Western Sydney Wanderers have moved closer to claiming the A-League Premiership, with a 2-1 win over bottom-placed Wellington Phoenix at Parramatta Stadium on Sunday.
The Wanderers extended their lead at the top of the league to five points with just three games remaining, while Wellington were essentially rubbed out of the finals race.
Marquee man Shinji Ono gave Western Sydney a 1-0 lead after just eight minutes from the penalty spot when Youssouf Hersi was brought down in the area. The Japanese midfielder sent Glen Moss the wrong way to justify his side's early dominance.
The home fans enforced a silent protest for the opening 20 minutes and, shortly after their vocal chords were stretched again, Wellington hushed them as Jeremy Brockie found an equaliser.
Brockie nipped in front of Nikolai Topor-Stanley to prod the ball home from close range after some neat work down the left from Paul Ifill. The goal took the New Zealand international's season tally to 15 goals, keeping him in touch with Central Coast striker Daniel McBreen for the golden boot award.
Wellington were on the front foot for the remainder of the first half but failed to capitalise on their dominance.
They were left to rue those missed chances as Mark Bridge netted Western Sydney's second penalty of the match following a blatant handball from Vince Lia.
A scrappy end to the match saw Wellington push forward and strike the crossbar through Brockie, but Wanderers held out for the win.
Information from the Press Association was used in this report.
