Wellington Phoenix draw 1-1 with Melbourne Victory after offside controversy

At AAMI Park, Melbourne: Wellington Phoenix 1 (Damien Da Silva own goal 41’) Melbourne Victory 1 (Ryan Teague 14’). HT: 1-1

Wellington Phoenix have escaped from an utterly chaotic A-League Men match against Melbourne Victory with their unbeaten record intact.

Despite failing to fire a single shot, the Phoenix clawed back from an early deficit to claim a 1-1 draw on a night of high drama after a teasing delivery from Kosta Barbarouses on his 300th appearance was directed behind for an own goal by Victory captain Damien Da Silva.

Victory totally bossed the match, yet incredibly, the Phoenix will be the ones who feel like they should have won after they were controversially denied a penalty on the cusp of halftime.

Moments after allowing the Phoenix back into the game, Da Silva thought he had given away a penalty following another costly mistake.

Referee Shaun Evans pointed to the spot after Da Silva shouldered Nicholas Pennington in the back in the penalty area while competing for a header.

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Nicholas Pennington was judged to have been offside before he was fouled in the penalty area.

Oskar Zawada stood over the ball and was ready to take the penalty, only for the Video Assistant Referee to come into play.

The penalty was overturned for offside upon review, although replays showed there was barely anything in it, raising questions whether VAR should have intervened at all given it was not a clear and obvious error.

There was more drama to come in the second half.

Evans pointed to the spot for a second time after Phoenix left-back Lukas Kelly-Heald was judged to have handled the ball while attempting to clear a cross into the box.

However, that decision was also overturned following VAR intervention after replays showed the ball had struck the point of Kelly-Heald’s shoulder, rather than his arm.

The Phoenix thought they should have had a penalty earlier in the match when Bozhidar Kraev was pushed in the back by Daniel Arzani, but Evans did not whistle for a foul.

The Phoenix were under the pump for the entire 90 minutes, and offered nothing in the way of goal-scoring chances.

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Phoenix captain Alex Rufer dives in to stop Victory winger Nishan Velupillay.

Victory put up a staggering 18 shots and had 12 corners while the Phoenix managed 0 shots and 0 corners.

But Giancarlo Italiano’s men weathered the storm to claim a massive point on the road at a venue where they have traditionally struggled, thanks to some desperate defending.

Midfielder Ryan Teague gave Victory the lead in the 14th minute when he ran through unmarked after Jason Geria squared a ball from the right.

Da Silva’s 41st-minute own goal came after a rare Phoenix attack. Tim Payne pushed forward from right-back and released milestone man Barbarouses, who became the eighth player to play 300 A-League Men matches.

The former Victory player was booed throughout, but he got the last laugh when his cross, intended for Oskar Zawada, who was lurking at the back post, was put into the back of the net by Da Silva.

Somehow, the Phoenix remain unbeaten after the first four rounds of the new season, continuing their best-ever start.

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And breathe. The A-League Men will now break for the international window, with Alex Paulsen, Finn Surman and Tim Payne joining up with the All Whites for their friendlies against Greece and the Republic of Ireland in Europe. The Phoenix’s first game back is against Melbourne City at Auckland’s Go Media Mt Smart Stadium on November 25.