Wellington Phoenix draw with Perth Glory in A-League Men after Oskar Zawada equaliser

At Macedonia Park, Perth: Perth Glory 1 (David Williams 22’) Wellington Phoenix 1 (Oskar Zawada 31’). HT: 1-1

Polish striker Oskar Zawada scored for the Wellington Phoenix for the second week in a row in A-League Men as they drew 1-1 with Perth Glory on Friday night.

His goal just after the half-hour mark came after a first-time pass from his Brazilian team-mate Yan Sasse released him in the box.

Bulgarian midfielder Bozhidar Kraev went on a surging run to set the goal up, before passing to Sasse, who was on the edge of the penalty area and made a smart decision under pressure to find his team-mate.

Perth opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when former Phoenix forward David Williams sent a glancing header past Oli Sail in goal after getting in front of centre back Scott Wootton at the near post to meet Tunisian fullback Salim Khelifi’s cross from the right.

Zawada nearly turned out to be the villain of the piece, when he headed the ball into his own crossbar while defending a late Perth corner, with Sail nowhere close to it.

Before that, he had two good chances to put the Phoenix in front either side of half time, but Perth goalkeeper Liam Reddy – another former Wellington player – was up to the task of keeping the scores level.

Sail’s biggest save came in the 66th minute, when he tipped a free kick from Jack Clisby on the right over the crossbar.

The Phoenix made the long trip to Perth on Wednesday without young All Whites attackers Ben Old (hernia surgery) and Ben Waine (illness) and also lost centre back Tim Payne to a gastro bug ahead of Friday’s match.

They are now unbeaten in three matches, with two 1-1 draws sandwiching last Saturday’s 3-1 win over Adelaide United at Sky Stadium.

The Phoenix are next in action in A-League Men on January 2, at home against Melbourne City.