Thwarted by a late equaliser and controversial handball non-decision against Brisbane, Wellington Phoenix return to their Wollongong base reaching a sink or swim moment in their season, at a rain-sodden WIN Stadium on Wednesday night.
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Phoenix meet struggling Melbourne Victory, desperately needing three points to stay in the top six race.
Wellington, staying in the Illawarra throughout the season as part of Covid-19 travel restrictions, have formed a community connection, including a meet-and-greet with refugee football program participants at the Fraternity Club.
The program has been running for three years, involving refugees in the region of ages 12-24 years from all backgrounds.
Phoenix players Charles Lokoli-Ngoy, Ulises Davila, Mirza Muratovic and Jaushua Sotirio were on hand to talk through skills and their careers and present those in the program with A-League training kits and football boots. Last week's event came before the 1-all draw with the Roar.
Phoenix's lead via former English Premier League striker Tomer Hemed was cancelled out by Roar substitute Golgol Mebrahtu's diving header in the 86th minute on Sunday.
But there was more drama when a clearance from Brisbane's Tom Aldred hit the hand of teammate Riku Danzaki, standing just a few metres away.
The Wellington players and coaches immediately called for a penalty but neither the referee or VAR official agreed.
Wellington coach Ufuk Talay had argued the incident was not accidental and was left lamenting dropping points again.
"Conceding a goal that late is disappointing and dropping two points is very disappointing," Talay said.
The game was played as part of a double-header at Newcastle where Adelaide United overpowered the Jets 4-1. The Phoenix's only win at WIN Stadium came during a double-header with NSW National Premier League club Wollongong Wolves, where they beat Perth 3-nil.
While the Victory are anchored to the bottom of the ladder, Phoenix are six points outside the finals places midway through the season. with AAP
A-LEAGUE
Wednesday (7.05pm)
WELLINGTON PHOENIX v MELBOURNE VICTORY
WIN Stadium