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Wellington Phoenix fullback Sam Sutton vies for the ball with Sydney FC’s Joe Lolley.
At Allianz Stadium, Sydney: Sydney FC 3 (Rhyan Grant 11’ Robert Mak 86’, Fabio Gomes 90+4’) Wellington Phoenix 1 (Kosta Barbarouses 81’) HT: 1-0
Ufuk Talay has won the battle of the Wellington Phoenix coaches past and present after an uncharacteristic mistake from goalkeeper Alex Paulsen gifted Sydney FC a late 3-1 win at Allianz Stadium on Friday.
In-form forward Kosta Barbarouses looked to have salvaged a point for the A-League Men leaders, ensuring they would end 2023 at the top of the table, when he finished off a counter-attack in the 81st minute to draw the Phoenix level.
Standout Ben Old sparked the attack when he broke through midfield and released substitute Oskar van Hattum, who teed up for Barbarouses to score his fourth goal in three matches.
But just as the match looked to be heading towards a 1-1, a cheap giveaway from Paulsen saw Sydney reclaim the lead and run away with the match.
The 21-year-old kicked the ball straight to Sydney midfielder Max Burgess under no pressure and the errant pass was ruthlessly punished by Slovakian international Robert Mak.
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Kosta Barbarouses scored for the third game in a row.
Sydney striker Fabio Gomes, who played the final pass for Mak, then added a third deep in stoppage time to seal the win, giving Talay bragging rights over Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano, his former assistant.
It was just the Phoenix’s second defeat.
Sydney FC had bossed the opening proceedings of Friday’s match with Talay getting his tactics spot on against the team he coached for four years by pressing the Phoenix into submission.
The Phoenix could not handle Sydney’s aggressive defensive gameplan and struggled to play out from the back.
They fell behind in the 11th minute when the ball fell kindly to an unmarked Rhyan Grant at the far post at a corner kick after the initial header from Jaiden Kucharski took a deflection off a defender.
Sydney were unable to maintain their high press in the second half, allowing the Phoenix back into the game.
Old was a constant threat with his dangerous runs from deep, and he orchestrated the breakthrough with nine minutes to go, only for the Phoenix to hand Sydney the lead soon after Barbarouses’s leveller.
The loss has opened the door for Melbourne Victory to claim top spot should they beat Adelaide United on Saturday.
Up next
The Phoenix travel to South Australia next Thursday for a mid-week match against Adelaide United at Coopers Stadium. The Phoenix’s season ended there last season, beaten 2-0 in the 2022-23 elimination final. Adelaide finished third last season but have failed to reach the same heights since star man Craig Goodwin left for Saudi Arabia.