Wellington Phoenix vs Brisbane Roar – Shark Highlights | Isuzu UTE A-League 2024-25 | Round 18
Wellington Phoenix saw their chances of closing the gap on the top six diminished after a 1-1 stalemate against bottom-placed Brisbane Roar at Sky Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
The Phoenix could have narrowed the gap to just three points behind sixth-placed Macarthur with a victory on Waitangi Day in New Zealand. However, despite taking the lead through Isaac Hughes’ inaugural senior goal in the second half, they were pegged back by a Henry Hore equaliser, allowing Brisbane to secure only their sixth point of the season in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
Wellington had an effort from Hideki Ishige disallowed for offside in the first half, and just before the break, there was a contentious decision not to award a penalty. Ishige went down in the box following contact from Brisbane’s Walid Shour, but referee Jack Morgan maintained his original call of no penalty, even after reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor as suggested by VAR.
After sharing the spoils with the Roar, Wellington remains in 10th place on the Isuzu UTE A-League table, now six points adrift of the finals spots.
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Following the match, Phoenix’s matchday captain Scott Wootton expressed his thoughts on what he deemed to be a “clear-cut penalty” that was overlooked in the first half.
“In my opinion, it’s a stonewall penalty. He (Ishige) took his first touch, beat the defender, and there was definite contact from the trailing leg as the defender attempted to tackle,” Wootton shared with Sky Sports.
“If that happened in the middle of the pitch, it would definitely be ruled a foul.”
“VAR reviewed it, and the referee went to the screen, but deemed it not an obvious mistake. For me, it’s still a clear penalty… but ultimately, it’s not an excuse. We need to reflect and improve.”
Brisbane Roar’s captain also weighed in on the penalty non-call.
“I thought when he went in for the challenge, he withdrew his leg, so I believe it was a fair decision,” O’Shea commented.
“There wasn’t anything clear and obvious, so it makes sense that he couldn’t have changed his decision.”
Brisbane surprised many with their strong start in the first half at Sky Stadium. Ruben Zadkovich’s side applied early pressure and were close to taking the lead when Samuel Klein headed over from inside the six-yard box.
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Kosta Barbarouses capitalised on a defensive error from Brisbane but couldn’t score what would have been his 101st goal in the Isuzu UTE A-League.
However, after 16 minutes of play, the ‘Nix did send the ball into the net through Ishige, only for the celebration to be cut short due to VAR correctly ruling the Japanese forward offside after he received a pass from Corban Piper.
As the first half progressed, Wellington’s attempts at a penalty were turned down by referee Jack Morgan after Hideki Ishige went down in the penalty area following a challenge by Brisbane’s Walid Shour.
After being advised by VAR, Morgan reviewed the incident at the pitchside monitor but returned to maintain his original judgement.
“There is contact – it is not a foul. No penalty,” the referee stated.
The denial of the penalty meant Brisbane went into half-time on level terms, but early in the second half, the hosts found their breakthrough as 20-year-old Isaac Hughes scored to give Wellington the lead.
Hughes netted his first goal in the Isuzu UTE A-League from a corner delivered by Ishige; the defender found space to head the ball back across goal, beating Roar keeper Macklin Freke and putting Wellington ahead at Sky Stadium.
Brisbane nearly equalised moments later when an audacious volley from Jay O’Shea struck the post and rolled across the goal line.
Subsequently, Roar substitute Keegan Jelacic, who came on in the 67th minute, played a critical role in bringing his side back into contention, providing an exquisite assist for Hore, whose clever footwork created space in the box for the 25-year-old to score past Alby Kelly-Heald.
Hore’s equaliser in the 71st minute set the stage for a thrilling finish, but neither side could secure a winner, resulting in the points being shared at Sky Stadium.
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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