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Melbourne's Archie Thompson celebrates - Source: Getty -
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Melbourne Victory showed why they top the A-League soccer
standings with a tenacious 1-1 draw with Wellington Phoenix on
Friday.
A late equaliser was their just reward after showing character and
fight to overcome the loss of Nick Ward late in the first half when
he was sent off.
Ward received his marching orders in the 39th minute for a second
bookable offence and when Tim Brown headed the hosts ahead 1-0 in
the 57th minute all the signs pointed to a Wellington win.
But someone forgot to tell that to Melbourne, who exhibited
tremendous self belief to make up for their numerical
inferiority.
While the Phoenix tended to sit back on their lead Melbourne poured
forward in the last 20 minutes and were rewarded in the 87th minute
when Rodrigo Vargas leapt high to head home a corner from Leigh
Broxham.
Melbourne carried compelling form into tonight's fixture, leading
the competition by five points and earning a remarkable 18 of a
possible 21 points away from home.
Despite Ward's absence and the extra space at Wellington's
disposal, Melbourne were a constant threat throughout in the last
quarter.
The draw saw Wellington equal a league record set by Sydney FC of
not losing at home for 14 matches.
The Phoenix last tasted defeat in Wellington in October last year
but their fans must have been confident a win awaited them after
Brown started and finished a move from his own half.
The international midfielder initiated a breakout then followed up
to meet a neat cross from Leo Bertos to give Melbourne goalkeeper
Mitchell Langerak no chance.
That ended a brief period of punch and counter-punch from the two
sides as Melbourne's Archie Thompson then Wellington's Daniel
forced top saves from the goalkeepers within the space of
30
seconds.
But Wellington went into their shells, and Melbourne did not need a
second invitation after battling for so long to make up for the
absence of Ward.
Melbourne were reduced to 10 men after losing Ward when he was
yellow-carded for the second time by New Zealand referee Michael
Hester, for tugging on the shirt of Troy Hearfield.
Up until this point Melbourne were the slicker outfit without
seriously bothering Phoenix goalkeeper Mark Paston.
The first half saw plenty of ball movement but little to trouble
either goalkeeper as Melbourne dominated the midfield battle and
looked the superior team.
But Ward's sending signalled a momentum shift as the Phoenix began
pressing, with Hearfield pushing forward down the right.
One such run late in the spell on the left by Tony Lochhead and a
clever combination with Daniel saw Lochhead send in a ball for
Adrian Caceres, but he had no angle to play with and the ball
slipped across the goalmouth.
