Petrovski saves Mariners' day
From correspondents in Wellington
October 21, 2007
CENTRAL Coast striker Sasho Petrovski took advantage of a stunning defensive blunder to keep the Mariners on top of the A-League ladder with a last-gasp 2-1 away win over Wellington Phoenix.
The sides were locked 1-1 heading into injury time when Phoenix defender Jeremy Christie presented Petrovski with a gift opportunity when his attempted clearance slid off his boot and landed at the former Socceroos' feet.
Petrovski was left in a one-on-one with goalkeeper Glen Moss and calmly slipped the winner into an open net as he made amends for a pair of missed opportunities just after the hour.
The former Sydney FC striker had a one-on-one with Moss in the 64th minute only for his strike to deflect off the keeper and then off an upright before the Mariners won a penalty after Karl Dodd shoved young striker Matt Simon in the box.
Petrovski walked up to take the spot kick and promptly shot wide to the right, much to the relief of Phoenix and the 10,000-strong crowd.
Dean Heffernan opened the scoring for the visitors with a 16th-minute goal which was matched by a fine 25m strike from Wellington's marquee player Ahmad Elrich in the 24th minute.
The goal stunned both the Mariners and the Westpac Stadium crowd, Elrich surrounded by Mariners defenders and facing his own goal when he received a pass.
He turned and unleashed a shot that sailed past a diving Danny Vukovic to the top right-hand side of the net.
The loss was Wellington's third straight and it now heads across the Tasman for a three-game road trip.
Phoenix coach Ricki Herbert said the defensive blunders that gifted the Mariners their goals were inexcusable.
"It's poor at this level," he said.
"The worst-case scenario was that we'd come away with a draw and that would have been a nice turnaround for us.
"We really let ourselves down, we had the opportunity to bounce back from what's been a couple of difficult weeks."
Herbert described the first half display as his side's best of the season, and said the entire squad was bitterly disappointed that they had nothing to show for it.
"We had a lot of chances, we created some good opportunities and I thought we were decent today, but we were punished," he said.
"I think we've shown all the way along that we're as good as any team in the league, but we've paid the price for costly mistakes at critical times."
AAP
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,22623223-5000940,00.html
