Roy Krishna scored his fifth goal of the season, but Wellington Phoenix were denied at least a point after a late penalty secured Melbourne City a 2-1 win at AAMI Park on Sunday night.
A deflected shot from Nick Fitzgerald spun beyond the reach of Glen Moss and gave City the lead on 44 minutes.
Phoenix reacted well after the break and duly equalised in the second half when Kosta Barbarouses was brought down in the box and Krishna scored from the penalty spot with a follow-up attempt.
City then got a penalty of their own at the other end, even though Marco Rossi and Bruno Fornaroli were both holding each other in the box. Fornaroli then stepped up to slot in the spotkick and seal a 2-1 win.
Melbourne City looked threatening early on but Phoenix goalkeeper Glen Moss made a string of vital saves to keep the home side at bay.
Referee Kurt Ams had his hands full early on, waving Roy Krishna’s early penalty appeal away after the forward thought he deserved a spot kick.
The hosts broke the deadlock just before the break when Fitzgerald carved out space in the box and fired a shot, which took a deflection off Rossi before wrong-footing Moss.
Ernie Merrick’s side came out after the break looking much stronger and in control, after enjoying long spells of possession which had City on the back foot.
Krishna found redemption after he was awarded a penalty and then eventually scored, after it was initially saved, with the striker quickest to react to the loose ball.
In the 70th minute it was City that earned a penalty when the referee pointed to the spot after a tussle between Rossi and Bruno Fornaroli in the box.
Fornaroli slotted in the penalty to make 2-1 win for City.
Phoenix created a number of good chances late on, but just weren’t able to add the finishing touch.
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