Wellington Phoenix 2-0 Newcastle Jets
By Jonathon Hagger at Sky Stadium (23/12/23)
Above: Mariana Speckmeier and Hope Breslin celebrating. Photo: Imrayssnaps.
The Wellington Phoenix women versus the Newcastle Jets promised to be an interesting matchup with both teams starting the ninth round of the Liberty A-League in very different form.
In the previous round, the Phoenix blew an opportunity to go top of the table whereas the Jets had a big win over Western United. Just one week later how would the teams fare? With the departure of Emily van Egmond after her four week cameo with the Jets, questions were raised about how well they would go without her.
After their disappointing performance the week before, coach Paul Temple rang the changes for the Phoenix. Nix supporters were surprised by the decision to move set piece specialist Michaela Foster, usually a defensive left back, into the midfield. This opened space at the back for the very in-form Zoe McMeeken to start and show why she is a hot talent prospect.
The Jets came out firing and put the Phoenix under pressure immediately with an attempt on goal from outside the box by Sarina Bolden. The pressure continued with Lorena Baumann and Libby Copus-Brown’s shots being cleared away by the Nix. Had any of the Jets early four shots been successful the energy of the match would have been different but it wasn’t to be. Cass Davis’ shot from outside the box curled nicely towards the goal however the Nix goalkeeper had the ball in her sights and made a strong bat away.
A breakout run and some fancy footwork by Macey Fraser put her in wide open space in the Jets goal area. Her cross towards two Nix players, Speckmeier and Breslin, didn’t find either player and the best chance of the match to go ahead with the early goal was missed.
The momentum in the matched swung entirely to the Phoenix when Hope Breslin was fouled in the Jets goal area after being brought down unnecessarily. Mariana Speckmeier coolly slotted the ball past Isobel Nino to go up 1-0 at the 34 minute mark.
Just five minutes later in the 39th minute, the Phoenix secured a second goal to widen the score line to 2-0. Once again it was Speckmeier beautiful cross found the left foot of Breslin who was standing unguarded with an unobstructed view of the goal, who thumped the ball into the Jets net. Not even the very classy Jets defender Claudia Cicco was able to stop the goal.
The Jets did not relent and attempted to fight their way back into the match searching for their first goal before halftime with shots on target by Copus-Brown, Barbieri, and Cicco all being denied.
The teams went into the sheds at halftime with the score at 2-0.
Following the halftime break, a light rain started falling resulting in the Sky Stadium pitch becoming greasy, affecting both teams ability to stay upright. The slick surface took quite some getting used to.
It was the Phoenix who attempted to close the match out in the 52nd minute as the ball pin-balled around in the Jets goal area however the back of the net was not to be found on this occasion.
In the 56th minute the Phoenix brand new import signing, Isabel Cox, came into the match for her first appearance. Cox displayed all the qualities of a talented player and slotted into the team with ease. Everyone had to wait until the 71st minute for Fraser to slot through a slick pass to Cox giving her a clean shot at the Jets.
However, visiting goalkeeper Nino shut down the play. The Jets then quickly progressed the ball down the pitch to get a shot on the Phoenix goal that was well saved by Rylee Foster however in the motion of falling, Foster’s head collided with the goalpost after a diving save resulting in a considerable delay of play.
Phoenix players and supporters collectively held their breath in the 86th minute as Kate Taylor went down clutching her knee following a high-speed collision with Jets defender Milan Hammond. Thankfully the knock to the knee did not result in a serious injury and Taylor resumed play after a couple of minutes.
The remainder of the match was uneventful with both teams having chances to press with neither team managing to score. The Phoenix secured the three points for the win and the Jets return to Newcastle thinking about how to plug the gap that van Egmond has left.
The game stats tell the story of how the match went with the Phoenix dominating possession and being far more accurate with their passing. The Jets had more shots on goal but the quality of the shots taken didn’t really trouble the Phoenix too much.
Wellington Phoenix ended the match as the deserved winner. Quality performances with Speckmeier on attack and Rylee Foster on defence saw the Phoenix win whereas in seasons past the match would more likely have finished in a draw.
Performances of note for the Jets – Claudia Cicco is a future talent of the senior Matildas team. She is very quick, versatile and knows where to be when on the pitch, both in attack and in defence. Lorena Baumann is also a quality player who is confident to shoot the ball when she sees an opening. SarinaBolden is a very classy striker who knows how to score goals but the Phoenix defenders were better than her on the day.
Both teams had plenty of chances to win this match but what ultimately separated the two teams was the quality of possession and shots taken. Gary van Egmond, Jets coach, will be putting his thinking cap on in the next few days as the Jets search for a way to bounce back from an underwhelming performance.
Paul Temple, Phoenix coach, will be able to enjoy his Christmas lunch without having to think about football, knowing that his team has a deep quality of depth that should see the Nix playing finals football.
Teams: WELLINGTON PHOENIX (4-3-3): R Foster, Davidson, Barry, Lake, McMeeken, Longo, Taylor, M Foster, Breslin, Fraser, Speckmeier. Substitutes: Edwards, Whinham, Cox, Robertson, Elliot.
Scorers: Speckmeier 34’, Breslin 39’.
NEWCASTLE JETS (3-1-2-1-3): Nino, Cicco, Prior, Wilson, Davis, Baumann, Copus-Brown, Hoban, Allan, Bolden, Barbieri. Substitutes: Rochaix, Huynh, Karipidis, Dundas, Hammond.
Referee: Mikayla Ryan.
Attendance: 2,614.
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