The prospect of an A-League home playoff is still very much alive for Wellington Phoenix, after their crucial 1-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers at Auckland's Eden Park.
Needing to finish in the competition's top four to secure the desired return to Sky Stadium, the team from the capital produced the required outcome against their rivals, who languish near the foot of the points table, with Ben Waine providing the only goal of the contest in the first half.
"This is a big boost for us into making the finals series," said Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay. "For us, the three points were very important against Western Sydney, with a couple of results that happened in the last few games.
"We've still got three games to go where we need to pick up points, but this was a massive game for us today."
The result boosted the Phoenix into fourth, with Adelaide still able to leapfrog them with victory over Perth Glory on Sunday night. Even if that happened, the Wellingtonians would lag just one point behind with a game in hand.
The win also helped ease some anxiety over slipping out of the playoff picture, as they opened a four-point advantage over seventh-placed Macarthur FC, also with a game in hand.
Wanderers dominated possession and shots on goal, but could not convert any of their opportunities, while Waine took his chance well, after David Ball worked a smart one-two with Reno Piscopo to the left of goal and fired across goal, where Waine nudged the ball home.
Western Sydney had a chance to level the score before halftime, when Nicholas Pennington was called for handball in the penalty area, but Steven Ugarkovic lost his footing on the slippery pitch and sent his spot-kick wide.
More than 15,000 fans - the seventh biggest crowd of the A-League season - attended the team's second actual home game of the season, with COVID-19 and international travel restrictions marooning the Phoenix across the Tasman for most of their campaign.
"We're very thankful of the people that have come out today to support us," said Talay. "The support has been immense in the last two games that we've had here."
Wellington return across the ditch to face third-placed Melbourne Victory on Friday, before a return match with Wanderers and a clash with league leaders Melbourne City to wind up their regular season schedule.
Wellington Phoenix 1 (Waine) Western Sydney Wanderers 0
