Wellington Phoenix 3-2 Newcastle Jets
by Alyce Collett (19/1/25)
Above: Wellington Phoenix celebrate a goal in their win over Newcastle Jets today. Photo: Wellington Phoenix.
Wellington Phoenix has pulled off a remarkable come-from-behind win over the Newcastle Jets who were 2-0 ahead at half-time thanks to a brace from Sheridan Gallagher.
The Phoenix never gave up and thanks to goals from second-half substitute Manaia Elliott and captain Annalie Longo, pulled off the win.
It was a really free-flowing start to the match, with play flowing from one end to the other easily and both sides getting shots away early.
Newcastle did not take long to get on the board, when Gallagher pounced on a deflection to chip it into the back of the net merely three minutes into the match.
Interestingly though the early goal did not shake the confidence of the home side, who continued to pile on the attacking play, with Mabae Tanaka and milestone girl Alyssa Winham, making her 50th A-League Women appearance particularly dangerous.
However some well-positioned defending from Natasha Prior ensured that Wellington could not reap the ultimate benefit from any of its attacking moments.
For much of the early part of the first half, proceedings felt very even. Maya McCutcheon went within inches of getting an equaliser about 20 minutes after Gallagher’s opener, but her and Olivia Ferguson’s follow-up shot were both denied thanks to some brilliant saves from Danielle Krzyzaniak and a clearance off the line from Prior.
Gallagher picked up her second just minutes from halftime after going for a run and then skirting a shot around Carolina Vilao in the Phoenix net.
Interestingly, despite being two goals behind at half time the hosts were leading many of the key stats at the major break and by a fair gap too. These included time in possession, passing accuracy, and shots on goal.
Phoenix coach Paul Temple was not afraid to swing the changes at the start of the second half, bringing on Elliott and Emma Main straight away.
Elliott did not take long to make an impact on the match, heading in a well-placed Longo cross to peg one back for the home side. She almost had a second minutes later but found herself on the wrong side of an offside call. Main was also creating things in attack and things were looking more positive for those in yellow.
Elliott and Longo then swapped roles for Wellington’s second goal, as Elliott’s initial shot was punched away before Longo pounced and slotted the ball into the back of the net.
The Phoenix definitely had the momentum, but still needed to find one more goal if they wanted to take the maximum points away from this match.
Things got harder for the Jets when Deven Jackson – who had been at times lively for the visitors – was forced from the field after a heavy collision.
Both sides kept pushing to find the match-winner as the second half progressed, but Wellington racked up a lot more chances than their visitors did.
Just as regular time progressed and the eight minutes of extra time started to tick down, it was looking like the match may just end in a draw. But Elliott was not done with her score involvements for the afternoon, as she scored an absolutely brilliant Olympico to finish off the fightback and get the three points for the home side.
Teams: WELLINGTON PHOENIX (4-4-2): Vialo, Jaber, Barry, Kelly, McCutcheon, Jale, Fergusson, Whinham, Tanaka, Longo, Wall. Substitutes: Danieli, MacMeeken, Elliott, Brazendale, Main.
Scorers: Longo 59’. Elliott 50’, 90+8’.
NEWCASTLE JETS (4-2-3-1): Krzyzaniak, Cicco, Prior, Davis, Dundas, Copus-Brown, Jackson, Hoban, Baumann, Gooch. Substitutes: Wilson, Allan, Robertson, Adams, Collins.
Scorers: Gallagher 3’, 43’.
Referee: Sarah Jones.
Attendance: 915.
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