Wellington Phoenix have suffered a blow to their A-League playoff prospects, with a 3-1 loss to Melbourne Victory.
Locked 1-1 at halftime, the Melbourne side scored twice in the second half, including a penalty to Jake Brimmer and a clincher from former Phoenix winger Marco Rojas, to climb to second on the competition table.
The result leaves the Phoenix in fifth with two games remaining, one point behind Adelaide for a home playoff fixture and four points clear of seventh-placed Macarthur FC for a spot in the post-season, with two games remaining.
"There was a bit of controversy within the game," said Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay. "At the end of the day it is what it is - it's a game that we've lost.
"I thought the boys did well to get themselves back into the game at 1-1 and then a few controversial decisions.
“I thought the boys worked well today, they defended well. We had some good opportunities, even when it was 2-1, where we could have equalised again, but at the end of the day, we lost the game."
The Phoenix goal came from a second-chance penalty to Gael Sandoval, after Reno Piscopo had a spot-kick saved for a handball in the Victory goal area, but Wellington earned a retake, when Sandoval was elbowed in the head during the resulting melee. Neither attempt was particularly convincing - keeper Ivan Kaleva saved the first and got a hand to Sandoval's, as it snuck inside the left post.
After Brimmer's go-ahead penalty, Ben Waine - a matchwinner last weekend against Western Sydney - had several chances to equalise, but could not quite convert, before Rojas put the contest beyond reach.
"We've still got two very important games to play," Talay said. "The good thing is it's still in our hands whether we make the top six or not."
The Phoenix must now take points at Wanderers on Thursday, if they hope to return to Wellington for the playoffs. Their final fixture comes against tabletoppers Melbourne City in May 9.
Melbourne Victory 3 (D'Agostino, Brimmer, Rojas) Wellington Phoenix 1 (Sandoval)
