Friday, January 15, 2010

Wellington Phoenix rise to fourth place and displace Newcastle Jets


Photo: Wellington's WestPac Stadium [PlessPix]


Wellington Phoenix moved up a place to fourth spot on the A-League ladder with a 3-0 win over second-last North Queensland Fury at WestPac Stadium in Wellington this evening.


The match was played in Antarctic-type conditions. It is mid-summer in the southern hemisphere, but the temperature in Wellington was in single digits and the stadium was lashed by driving rain driven by gale-force winds.


There were 7,727 fans in attendance and, 10 minutes from the end, a group of ‘Yellow Fever’ home fans performed their usual ritual when their team is winning near the end - they stripped off to the waist and waved their scarves and chanted in support of their team.


Fury had the better of the first-half chances, with Robbie Fowler shooting into the side-netting in the 3rd minute and Dryon Daal having a shot saved by Liam Reddy in the 6th minute.


After the goalless opening half, Wellington took the lead in the 47th minute with a Eugene Dadi header following a corner.


Dadi later had to be substituted after suffering a bad head wound that bled profusely.


Paul Ifill made it 2-0 in the 78th minute when he cut in from the left and scored with a right-footed shot from the edge of the box.


Jon McKain completed the scoring in the 90th minute with a fine header from a deep right-wing cross after a corner.

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