A-League 2020: Wanderers beat 10-man Phoenix to raise hopes of a top-six finish
Despite the early loss of German import Nicolai Muller, the Wanderers proved too good for Wellington Phoenix.
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WESTERN Sydney Wanderers overcame the sickening loss of German import Nicolai Muller to remain alive in the race for an A-League finals berth with a 1-0 win over a 10-man Wellington Phoenix at Bankwest Stadium on Friday night.
A 73rd-minute header from substitute Kwame Yeboah proved the difference as the Wanderers moved to within four points of the top six.
The goal came eight minutes after Phoenix defender Luke DeVere was sent off for a second bookable defence when he knocked over Yeboah just outside Wellington’s penalty area.
Yeboah had entered the contest in the first-half as a replacement for Muller, who was floored and seemingly knocked out cold by the stray head of Wellington defender Louis Fenton.
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Fearing Muller had suffered a serious injury, players from both sides immediately signalled for help from the sideline.
Muller was eventually stretchered off, with play delayed for six minutes, a period that also included the booking of Fenton for the recklessness of his actions.
Fortunately, Muller’s condition seemingly improved in the dressing-room, with the Wanderers tweeting: “Conscious but ok. Muller has a badly cut lip and a swollen jaw/cheek. He’s currently in our medical rooms with his wife and two kids, and is not required to go to hospital at the moment.”
While delighted with his side’s victory, Wanderers coach Jean-Paul de Marigny’s mood was tempered by Muller’s injury.
“He’s badly concussed ... he’s not in a good place,” de Marigny said.
“Our responsibility is to look after the players. The incident happened then it warrants the punishment, so that’s someone else’s responsibility.”
He said Muller would go for scans, but feared a potentially season-ending facial fracture.
Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay defended Fenton, insisting there was no malice in the challenge.
“Louis’s not that type of player” Talay said.
“It was a 50-50, maybe he was a little bit late in the challenge but the referee made a call on it.”
Talay lamented the dismissal of DeVere, who will be suspended for the Phoenix’s clash on Wednesday night against his former club Brisbane Roar.
“Obviously it doesn’t help going down to 10 men, but I think the boys ... pushed very hard and I thought we were a little bit unfortunate with a couple of corners where a couple of saves were made but that’s football sometimes.”
Talay was in an angry mood during the match and was shown a yellow card for dissent in the 63rd minute.
He was understandably frustrated as his normally impressive side produced a flat performance.
The Phoenix’s defeat has opened the door for Melbourne City to move three points clear of the Kiwi outfit in second spot if they can beat the already crowned Premier’s Plate winners Sydney FC at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
Things might have been different had the Phoenix had more fortune in just the fourth minute of the match when a sublime strike from English attacker David Ball hit both posts but somehow didn’t cross the line with Wanderers goalkeeper Tristan Prendergast well beaten.
The Wanderers’ had a chance to take the lead in first-half stoppage time but captain Mitch Duke failed to get enough power by a shot that was comfortably dealt with by Phoenix goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic.
But Yeboah’s second-half header was all that Western Sydney needed as they held on despite a late Phoenix onslaught that amounted to nothing.
Originally published as A-League 2020: Wanderers beat 10-man Phoenix to raise hopes of a top-six finish