Wellington Phoenix have defeated Perth Glory in a dramatic penalty shootout on Matchday Three of the Hahn Australia Cup Round of 32.
Read our review of the action below.
Perth Glory 1 – 1 Wellington Phoenix (7-8 on Penalties)
Wellington Phoenix have defeated Perth Glory in a dramatic penalty shootout after a game that featured extra-time, a lightning break, and torrential conditions in Perth.
The first half was a relatively even one, with both teams showing positives in different ways. Perth dominated possession, while the Phoenix showed their youthful flair in their creativity up top.
The visitors scored first. Oli Sail in Perth’s goal was unable to deal with a clever strike from Luke Brooke-Smith. Lukas Kelly-Heald was fastest to react in the penalty area, getting to the ball fast and tucking it home to give Wellington the lead.
The home side rued their inability to convert one-on-one opportunities, with Wellington’s goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi getting the better of his opposition strikers on two occasions before the break.
Glory came out of the blocks quickly as they chased the game. They came extremely close in the 67th minute, as a header from Scott Wootton – one of Perth’s best against his former club – went agonisingly wide from a set piece.
They were also a threat on the counterattack. A quality ball in from Trent Ostler found Khoa Ngo in the penalty area, but it was called back for a foul on the Phoenix defender. The very next play, the ball came out to Taras Gomulka on the edge of the box, but he could only fire over the crossbar.
As long as Adam Taggart was on the pitch, however, Perth would have had confidence in equalising - and that confidence was not misplaced. Late in regulation time, Wellington were unable to clear their lines from a corner. A shot from Gomulka squeezed through to Taggart, whose clever movement gave him time and space in the box. He made no mistake from close range to draw Perth level.
Taggart’s goal took the game into extra-time, only for lightning to stop play minutes into additional time, requiring the players to leave the field of play for 30 minutes.
When the players re-emerged to see out the game, it was Wellington who initially came closest to scoring. They peppered Perth’s goal with a series of corners and came close on two occasions in the first half of extra-time.
Perth were inches away from a match winner after the change of ends when a defensive mix-up saw the ball trickle only inches outside the Phoenix goal.
They had another clear-cut opportunity when Josh Risdon put in a quality ball to Adam Taggart at the back post, but Taggart could not control the ball and missed the frame of the goal.
With the scores locked at 120 minutes, the players got ready for the first penalty shootout of the Hahn Australia Cup national stages in 2025.
The captains of both teams took their first penalties. Adam Taggart made no mistake for Perth, but Kazuka Nagasawa for Wellington blazed over.
Brandon O’Neill had the chance to win it for Perth with the team’s fifth penalty, but he missed the target.
On the 18th attempt of the shootout, Wellington’s goalscorer Lukas Kelly-Heald had the opportunity to win the game. He made no mistake, putting an end to a marathon of a match and sending Phoenix through to the Round of 16.
