Wellington Phoenix produce Oskar-winning performance against Brisbane Roar

At Kayo Stadium, Redcliffe: Wellington Phoenix 1 (Oskar Zawada 65’) Brisbane Roar 0. HT: 0-0

Oskar winner.

For the second game in a row, Polish striker Oskar Zawada scored the match-winning goal for Wellington Phoenix.

The in-form target man’s 65th minute goal from a back-post header was the difference as Ufuk Talay’s team overcame a couple of notable absences to beat Brisbane Roar 1-0 at Kayo Stadium in Redcliffe on Saturday.

After a few of near misses from both teams, Zawada broke the deadlock when he nodded home a controlled header from close range after being picked out by left-back Lucas Mauragis midway through the second spell.

The result saw the Phoenix to rise to fourth place on the A-League Men ladder, soaring above the Roar and Macarthur to guarantee they will finish the weekend inside the top six.

The 1.92m-tall Zawada is proving a handful for A-League defenders.

He also scored the winner in the Phoenix’s crazy encounter against Sydney FC last weekend and is now the team’s joint top goal-scorer with Bozhidar Kraev with five goals.

Four of his goals have come in his last five appearances.

Zawada needs just one more goal to match his most prolific season as a professional player, after bagging six goals in 23 goals for Polish club Wisla Plock in 2018-19.

“We brought him in to score goals,” Talay said after the match. “He’s our striker.”

“Sometimes foreign players take a bit of time to adjust to their team and also adjust to the competition and I think he’s starting to realise the way we play and where he needs to be, especially when we’re attacking.

“He’s a very important player and hopefully he continues in this fashion.”

Zawada had the Phoenix’s best chance of the first half as well, but wasted his opportunity to the visitors in front before halftime.

Roar centre-back Scott Neville failed to deal with Tim Payne’s ball over the top, putting Zawada one-on-one with goalkeeper Jordan Holmes.

However, the import signing scuffed his shot, allowing Holmes to make an easy save.

The Phoenix were missing suspended pair Kraev and Nicholas Pennington following their red cards against Sydney, while senior centre-back Scott Wootton was a late withdrawal due to a calf injury.

Brazilian Yan Sasse replaced Kraev in midfield while Josh Laws partnered Payne in the heart of defence.

The Phoenix kept their second consecutive clean sheet but were caught out a couple of times by pacy Roar Nikola Mileusnic.

He had the ball in the back of the net early on after beating Oli Sail with a powerful shot at the near post but was denied by the offside flag.

After hitting the lead, the Phoenix brought on young centre-back Finn Surman and went to a back five late in the match as they looked to close out the game.

Roar substitute Joe Knowles let rip from near the penalty spot after turning Surman but Sail produced a huge save to deny the home side a late equaliser.

Things got heated on fulltime. Neville hunted down Phoenix substitute Oskar van Hattum and bowled him over after being clipped by the young forward, leading to a brief shoving match involving players from both sides.

However, the two teams were eventually separated, allowing the Phoenix to celebrate a well deserved win.