Wellington Phoenix 1-1 Central Coast Mariners: One a piece in windy Wellington

First-half goals to both teams have resulted in the Wellington Phoenix and Central Coast Mariners playing out a 1-1 draw in gusty conditions at Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

The Phoenix headed into the match having not beaten the Mariners since 2010 but would’ve fancied their chances after three straight victories. In fact it was one of the few times the Nix have gone into a match this season as the bookies favourites.

As the players entered the stadium in front of the 7005 gathered fans, they got an insight into the conditions they would be playing in as the signature Wellington wind whipped around the Cake Tin. The wind proved so severe that free kicks would have to be placed multiple times as the wind would shift the ball away from the spot.

After a scrappy opening to the match it would be the Mariners who hit the front first through Matt Simon. A goal in the 16th minute was Simon’s first of the season and was the result of a Nick Fitzgerald assist through Nix defenders Ben Sigmund and Manny Muscat.

Just as the Mariners looked to be taking a lead into the halftime break the Nix scored through Kenny Cunningham in the 45th minute. The Costa Rica international took the ball into the box before creating space around Mariners defender Storm Roux and firing a shot past a diving Liam Reddy into the right side of the goal.

The halftime break looked to have benefited the Phoenix as they returned to the field the more hungry of the two teams, creating chance after chance but lacking the final finish.

However the Mariners would have thought the lead was theirs when they were awarded a penalty when Trent Sainsbury was brought down by Glen Moss inside the box. Unfortunately for them and their fans Danny McBreen had a shocker and sent the ball well over the crossbar, much to the delight of the Yellow Fever supporters group.

A highlight for the home team in the second half was the debut of Paul Ifill’s injury cover Roy Krishna, who became the first Fijian to play in the A-League.

The draw keeps the Mariners in third place on the table while the Phoenix remain ninth, five points outside the top six.

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