Goals aplenty in Team Wellington Academy vs Wellington Phoenix Yellow
The game:
It was a relatively open and shut case on Sunday afternoon as the Wellington Phoenix Yellow side showed their class against their Team Wellington Academy counterparts culminating in a 6-1 victory for Yellow.
A reasonably even opening twenty minutes would give way to a flurry of goals, and a swing in the momentum the Nix’s way. After that, it was always going to be an uphill battle for the Team Wellington side. A late penalty would end up being a small consolation for Team Welly, despite the heroics of their goalie Gabe Cooper.
The goals:
Harrison McLean (Phoenix, 19th minute) A scuffed touch from Team Wellington allowed Blake Chandler to nick the ball and send it up to Noah Karunratne who moved into the middle of the area. There he would lay it off to McLean who cut inside from the right and sent the ball skidding into the net.
Seb Barton-Ginger (Phoenix, 27th minute) A Team Wellington defender had the ball robbed from him as the last man back. In desperation, the defence was forced to bring the Nix attacker down, and earned themselves a yellow in the process. Barton-Ginger’s free kick would curve beautifully over the wall and into the net with little that Cooper could do to stop it.
Noah Karunratne (Phoenix, 35th minute) A giveaway on the right wing from Team Wellington saw Karunatne take full advantage, cutting inside in a manner which emulated McLean’s goal, and just like McLean his shot would pound into the left hand side of the net.
Fin Conchie (Phoenix, 41st minute) Straight after the second half start Team Welly were under the pump, but after a clearance one could have thought they had finally found some breathing room. Unfortunately the nature of this clearance only resulted in Conchie being given plenty of space and the Nix player would put it to good use - from outside the box his powerful strike would slam into the bottom left corner with the goalie unable to see through the wall of bodies.
Seb Barton-Ginger (Phoenix, 48th minute) Once again, the cut inside from the right wing would be the downfall of Team Wellington as Barton-Ginger produced a carbon copy of McLean and Karunratne’s goals. The defence just wasn’t able to get anywhere near him and they were punished for it as Barton-Ginger nabbed the third Phoenix goal produced by cutting inside from the right wing.
Ari Koed-Chang (Team Welly, 81st minute) With a burst of his characteristic pace, Koed-Chang sped into the box where he would be brought down by Nix defender Jonny Sims, resulting in a clear penalty. The man wronged would be the man to take, and while Koed-Chang and Nix goalie Henry Gray would both head right, the penalty just had too much power on it and flew past Gray.
Ryusei Ishibashi (Phoenix, 89th minute) Sims burst down the left hand side and his cross allowed Karunratne to get off a shot, but Cooper just managed to deflect the ball off his body. Unfortunately for him the deflection didn’t go anywhere helpful, just closer to the goal as Ishibashi came sliding in to slam the ball into the roof of the net, depriving Sims of a deserved assist in the process.
The pivotal moment:
At only 2-0 down, Team Wellington looked a gift horse in the mouth. Nix defender Chandler’s pass bounced off of defender Fin Conchie, and all of a sudden Team Wellington were off and away with the defence out of position. The cross came in but Tyler Horsby’s shot from point blank just did not connect right, and rather than smashing into the net, the ball lay idle in front of goal.
The stars:
Wellington Phoenix - Fin Conchie The midfielder was a menace for Team Wellington with his well timed runs and good attacking play constantly dispossessing them, and for his efforts Conchie would be rewarded with a goal.
Team Wellington - Gabe Cooper It’s a testament to Cooper’s efforts that he could concede six and still get accolades in the match report. But Cooper constantly thwarted efforts to enlarge the scoreline, was very solid at the back, and did not deserve to be on his side of the scoreline.
The bad boys:
Yellow cards: Adam Marsh (Team Wellington)
The meaning: The win sees Phoenix Yellow move up to 8 points and with the boom of goals from this win they’ll now be in 4th above Olé 1 thanks to the added goal difference. With their counterparts at Phoenix Black also winning, the Team Wellington Academy are five points adrift at the bottom of the ladder with just a singular draw to their name.
The future: Phoenix Yellow are back in action surprisingly quickly - they’ll face runaway league leaders Team Wellington Youth at Fraser Park on Tuesday at 7.30. Then in next Sunday’s games they’ll be up against Olé 1 at Olé itself in the 1pm game, while the Academy test Olé 2 at 4pm.
The rest:
Olé 1 1-2 Wellington Phoenix Black
Olé 2 2-3 Team Wellington Youth