Wellington Phoenix smash five past Newcastle Jets

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:46 am

Wellington celebrate Roly Bonevacia's goal.
Wellington celebrate Roly Bonevacia's goal.
Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Wellington have roared into life in the A-League with a 5-0 win over Newcastle at Westpac Stadium -- despite missing players to international duty.

First-half goals from Kosta Barbarouses and Gui Finkler set up the win for the Phoenix. Matthew Ridenton added a third early in the second half before Jets defender Jason Hoffman completed a miserable return from a suspension with an inexplicable 66th minute own goal.

Roly Bonevacia put the icing on the cake for the hosts with the fifth goal, on 86 minutes.

Wellington went into the match just one point ahead of eighth-placed Newcastle and without top scorer Roy Krishna. They still managed their most prolific performance of the season, adding insult to injury by keeping the Jets scoreless for the second time in three matches.

The Phoenix remain seventh, five points adrift of a finals spot with three games remaining.

Wellington celebrate Roly Bonevacia's goal.
Wellington celebrate Roly Bonevacia's goal.
Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Wellington started with real intent, creating a flurry of early chances before Newcastle upped the tempo after weathering the initial storm.

Wellington's makeshift defence -- marshalled in the middle by Marco Rossi and Dylan Fox in the absence of skipper Andrew Durante -- proved solid, although both Andrew Nabbout and Hoffman looked threatening early on.

Wellington's hard-working midfielders set up the 24th minute goal that broke the deadlock. Vince Lia's long pass found Barbarouses, who turned his defender inside-out and unleashed a stinging right-foot strike into the bottom left-hand corner, for his fifth goal of the season.

Barbarouses featured 12 minutes later in Wellington's second, swinging in a cross from the left for Gui Finkler to head home at the near post.

Ridenton, on at half-time for the injured Ryan Lowry, extended the lead on 49 minutes after a Dylan Fox header, from a Finkler corner, crashed off the crossbar and was only cleared by Nabbout to his feet.

Under no pressure, Hoffman incredibly knocked Hamish Watson's left-wing cross past stranded goalkeeper Jack Duncan before Bonevacia's low effort took a slight deflection on its way into the net.

The defeat all but ended the Jets' slim finals hopes.