTON, 18. Sarpreet SINGH, 21. Roy KRISHNA, 22. Andrew DURANTE, 27. Steven TAYLOR
Wellington Phoenix Substitutes
78’ OFF 11. David WILLIAMS ON 7. Cillian SHERIDAN
88’ OFF 4. Mandi SOSA ON 23. Max BURGESS
Melbourne Victory Substitutions
55’ OFF 25. Anthony LESIOTIS ON 4.Keisuke HONDA
55’ OFF 5. Georg NIEDERMEIER ON 17. James DONACHIE
Next Match details
Wellington Phoenix vs. Sydney FC, Saturday 23rd February 2019, Campbelltown Stadium, 5:35pm (NZT)
