Wellington Phoenix 1-0 Perth Glory
By Alyce Collett 6/2/2026
Above: Emma Pijnenburg (left) and Makala Woods (right) celebrate after Woods’ scored against Perth Glory. Photo: Ryan Imray for Impetus.
It has been a Waitangi Day to remember for the Wellington Phoenix, who move to the top of the A-League Women’s table after a 1-0 win over Perth Glory.
Although Makala Woods’ first half stoppage time goal was all that split the teams on the scoreboard, it was really the ability of the respective forward groups to work together and pickpocket their opponents’ defence that ultimately made the difference.
The start to the match was not as fast as Wellington and its fans have become accustomed to in recent weeks.
The Phoenix did have some really good chances about 10 minutes into the match, but some strong goal keeping and well timed deflections kept Wellington at bay.
However, this was nothing in comparison to the performance of the Phoenix defensive line up the other end, who continuously outnumbered the Glory attackers so even if Perth managed to get a shot away, it was not really threatening.
Woods, Pia Vlok and Brooke Nunn were all causing plenty of headaches for the Glory defenders, while up the other end Bronte Trew was the only Glory attacker really threatening or causing much danger, but Teresa Morrissey’s goal keeping was certainly keeping the visitors in the match.
Just as it looked like the first half was going to be scoreless, Woods pinched the ball off Onyinyechi Zogg and carefully guided the ball into the bottom corner of the net and the home side into the lead.
Woods’ goal was reward for a Phoenix side that had three times the number of shots on goal than their visitors did in the first half, despite finishing the half with 16% less of the possession.
Perth almost had a spectacular equaliser 10 minutes into the second half, but after some confusion it was confirmed that the whistle from referee Anna-Marie Keighley was in fact for a foul on Victoria Esson, not for the Olympico the Glory players thought they had scored.
Although Perth continued to dominate possession in the second half, the Glory’s lack of ability to navigate around Wellington’s defensive line and get shots away continued to hamper them, and ultimately they were unable to find an equaliser. Wellington managed to record double the number of shots that the Glory did in the second half alone.
Teams: WELLINGTON PHOENIX (4-4-2): Esson, Barry, Walker, Jale,León, van der Meer, Nunn, Vlok, Woods, Pijnenburg. Substitutes: Danieli, Elliott, Brazendale, Main, Benson, Anthony.
Scorers: Woods 45+4’
PERTH GLORY (4-3-3): Morrissey, Sardo, McKenna, Zogg, Johnston, Tathem, Dalton, Tovar, Trew, Phonsongkham, Badawiya. Substitutes: Skinner, Anderson, Hollar, Lincoln, O’Donoghue, Wainwright.
Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley
Attendance: TBC
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