Wellington Phoenix were left to rue a red card as they were beaten 2-0 by A-League football leaders the Central Coast Mariners in Wollongong.
David Ball. Photo: Photosport Ltd 2021
Striker David Ball was sent off for a dangerous diving challenge in the 27th minute, with the Wellingtonians reduced to 10-men for the rest of the match.
The Phoenix are second to bottom on the table.
Matt Simon scored first for the Mariners at the 40 minute mark, slotting home a goal from the centre of the box - his third goal in three matches - on a through ball from Marcos Ureña.
The Mariners led 1-nil at halftime and scored again in the second half to seal the result.
"I thought we started off well, got into good areas but didn't capitalise [on the opportunities] and the going down to 10 men made it difficult," said Talay.
"I thought the boys worked hard but for me it's a tough pill to swallow - going down to 10 men for 60 minutes is a lot of work for our players, but I'm comfortable with how they performed in that situation," said Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay.
"Next up we've got a few niggly injuries at the moment, but we'll have to adapt with the players that we have and put out the best team we can.
"We have the belief, we'll need to stay strong and work out ways - tweak a few things - to get the outcome that we need."
The win sees Central Coast maintain their position on top of the A-League ladder; their 18 points in eight matches this season already equalling their season total for the entire 2019/20 campaign.
With what was meant to the Phoenix's next match - against Melbourne Victory on 17 February -called off because of the five day lockdown in Victoria, the team will next face Western Sydney Wanderers in Wollongong Stadium on February 21.