A-League Review: Phoenix enjoy happy homecoming amid license fears

Wellington Phoenix put on a show at the Westpac Stadium on Friday as they came from behind to see off rock-bottom Adelaide United 4-2.

The New Zealand club are facing an uncertain future in the A-League after being denied a 10-year extension to their license, which expires at the end of the season. Phoenix still have the option to request a four-year extension from the Football Federation Australia (FFA).

However, returning to New Zealand for the first time since seeing their application turned down by the FFA, Roy Krishna and Roly Bonevacia led the hosts to a comfortable success.

Craig Goodwin got the winless visitors off to an excellent start with an opener three minutes in before man-of-the-match Krishna levelled a minute later.

The midfielder had travelled from Phoenix’s 1-1 draw against Central Coast Mariners on Sunday to represent Fiji against Vanuata in midweek before flying on to New Zealand for Friday’s clash.

But he and Bonevacia were pivotal, with the latter putting Phoenix in front prior to the half-hour mark before extending the lead with a stunning long-range strike six minutes into the second half.

Matthew Ridenton and Pablo Sanchez were on target for either side in the final stages as Phoenix picked up an important win following their off-field troubles.

In Friday’s other game, Western Sydney Wanderers’ impressive recent form continued with a 3-0 victory over a Melbourne City side struggling for consistency.

Mitchell Nichols, Federico Piovaccari and Mark Bridge were all on target after the break as Wanderers made it three league wins on the spin to climb to third.