Wellington Phoenix 2

Brisbane Roar 2

Sometimes football is a cruel game.

The Wellington Phoenix could have won this match three or four times over – with a glut of chances – but had to settle for a 2-2 draw against a feisty Brisbane Roar side, after Scott Neville equalised in the 82nd minute.

The Phoenix had a staggering 22 shots, including nine on target, but couldn’t make hay.

They were denied by some brilliant goalkeeping, while David Ball hit the woodwork thrice in quick succession. But they also played without luck; as so many times the ball bounced the wrong way at the wrong time, especially in the penalty area.

They also paid the price for a slow start – conceding a penalty in the eighth minute – but looked likely winners after Yan Sasse put them ahead after the hour, following Oskar Zawada’s first-half penalty.

The result virtually ends any chance of a top-four finish and also leaves their playoff hopes in jeopardy. They still have their outcome in their own hands but will have to achieve positive results in their final two regular-season games, away to the Western Sydney Wanderers and Macarthur.

It wasn’t the Auckland farewell that coach Ufuk Talay would have wanted, after confirming his exit on Friday, and brought back memories of the late-season draw here two years ago, when Uli Davila missed a late penalty.

In blustery conditions, the Phoenix made a passive start. They were strangely muted – and a bit loose – and they were punished with the early concession. The Roar swiftly broke in transition, before Jez Lofthouse was caught in the area by a clumsy Sasse tackle.

James O’Shea duly dispatched the penalty with aplomb.

The Phoenix tried to respond but only got more frustrated, with Kosta Barbarouses snarling at Sasse after an errant pass. The Brazilian was symptomatic of their early struggles; often making the wrong decisions and looking down on confidence, though he wasn’t the only one.

But the Phoenix eventually got going. Zawada was wide after a charging run, before a Sam Sutton rocket stung the palms of Jordan Holmes in the Brisbane goal. There were a couple of dangerous crosses, before Ball won the penalty, drawing a foul from Lofthouse, and Zawada did the rest, angling his effort in the bottom right corner.

From there the game sparkled to life. Brisbane striker Henry Hore struck the crossbar after some delightful trickery, before a revitalised Sasse twice forced saves.

The theme continued after the break, with Zawada and Sasse going close, as the game opened up. The Phoenix had their mojo back, shown when they went ahead in the 56th minute. It was a peach of a goal, as Sasse played a perfect one-two with Zawada, before slotting into the corner.

A brilliant Oli Sail save from O’Shea preserved the lead, while a Phoenix penalty appeal for handball went ignored.

The game then went a bit crazy after that. Holmes managed a superb point-blank save from Sasse, before an angled Ball effort somehow stayed out, after hitting both posts. It was one of the most freakish moments of the season, as the ball rolled along the edge of the goalline, then was almost turned in by a defender. Ball was denied again moments later – in almost identical circumstances – then Sutton flashed a shot wide.

The chances were mounting up – as Zawada couldn’t connect with a header – before Brisbane got an equaliser from nowhere, with Neville glancing home from a near-post corner.

The Phoenix pushed hard for a winner, with their best late chance falling to Sasse, who directed his header well wide of the target, to sum up the day.

Wellington Phoenix 2 (Oskar Zawada 35 pen, Yan Sasse 56)

Brisbane Roar 2 (James O’Shea 8 pen, Scott Neville 82)