The Wellington Phoenix men have scored an emphatic victory on the road. In fact it was the first time since January 2021 they had gained maximum points at Gosford.
An outrageous free kick from Hideki Ishige got the ‘Nix off and running before strikes from Kosta Barbarouses not long before halftime and finally Sam Sutton sealed a stunning win for the away, a result which leaves the Mariners winless after four games.
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It all came about care of a scorching free kick from Japanese import Hideki Ishige after 15 minutes in the first half.
The second goal saw Scott Wootton pass for Alex Rufer, before he slid a pass through to Hideki Ishige. Ishige charges towards the penalty area, before finding Kosta Barbarouses at the far post, who knocked the ball into the bottom right corner beyond Dylan Peraić-Cullen.
A lengthy VAR check followed with potential tight offside calls against both Ishige and Barbarouses. But both of them had timed their runs to perfection, so the goal stood.
The third goal had Sutton make a run from deep and latches on to an inside pass from Ishige before holding his balance and putting the goal away inside the left post from ten metres out.
After being somewhat fortunate to keep hold of the ball,
The Nix men now have a two win, one draw, one loss record for the season.
In the women's match at Porirua Michelle Heyman scored her 100th goal for Canberra United but the Matildas legend’s match winning strike was overshadowed by a moment of madness involving Phoenix star Annalie Longo’s dog!
Breaking free from doggie day care at Porirua Park, Longo’s four-legged friend galloped onto the pitch at the start of the second half to chants of ‘Who let the dogs out?’ from the Yellow Fever.
The Wellington Phoenix women are back on the road in round three with a match against the Newcastle Jets in Maitland next Sunday.