The Hyundai A-League’s first champions’ early season woes have continued tonight after they allowed Ricki Herbert’s side to score twice in the first half. Branko Culina will need to go back to the drawing board after his side could not score despite enjoying the majority of possession.

At full-time, Sydney FC’s Alex Brosque said: “It’s disappointing. A lot of people come to watch us week in, week out and at the moment we’re not getting the points for them. Being close isn’t good enough. I think we’ve got good enough players to turn it around so hopefully in the next away rounds we can grind out some results.”

Sydney FC were first to score. Adam Casey put the home side up after just five minutes but Wellington hit back just three minutes later and then took the lead through a penalty that was conceded by Ruben Zadkovich.

Like the first half, Sydney could not convert a number of opportunities and the vast majority of possession. Branko Culina made a number of changes in the second-half to alter the match, but the home side could still not find the goal despite a clear chance for sub Robbie Middleby and Brosque coming close with a shot that hit the woodwork.

Wellington’s Felipe – who scored the first goal and impressed with his trickery – will this week nurse a sore knee after being forced from the field after 61 minutes. Veteran striker Vaughan Coveney was his replacement.

For Sydney, David Zdrilic’s lack of form in front of goal will continue to haunt him. Zdrilic was brought on as a replacement for Mark Rudan but had little impact on Sydney’s fortunes.

While both sides had their chances in the second half – it was Robbie Middleby’s miss that will be regarded as the one that got away. Middleby found himself alone on the left-hand side after a brilliant pass from Alex Brosque but he drove his shot directly into Glen Moss.

In the first half, Wellington’s Brazilian duo in Felipe and Daniel scored a goal apiece, after Sydney FC’s Adam Casey opened scoring on just the fifth minute. But it will be Felipe’s goal that is sure to make highlight reels for the next week.

Playing without Juninho, Sydney looked strongest in the early stages with Casey capitalising on a terrible concentration lapse from the Wellington defence. A long ball from Ufuk Talay was not cleared properly by the visitors and Casey bravely charged the ball down to put him through for a one-on-one with keeper Glen Moss. Casey made no mistake, dispatching a clean finish into the bottom left hand corner.

Just three minutes later however, Felipe’s nailed a sensational goal – easily the season’s best so far. In a brilliant show of individual skill, Felipe picked the ball up deep, threw in some stopovers before unleashing a left-footed thunderbolt into the left-side of the net. While he dove the right way, Clint Bolton was nowhere near it.

Alex Brosque also had an opportunity to score. After skipping through some Wellington defenders, the goal opened up for Brosque only for him to drive his right-footed shot straight into Moss.

Wellington’s second goal came after Ruben Zadkovich conceded a penalty on 25 minutes. While the incident may have been 50/50, Zadkovich’s nudge on Daniel left referee Matthew Breeze with little choice but to award it. Daniel then cooly converted the penalty – only to have to re-take it. His second attempt was just as cool however, making the score 2-1.

Daniel then picked up an unnecessary yellow card after kicking the ball away. His third yellow card so far this season, coach Ricki Herbert will be furious as Daniel's next yellow card will result in an automatic one-match suspension.


Referee: Matthew Breeze
Crowd: 11,491

FourFourTwo says:
Wellington Phoenix continue to show that they’ll be a force to contend with this season. They did not dominate tonight by any means, but hey... it IS only their fourth match in the league.

On the other hand, Sydney FC are nowhere near being the side they should be. They continue to look good in patches, but their woeful shots in front of goal are becoming frustrating for their fans – and the longer it goes on the more they’re going to - sadly - struggle at the turnstiles. While no team should rely on one player, they’ll now be hoping more than ever that Juninho continues his miraculous recovery.