Phoenix rise up against Sydney

After trailing for a large part of the match Sydney looked set to make a stunning comeback when Stuart Musialik levelled the scores late in the second half, but penalty in the final minutes of regulation time sealed the three points for the visitors.
Wellington had the best of a lack-lustre first half with midfielder Leo Bertos heading home Tim Brown?s inch perfect cross to give the Phoenix the lead just after the thirty minute mark.
Stuart Musialik?s long-range finish had the game back on even  terms with fifteen minutes remaining and Sydney looked to have the ascendency, but Shane Smeltz stepped up to seal the win from the penalty spot in the shadows of full-time after FC captain Tony Popovic was judged to have handled the ball in the box.
The Hyundai A-League will now pause for the next of the FIFA breaks, and Sydney FC?s next outing will be away against Adelaide United in a fortnight?s time.
Match Details
Sydney FC  1 (Stuart Musialik 77?)
Wellington Phoenix  2 (Leo Bertos 33?, Shane Smeltz 89? pen)
Sydney FC:   20. Ivan Necevski (gk), 5. Mitchell Prentice, 6. Tony Popovic (c), 8. Stuart Musialik, 10. Steve Corica, 12. Shannon Cole (2. Iain Fyfe 62?), 14. Alex Brosque (23. John Aloisi 74?), 15. Terry McFlynn, 19. Mark Bridge, 29. Beau Busch, 31. Anthony Golec.
Substitutes not used:  1. Clint Bolton (gk), 28. Bobby Petta.
Yellow Cards: nil.
Red Cards: nil.
Goals:  Musialik 77?.
Wellington Phoenix:   1. Mark Paston (gk), 3. Tony Lochhead, 4. Jonathan McKain (c), 5. Karl Dodd, 6. Tim Brown, 7. Leo Bertos (8. Vaughan Coveny 90+1?), 9. Shane Smeltz, 10. Michael Ferrante, 13. Troy Hearfield, 18. Ben Sigmund, 25. Emmanuel Muscat..
Substitutes not used:  20. Glen Moss (gk), 11. Daniel Cortes, 23. Costa Barbarouses.
Yellow Cards:  nil.
Red Cards:  nil.
Goals: Bertos 33?, Smeltz 89?pen.
Referee:  Craig Zetter.
Crowd:  12, 856.