The pulsating match will be a memorable affair for the 14,400 people who turned out for the match – a record crowd for a club match in New Zealand. An estimated 5,000 were still lined up outside Westpac Stadium at kick-off.

Ricki Herbert’s side overcame a sizable 2-0 deficit following goals from Kevin Muscat and Danny Allsopp looked to have secured a win for Melbourne.

Muscat’s goal came after just 17 minutes when he cooly converted from the spot to send the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net to beat goalkeeper Glen Moss.

The penalty was awarded following a handball from Phoenix defender Cleberson – who was left with little choice after facing a 2-on-1 attack from Allsopp and Archie Thompson.

Moss was between the sticks for Phoenix after first-choice keeper Mark Paston suffered a concussion at training during the week.

Allsopp’s goal followed an impressive interchange between himself, Joe Keenan and Thompson with Allsopp burying his goal with a neat one-touch shot on 60 minutes.

With expectations for Wellington’s fortunes looking lost, Ricki Herbert made a number of inspired changes following Allsopp’s goal.

Jeremy Christie made way for Brazilian Felipe soon after, while Vaughan Coveney was also replaced for Royce Brownlie.

Felipe’s introduction into the match would prove most telling, with his inspirational play and creative flair causing immediate problems for Melbourne’s defence.

With a victory in sight, Ernie Merrick then made substitutions of his own with Adrian Caceres replacing Archie Thompson. Minutes later however, the match came alive with an amazing finish from the home side.

Daniel, who earlier failed to equalise from a spot kick, was the first to score for Wellington after heading home a corner kick on 78 minutes.

With momentum behind them, Wellington’s equaliser came just six minutes later when Shane Smeltz looped home a header over Victory keeper Michael Theoklitos.

As the home crowd rose to their feet for a grandstand finish, Wellington then pressed hard for the remainder of the match for what would have been the most unlikely of wins.

While both sides had opportunities to snatch a victory in the closing moments, it was Wellington who looked most impressive and came closest.

In particular, both Royce Brownlie and Shane Smeltz had chances to win the match for Wellington but ultimately missed.

Wellington will be buoyed, particularly by their pulsating second-half performance, with the result and look to be fulfilling the promise of being a better operation overall than the defunct New Zealand Knights.

Melbourne, who were stronger in the first half, will now need to re-group following the heartbreak of allowing the win to slip away and will be hoping that the knee injury Ljubo Milicevic sustained after just 30 minutes does not prove too damaging.