Wellington’s Felipe put in another magical performance scoring a goal, only to see a strong Adelaide United outfit come back to go up 2-1. Phoenix then hit back however, with striker Shane Smeltz stealing the equaliser on 87 minutes.

With just minutes to play, Phoenix then pressed hard to steal the victory in front of a vocal crowd but had to settle for the draw.

United put in a powerful performance and dominated the shot count and were unlucky not to take all three points from Ricki Herbert’s unpredictable men. Despite the loss, Wellington also continue to impress, after an entertaining performance led by Brazilians Felipe and Daniel.

In particular, it is Felipe who is proving to be a bona fide A-League star after continuing the form that saw him wow crowds last weekend against Sydney FC. Felipe looked a threat throughout, with trickery and excellent passing.

His reward came after 64 minutes when he opened scoring through a looped headed goal that beat United keeper Robbie Bajic. Felipe rose between two United defenders to head the ball high and inside the side of the net.

United hit back just five minutes later when Diego also headed a goal home. Bruce Djite had first bite of the cherry for Adelaide, only to be denied by the post. The rebound then came to Diego who could not miss from close range.

With the goals locked at 1-1, Wellington came close to going up again first with Nathan Burns clearing off the line to save the Reds once. Phoenix midfielder Richard Johnson was then also unlucky not to score after his turn-and-shoot saw him drive a shot wide.

United’s Bruce Djite then put the visitors a goal up, coolly finishing to score on 77 minutes. Djite then almost sealed the match, narrowly missing his 82 minute shot.

With the game looking lost, Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert made an unlikely substitution of replacing Felipe with George Paladini. Just minutes later, the move pulled off when Smeltz equalized through another headed goal. While the goal will be credited to Smeltz, Paladini will be unlucky not to claim it as replays showed it may have been his head that the ball came off last.

With the Westpac Stadium crowd on its feet, Smeltz then had an opportunity to snatch the win hitting the side of the net. Smeltz had an open goal, but had to shoot off balance and from a tight angle.


The first half was fast and furious and played out in front of another healthy crowd in full voice. United lead the shot count eight shots to two going into the break.

United were unlucky not to score after pressing for most of the half’s earlier stages, before more magic from Felipe saw the home side come back into it.

Both sides had a number of set play chances. In particular, Adelaide's Kristian Sarkers and Cassio have been most impressive in the set-piece stakes. Sarkies has sent a number of dangerous balls in, while Cassio has unleashed a couple of long distance shots for the Reds.

Travis Dodd was in the thick of the action over a ten-minute period. Dodd was unlucky not to score after sending two headers over the bar and also spraying a volley wide of the posts.

Bruce Djite and Nathan Burns successfully combined on a few occasions in the half but their impact was well-contained in the half with Phoenix defender Karl Dodd keeping particularly close tabs on Djite.

Burns’ came close on the half-hour mark, when he headed from close range. Phoenix keeper Glen Moss was equal to the task however, managing to get down low to deny United’s young star.

For the home side, Felipe and Daniel had outstanding first halfs. Felipe looks to have fully recovered from last weekend’s knock to the knee and has been rewarded with some good opportunities.

Felipe’s first shot came on the 14th minute after picking up the ball deep – not unlike last weekend’s brilliant effort against Sydney FC – with the defence opening up for him. This week though, Felipe was unable to net the goal after his right-footed shot pulled wide to the left.

On 25 minutes, Felipe and Daniel’s passing exchange was spectacular, bringing the crowd to its feet. The Brazilians opened up the United defence but were thwarted by the Reds defence, ending with another unsuccessful Felipe shot.

Referee: Ben Williams

FourFourTwo Says:
A genuine thriller and definitely one of the best matches so far this season. Phoenix still don’t look convincing but they are brilliant to watch and Felipe is a revelation. The atmosphere they’re creating at Westpac Stadium is also top-notch – and something some of the other clubs need to take not of. Ironic, seeing they’re the new kids of the block.

United looked solid going forward, but they’re prone to silly mistakes giving up the ball when not even necessarily under pressure. Realistically, they should have left with all three points so Aurelio Vidmar has some work to do with his troops.