Match report: Olé 1 1-2 Wellington Phoenix Black
The game:
An extra man following a red card wasn’t quite enough for Olé 2 to overcome Wellington Phoenix Black as the Nix won 2-1 in a tight and entertaining contest.
It was a fascinating game to watch from a defensive perspective as the back lines were on point for the full ninety minutes. That isn’t to say the game was boring and defensive - it was the opposite - but almost every attack was expertly countered by the defence to make for a scintillating contest .
The goals:
Dan McKay (Phoenix, 12th minute) A rapid fire Phoenix counter attack down the left saw the ball crossed into the box where the pass came to McKay who was in the process of escaping his marker. Following his grand escape and after collecting the ball he lobbed over Olé goalie Logan Moran to open the scoring.
Stephen Sprowson (Phoenix, 45th minute) A corner came into the near post where Bark’s shot sent the upright shaking whilst the ball ricocheted back into the area and to the feet of Sprowson, who promptly smashed it through a sea of bodies to double the Nix advantage.
Birhanu Taye (Olé, 61st minute) An Olé player was taken out from behind in the box, and the penalty was as clear as day. Birhanu Taye stepped up, shot down the right, and pulled one back.
The pivotal moment:
As the minutes on the clock began to tick down and Olé were seemingly unable to use the manpower advantage to secure the much needed goal, the Phoenix relaxed maybe a little too much. With less than 60 seconds left, a goal kick from Nix keeper Kees Smith went straight to an Olé attacker. But certainly to the relief of the Nix keeper, the rushed shot went wide ending any hopes of point-sharing.
The stars:
Olé - Josh Larking Following an injury to Zander Rushworth, Larking who was initially a midfielder, moved to center back where you could have been forgiven for thinking he had been there all along. The defender was a quality and assuring presence and deserves all the credit for performing so well out of position.
Phoenix Black - Stephen Sprowson As previously mentioned, this was a game where defence was king and Sprowson, a full back, played a huge role in the brick wall which was the Phoenix defence. His calming presence, quality tackles, and good all round play was a big part of the Phoenix’s ability to hold on throughout the closing stages. And that’s without mentioning his goal.
The comments:
Finn Surman, Phoenix defender: “Not much changed after the red card. One less player on the pitch, move the ball faster. Everyone just realised we had to work harder so we were all back covering for each other. Essentially, our 4-4-2 switched to a 4-4-1.”
Josh Larking, Olé defender: “The game was a battle between two really good opponents. I think both teams played really well but we faced a few problems throughout the game - they had a player sent off yet we didn’t have the edge to get us over the line and I think we sold ourselves short.”
The bad boys:
Yellow cards: Blake Inder (Olé), Birhanu Taye (Olé)
Red cards: Harry Bark (Phoenix) - Two wayward challenges resulting in yellow cards made for a first sending off for any team in the competition.
The meaning: Phoenix Black don’t move from fifth but with this win does move them up to six points - putting a buffer between them and Team Wellington Academy, while Olé 1 drops down to fourth following the earlier win by Phoenix Yellow. They sit on eight points.
The future: Olé 1 are up against their third place rivals Phoenix Yellow at 1pm next Sunday, while Phoenix Black will take to the field in the subsequent 2:30 game against Team Wellington Youth. Both games are at Olé.
The rest:
Team Wellington Academy 1-6 Phoenix Yellow
Olé 2 2-3 Team Wellington Youth