[ad_1]
At Coopers Stadium, Adelaide: Adelaide United 5 (Scott Wootton own goal 16’, Luke Jovanovic 23’, Lachlan Barr 51’, Hiroshi Ibusuki 62’, Craig Goodwin 71’) Wellington Phoenix 1 (Alex Rufer pen-54’). HT: 2-0
You could be forgiven for thinking Sky Sport was showing a Wellington Phoenix blooper reel if you flicked onto channel 57 at 9.45pm on Friday.
A miss of the season contender from striker Kosta Barbarouses and a Scott Wootton own goal, the result of a howler from goalkeeper Oli Sail, consigned the Phoenix to a comically bad 5-1 defeat to second-place Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium on Friday night – their worst defeat of the A-League Men season.
The Phoenix were missing top scorer Oskar Zawada, who was at home awaiting the birth of his first child, and although his absence was sorely felt in a match where they actually out-shot Adelaide 19-14, even he would have saved this mess.
The Phoenix fell behind through friendly fire in the 16th minute. Centre-back Wootton tried to chest the ball back to his goalkeeper from Zac Clough’s cross, but the ball went straight through Sail’s hands.
Sail, who has confirmed he will be leaving for Perth Glory next season, did not cover himself in glory on Adelaide’s second goal either.
He parried Jay Barnett’s header but 17-year-old Luke Jovanovic was on hand to score on the rebound, doubling Adelaide’s lead in the 23rd minute.
But just when you thought it could not get any worse, Barbarouses somehow managed to hit the post with the goalkeeper out of play.
Barbarouses bumped Joe Gauci off the ball after the goalkeeper took a heavy touch away from the goal.
Although a defender had got back to cut off the near post option, all Barbarouses had to do was square a pass to team-mate Bozhidar Kraev and the Bulgarian could have walked the ball into the goal.
Sarah Reed/Getty Images
Phoenix striker Kosta Barbarouses pinches the ball off Adelaide goalkeeper Joe Gauci.
Alternatively he could have cut inside on his left and scored himself. But instead Barbarouses, who replaced Zawada in the only change to the starting 11, opted for a right-footed toe poke and struck the right post.
Kraev smacked his hand against the goal in frustration, while Barbarouses hunched over in disbelief, probably wishing he could rewind time.
Lachlan Barr made it 3-0 to the home team when he leapt high and put away Craig Goodwin’s corner kick in the 51st minute.
The Phoenix managed to pull one goal back through an Alex Rufer penalty three minutes later, after Yan Sasse was tripped in the box.
Despite being two goals down, Rufer celebrated by raising his finger to his mouth to silence the Adelaide supporters behind the goal.
Sarah Reed/Getty Images
Kosta Barbarouses reacts after his shocking miss.
The ruthless Adelaide restored their three-goal buffer when Goodwin got in behind and Louis D’Arrigo squared a pass for replacement striker Hiroshi Ibusuki to finish off a sweeping attack that begun from their own goalkeeper in the 62nd minute.
Adelaide’s fifth goal came when Goodwin got in behind again, in the 71st minute. Keen to get in on the act himself, the Socceroos star cut inside on this occasion and curled the ball past Sail to complete the rout.
Adding to the Phoenix’s misery, on a night where they just could not score from open play, Sasse struck the post again before the game was done.
Although the heavy defeat has dealt a blow to Phoenix’s hopes of finishing inside the top two, they remain firmly in the playoff picture.
They sit fifth on 31 points, four clear of Sydney FC and six ahead of Western United, and while both teams will have opportunities to close the gap over the weekend, the Phoenix cannot drop out of the top six.
[ad_2]