Dylan Wenzel-Halls scores winner as Brisbane Roar continues purple patch of A-League form
Dylan Wenzel-Halls’ first goal of the season is sure to give Robbie Fowler a pleasant selection headache as Brisbane Roar continued their purple patch of form with a narrow win over Wellington Phoenix.
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Forgotten striker Dylan Wenzel-Halls seized on a rare opportunity to secure Brisbane Roar a 1-0 win over Wellington Phoenix at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
Having only entered the contest two minutes earlier as a replacement for Rahmat Akbari, Wenzel-Halls pounced on the edge of the penalty area after being fed by Irish midfielder Jay O’Shea.
The 69th-minute goal was enough for the improving Roar to extend their unbeaten run to four games and hand the Phoenix their first defeat in 10 matches.
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Much of the pre-match focus had been on the arrival of former Socceroos marksman Scott McDonald, who after completing his move from Western United on Friday, was named on the bench alongside Wenzel-Halls.
And while both entered the contest in the second half, it was Wenzel-Halls who made the telling contribution in his first appearance since Brisbane’s 2-0 loss to Western United on December 13.
“With players, they need to make it hard for you – Dylan’s made it hard,” Fowler said.
“I’m not going to sit here and say he’s going to be playing next week … (but) it’s case of him keep doing what he’s doing, keep working hard and keep putting in performances like that when he comes on, (and) make me turn my head at times.
“When you’re making subs, you want them to come on and have the right reaction. I think Dylan was very good when he came on.
“Scott McDonald came on and added to what we know he can do, and the way we can play.”
While McDonald had to wait for his chance, Brisbane other new signing, defender Corey Brown, was, as expected, named in the starting side after re-joining the club following the termination of his Melbourne Victory contract.
Brown lined up at left wing-back, with his inclusion one of the two changes to the Roar side that started in the previous week’s 2-2 draw with Melbourne City.
In a reshuffled back-line, Brown came in for suspended skipper Tom Aldred, with the other change to the starting team being the recall of midfielder Rahmat Akbari for striker Aaron Amadi-Holloway.
The Phoenix, who named an unchanged starting XI from their last-start 2-0 win over Western Sydney, were unlucky not to take at least a point back to New Zealand such was their first-half dominance.
Jaushua Sotirio unleashed with a blistering 21st-minute strike that smashed into the crossbar, with the woodwork again coming to Brisbane’s rescue in the 38th minute when Phoenix skipper Steven Taylor was also foiled by the bar.
A minute earlier, the Phoenix wanted a penalty after a Sotirio shot seemed to hit the arms of Roar midfielder Jacob Pepper.
However referee Alex King waved play on and there was no VAR intervention.
Sotirio should have scored three minutes before half-time but blasted his shot over the bar with only keeper Jamie Young to beat.
Frustrated Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay suggested that divine intervention was on the side of Fowler, the man Liverpool fans call “God”.
“Today I think God was on God’s side,” Talay said.
“If we score one, I think it’s going to be a two or three-nil game for us, but that’s football sometimes - a good performance doesn’t always give you the result.”
Originally published as Dylan Wenzel-Halls scores winner as Brisbane Roar continues purple patch of A-League form