Oskar Zawada of the Wellington Phoenix. Photo: Photosport
Oskar Zawada made a successful return from injury to help the Wellington Phoenix win 2-1 away to the Newcastle Jets and take the outright lead in the men's A-League.
Polish striker Zawada emerged from six weeks on the sideline with a thigh injury to strike an 87th minute to secure their eighth win in 14 matches and climb two points clear of the second-placed Melbourne Victory.
Alex Rufer's third goal in as many games had given the Nix the early lead, which they held until 10 minutes from fulltime when the Jets equalised.
Zawada's winner off the substitute bench brought relief to coach Giancarlo Italiano.
"I thought we merited the three points. I think we had the bigger chances in the game and upon reflection in the first half we should have scored three goals," he said.
"Unfortunately we conceded another soft goal off a set piece, which we need to get better [at and] not allow teams to come into the game I wasn't happy just taking the draw."
Italiano is also happy to have some breathing space at the top of the ladder, but is refusing to get carried away.
"I keep saying this and I know it sounds cliché, but we take it game by game," he said.
"We'll reassess our goals probably in a month's time closer to the business end of the season. We've got a congested fixture list now with three games within 10 days and that'll be a big indication of where we're at."
Coach Giancarlo Italiano of the Phoenix looks on before the A League Men - Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar at Sky Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand on Saturday 4 November 2023 Copyright photo: Masanori Udagawa / www.photosport.nz Photo: Masanori Udagawa
Italiano made two changes to the side which started last week's top of the table match against Victory, with Sam Sutton and Mo Al-Taay coming into the side in place of the suspended fullback Tim Payne and midfielder Ben Old, who has been nursing an ankle injury.
Zawada and young defender Isaac Hughes returned on the bench.
The Phoenix made a bright start and led inside five minutes after David Ball was fouled at the top of the Newcastle box, allowing Rufer to step up and blast home the penalty.
Substitute Trent Buhagiar drew Newcastle level late in the second half when he deflected a shot from outside the box past wrong-footed Phoenix goalkeeper Alex Paulsen.
The Nix made the Jets pay for the let-off when Ben Old, who impressed off the bench, slipped Zawada through on goal in the 87th minute and the striker thumped a left-footed shot past Ryan Scott and into the far corner of the Jets' goal.
The Wellington Phoenix will head to the Gold Coast, where they will train in the lead-up to Friday night's match against the Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium.
