Wellington Phoenix 0 – 3 Western Sydney Wanderers

The Wanderers, without suspended coach Markus Babbel, were ruthless across the ditch with Alexander Baumjohann, Oriol Riera and Jordan O’Doherty finding the back of the net in a routine win.

Baumjohann opened the scoring by smashing Bruce Kamau’s lay-off into the roof of the net, before Mark Rudan’s team slowly worked their way back into proceedings.

But that work was undone when Andrew Durante was penalised for handling O’Doherty’s long-range effort, Riera stepping up to convert the resulting penalty. O’Doherty then added a goal to his fine display, finishing off a swift counter-attack by sliding the ball underneath Filip Kurto.

Wellington Phoenix

Filip Kurto – 6.5

Had to deal with the windy conditions but did well by making some decent saves.

Louis Fenton – 5

His final ball and general distribution was poor and his impact slowly faded as the game went on.

Andrew Durante – 5.5

Was dragged out wide and out of position on many occasions, as well as giving away the penalty with a handball.

Steven Taylor – 6

Wasn’t as solid as the first two rounds and needs more time to build a strong partnership with Durante and Doyle.

Tom Doyle – 6

Probably performed the best out of the three central defenders but wasn’t above average.

Liberato Cacace – 5.5

Still young and inexperienced, as well as playing in an unfamiliar wing back role. Needs time.

Mandi – 5

Sloppy in possession and his work rate dropped off completely in the second half.

Mandi tackled by Jordan O'Doherty

Alex Rufer – 6.5

Kept things ticking in the first half as well as trying to spark his team into life with strikes from long range in the second period.

Mitch Nichols – 4.5

Looked like he was just making up the numbers for his 62 minutes. Subbed.

Max Burgess – 5

A forgettable starting debut for Burgess who was largely peripheral throughout. Subbed.

Roy Krishna – 5.5

Could’ve had a first half penalty but was very isolated all night.

SUBS:

Nathan Burns – 6

Smacked the crossbar with a thumping header at the end.

Sarpreet Singh – 5.5

Struggled to make an impact as space was hard to find.

David Williams – N/A

Came on too late to get a rating.

Western Sydney Wanderers

Vedran Janjetovic – 6

Was a passenger for most of the game, only having to make one proper save off of Rufer.

Josh Risdon – 6.5

A solid display from Risdon who got forward much more and was unlucky not to score when he hit the post in the second half.

Josh Risdon and Liberato Cacace compete for the ball

Tarek Elrich – 6

Played at centre-back in the FFA Cup and did well. That was no different here as he matched Krishna for pace and worked well with Hamill.

Brendan Hamill – 6

Very solid, also dealt with Krishna well. Gets better every game he plays.

Raul Llorente – 6

Provided the outlet on the left the Wanderers have been missing. Also kept Burgess quiet.

Keanu Baccus – 6.5

Very assured in possession and fed the two men in front of him, O’Doherty and Baumjohann, frequently with good effect.

Jordan O’Doherty – 7

Was lively throughout and grabbed a well-deserved goal right at the end to put the icing on the cake for his team.

Alexander Baumjohann – 8

Sublime. Empathically put away the opener and was all over the place in attacking areas. Looks like the next foreign superstar in the A-League.

Bruce Kamau – 6.5

Provided the assist for the Wanderers opener and was energetic all night. Unfortunately sustained an injury with around fifteen minutes to go.

Roly Bonevacia – 6.5

Seems far more quicker this season and was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet himself.

Oriol Riera – 7

Was everywhere, clearing corners in defence and providing excellent link-up with his midfielders in the final third. Dispatched a second half penalty too.

SUBS:

Jaushua Sotirio – 5.5

Could be a decent option off the bench in future with his pace.

Rashid Mahazi – N/A

Came on too late to get a rating.