Soccer-Kiwi football comes alive with first Phoenix home win
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Wellington Phoenix secured their first home win of the A-League soccer competition when they hammered Perth Glory 4-1 at the Westpac Stadium today.
Despite impressing fans, Phoenix had been unable to seal a win till now. But they did that in style today even though Glory scored first.
Phoenix dominated the match, and as well as their four goals they had several other good scoring opportunities.
The game burst into life in the ninth minute when Perth Glory opened the scoring against the run of play.
Midfielder Billy Celeski latched on to a well-weighted pass down the right-hand side from Jordan Simpson and slipped the ball past Phoenix goalkeeper Glen Moss. It was Perth's second goal of the season.
However, Phoenix hit back four minutes later, when the always-dangerous Brazilian Felipe chipped a perfect corner kick which captain Ross Aloisi put away.
To the delight of the 10,000-strong crowd, Phoenix took a 2-1 lead four minutes before halftime.
The ubiquitous Felipe sent a beautiful centering kick from the right to split the Perth defence.
After a goal-mouth melee, Shane Smeltz accepted a pass from Vaughan Coveny and flicked it into the Perth goal.
On the tick of halftime Smeltz muffed a golden opportunity to stretch the Phoenix lead, when he had a shot deflected into the side netting by Perth goalkeeper Tom Tomich.
Perth's cause was further harmed in the 53rd minute when defender Dino Djulbic was red-carded.
Phoenix fans had more to celebrate just two minutes later when veteran striker Coveny scored the team's third goal from a well-placed pass from Tony Lochhead on the left.
More misery for Perth followed when, in the 83rd minute, Daniel sent in a perfectly executed left-footed cross which Lochhead touched past Tomich to make the score 4-1.
Brazilian midfielder Daniel, one of Phoenix' marquee players, will miss next week's match against Queensland Roar in Brisbane after receiving his fourth yellow card of the season.
NZPA
