Table-topping Phoenix scratch out 1-0 win over Brisbane

Ben McKay | March 31, 2024

Bozhidar Kraev’s 76th-second goal has fired Wellington Phoenix to a 1-0 win over Brisbane Roar and a six-point buffer at the top of the A-League Men table.

The win was anything but commanding, with the Kiwis surviving a barrage of chances and the loss of captain Alex Rufer for a second-half stomp on Henry Hore.

Wellington were second-best for long spells and could have lost forward David Ball for putting his studs into Tom Aldred’s face in the first half.

But if Ball’s misjudged intervention on a high ball was ugly, Wellington’s opener was a thing of beauty.

Giancarlo Italiano’s side tallied an uninterrupted 26-pass move from the kickoff – if you overlook a 50-50 challenge between Nicholas Pennington and Antonee Burke-Gilroy that fell fortunately for the Phoenix.

All 10 outfield players were involved – from Kosta Barbarouses’s backpass on the first whistle to Kraev’s deflected finish from Sam Sutton’s cross.

From that point, Brisbane – eighth on the table and with ever-dwindling finals chances – bossed the premiership hopefuls.

Nikola Mileusnic might have replied just two minutes later, while Keegan Jelacic brought a world-class save from Alex Paulsen – a man-of-the-match contender – on 20 minutes.

Wellington were best in transition, and thought they had a second goal on the hour mark when Barbarouses broke free and turned Kai Trewin inside-out for a breakaway strike, only to be flagged offside.

From that moment, Brisbane took control; owning possession and territory as they pushed for an equaliser.

Rufer gave them a helping hand, even if his sending-off was unlucky: the Phoenix captain attempting to jam a ball clear off Hore’s back when he slid into the 24-year-old’s hamstring in the 78th minute.

James O’Shea went close with the resulting free kick, with Paulsen moving sharply for one of his eight saves of the afternoon.

For all their effort, Brisbane couldn’t fashion the clear-cut chance they needed late, Wellington’s defence standing up for a league-best ninth clean sheet of the season.

With seventh-placed Melbourne City 16 points behind with five games to play, Sunday’s win secures a finals place for Italiano’s side.

It also means Phoenix are on the cusp of their best ever season, the 46 points they already have in the bag equal to their 2014/15 haul.

Scratchy performance aside, they must surely be looking higher, with next weekend’s trip to second-placed Central Coast offering the chance to put one hand on the club’s first ever trophy.