The Wellington Phoenix missed the chance to cement their place in the A-League football's top four after being held to a 1-1 draw by the Central Coast Mariners at Eden Park.
Emmananuel Muscat and Richard Vernes during the A-League Football match between the Wellington Phoenix and Central Coast Mariners. Photo: Photosport
Sydney FC remain one point ahead of the fifth-placed Phoenix after recording a 3-3 draw with the Melbourne Victory.
Matt Simon scored for the Mariners against the run of play after 40 minutes, Phoenix goalkeeper Glen Moss gifting the Mariners striker the opening goal just before half-time, the All White stopper spilling a long shot right into Simon's path.
He perhaps should have added to his tally as he failed to convert an excellent chance in the second half, but Moss redeemed himself with a sharp stop.
It was an off day for the Wellington goalscorers, with coach Ernie Merrick claiming afterwards they had 21 shots on goal.
But Merrick says he's not at all worried about the result, despite watching a seemingly endless string of opportunities in front of the opposition's goal wasted in the first half.
The Phoenix's in-form Fijian Roy Krishna finally scored with 15 minutes remaining - his fourth in four games - however, Merrick's not disappointed at all with the performance.
Merrick thinks his side played fantastically well across the whole game, the shooting performance aside, the Mariners were lucky, and on another day his side would've dished out a thrashing.