Markus Babbel under pressure as Wanderers beaten by Phoenix
Markus Babbel appears to be on borrowed time at Western Sydney after a 2-0 defeat to Wellington left the Wanderers slumped in 10th place on the A-League ladder.
Western Sydney Wanderers
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Ulises Davila’s electric A-League season has continued with another goal in Wellington’s 2-0 win over Western Sydney, heaping further pressure on visiting coach Markus Babbel.
The Phoenix stretched their unbeaten streak to nine games, equalling the club record they set last season, leaving the Wanderers cemented in 10th place.
Babbel’s team have lost seven of their past nine games and rarely looked like scoring until late at Sky Stadium, as they went in search of an equaliser before Wellington defender Liberato Cacace put the nail in the coffin.
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Babbel rolled the dice by dropping out-of-form forward Alexander Meier for the first time this season, the 36-year-old German marquee having laboured to just a solitary goal in his 12 appearances.
His replacement, Kwame Yeboah, failed to spark a Wanderers front line who were largely disjointed, until Nicolai Muller sparked some late half-chances. The match was a messy affair, not helped by blustery conditions. That suited Wellington after Davila put the hosts ahead in the 15th minute with his ninth goal of the season.
Along with metronomic midfielder Cameron Devlin, Davila was the best player on the park, creating chances and proving a handful for the foul-prone Pirmin Schwegler.
Davila’s goal came as no surprise after Wellington created two clear chances in the opening exchanges.
Callum McCowatt blasted wide and Davila struck the inside of the post before adjusting his radar soon afterwards, drilling a low shot from the top of the box via a Gary Hooper lay-off.
Fullback Cacace powered into the box with two minutes remaining and blasted his first goal of the campaign, ensuring his blossoming team will finish the round in third or fourth place.