After losing their opening three games at WIN Stadium, Wellington claimed their first A-League point in the Illawarra following a 2-2 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday.

In an entertaining and see-sawing battle, the two sides couldn't be separated by the final whistle. Mirza Muratovic and Lois Fenton scored Wellington's two goals, while Kwame Yeboah and Bruce Kamau found the back of the net for the visitors.

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Phoenix head coach Ufuk Talay was forced to ring in the changes as the club battles an injury crisis, which includes the likes of experienced defender Luke DeVere and star striker Tomer Hemed being on the sidelines.

Talay said he had had mixed emotions following Sunday's result.

"At the end, we came away with a draw. We were disappointed conceding a set-piece goal, which we could have dealt with a lot better. And the second goal, if we had tracked the runner, it would be no problem again," Talay said.

"We went 1-0 up and I thought we set up quite well with what we wanted to do. And considering we had a lot of players out injured, I think the players that stepped in did a fantastic job.

"Tactically, we set up well and we could have executed better at times. Like I said, I'm disappointed with how we conceded, especially the first goal. But I was very pleased with our performance."

The Wanderers looked positive early - peppering the goal on several occasions - but it was the Phoenix who dominated the opening 20 minutes.

The home scored first in the ninth minute when Ulises Davila put through a lovely ball to Muratovic, whose low shot was blocked by goalkeeper Daniel Margush but the ball fortunately ricocheted to the young Phoenix's feet, and he made no mistake.

Momentum continued to swing towards the Phoenix, receiving a free kick just outside the box after Reno Piscopo was dragged down by Wollongong's Tate Russell, who was given a red card for the challenge. However, Clayton Lewis's ensuing long-range shot was too high.

Minutes later, Piscopo attempted a beautiful curling kick which struck the post and bounced away.

At the other end, Nicholas Muller looked threatening, winding up for a long-range attempt which was just too high. Keanu Baccus then had a low, firm shot which was well stopped by newly-promoted Phoenix goalkeeper Oliver Sail.

The Phoenix continued to play positive football. With about seven minutes left in the half, Davila found some space for a flying Piscopo, but his attempt was blocked by Margush.

On the counter-attack, Russell put through a beautiful pass for Yeboah, but his shot skimmed over the bar. Minutes later, Yeboah fired in a shot following an error from the Phoenix defence, but his attempt was pushed away by Sail.

After absorbing plenty of pressure late in the half, Wellington remained 1-0 up at the break.

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The first chance of the half fell to Wanderers forward Bernie Ibini, who nearly captalised on a Phoenix defensive error, but his shot was off target. Muller then had a nice low, long-range shot which was gloved away by Sail.

The Phoenix were happy to control try and control possession, however, Russell looked dangerous on the counter-attack, with his powerful strike hitting the side of the net.

Minutes later, Baccus was able to dance his way past a couple of defenders, but his attempt deflected out of a Phoenix defender.

The introduction of Kamau nearly reaped immediate rewards for the Wanderers in the 69^th minute, but his shot was well blocked by Sail. At the other end, Davila had a low-range attempt which drifted past the goal post.

But it was the visitors who hit the scoreboard next from a well-worked piece. Following a free kick, Jordan O'Doherty put in a cross to Baccus, who passed the ball to Yeboah who headed it into the back of the net.

Wellington were almost able to get an immediate response when Cameron Devlin put in a lovely through ball for Ben Waine, whose shot beat the goalkeeper. However, the linesman ruled the teenager off side.

A VAR check confirmed the decision as correct, and the score remained 1-1.

But, again, it was the Wanderers who found the back of the net again. A nice cross from Daniel Wilmering found a flying Kamau, and he scored to give his side a 2-1 advantage.

However, Western Sydney's joy was short-lived when the Phoenix completed a great set piece of their own.

From a free kick, Lewis found the head of Alex Rufer, who passed the ball across to Fenton who found the back of the net.

The score was 2-2 after 80 minutes.

Both teams continued to press hard in the final stages - including a great attempt from Russell - but the sides couldn't be split by the full-time whistle.

It will be a short turnaround for the Phoenix, who will now start preparing for Wednesday night's clash with the Victory at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.