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Australian A-League

Feb 8, 2015 at 6am UK

Western Sydney Western Sydney Wanderers
2-0
Wellington Wellington Phoenix

Rukavytsya (18'), Santalab (91')

FT(HT: 1-0)

Match Report

Football

Western Sydney Wanderers see off Wellington Phoenix to end winless run

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 08 February 2015

Goals from Nikita Rukavytsya and Brendon Santalab help Western Sydney Wanderers on their way to a 2-0 A-League victory over Wellington Phoenix at the Parramatta Stadium.

Western Sydney Wanderers picked up their first A-League victory of the season at the 14th attempt by edging out Wellington Phoenix 2-0 at the Parramatta Stadium.

The 2014 Asian Champions League winners have struggled to get going domestically this campaign, but goals from Nikita Rukavytsya and Brendon Santalab were enough to get Tony Popovic's side off the mark in win column.

Mark Bridge and Matthew Spiranovic of the Wanderers celebrate at full time following the round 16 A-League match between the Western Sydney Wanderers and the Wellington Phoenix at Sportingbet Stadium on February 8, 2015 © Getty Images

It was the visiting side who made the better start to the contest as Michael McGlinchey looked to pick out Roy Krishna with a precise pass, although the forward's first touch was a little too heavy and the chance went begging.

Rukavytsya then found a way through for the division's bottom side, latching onto Mateo Poljak's knockdown before turning on the ball and firing home.

Wellington came close to levelling things up prior to the interval when Roly Bonevacia shot narrowly wide, while The Nix continued to take control of things for large parts of the second half.

Bonavecia saw appeals for a penalty turned down 10 minutes from time when claiming that his free kick hit an opponent's hand inside the area, but Wanderers got away with it and remained compact at the back.

Having soaked up a lot of pressure, Sydney managed to strike a killer blow in added time when Santalab made the most of some space at the back post to convert Nick Kalmar's cross.

Wanderers are now within a point of Newcastle Jets at the bottom of the table, while Phoenix remain in fourth place after missing the chance to close the gap on leaders Perth Glory.