Wellington Phoenix edged by Melbourne Victory after penalty overturned by VAR
Friday, 6 February 2026
At Sky Stadium, Wellington: Melbourne Victory 3 (Sebastian Esposito 10’, Nishan Velupillay 44’, Louis D’Arrigo 77’) Wellington Phoenix 2 (Carlo Armiento 39’, Roderick Miranda own goal 84’). HT: 1-1.
Wellington Phoenix will be banking on Sarpreet Singh to make an instant impact after losing 3-2 to Melbourne Victory on Waitangi Day with their returning star watching from the stands.
The Phoenix could have jumped back into the top six with a win but they remain on the outside looking in, four points adrift of the playoffs, with 10 games to go in the A-League Men season.
Singh was unveiled by the Phoenix 15 minutes before kickoff, walking out to a big applause.
But Victory killed the mood on a day where the Phoenix women beat Perth Glory 1-0 to go top of the A-League Women table for the first time in their history.
It took just 10 minutes for the visitors to open the scoring, a near-post header from Sebastian Esposito slipping through the hands of goalkeeper Alby Kelly-Heald following a Reno Piscopo corner.
Kelly-Heald was retained in goal with Josh Oluwayemi still sidelined with an ankle injury.
The Phoenix were also without captain Alex Rufer due a minor knee injury, though they are hopeful he will be back in time for the sixth New Zealand derby against Auckland FC on February 21.
The Phoenix briefly drew level when Carlo Armiento finished off a counter-attack with another ferocious finish with his cannon of a left foot.
Ramy Najjarine intercepted a pass on halfway and sprung forward with team-mates either side of him before sliding a pass for Armiento.
It took just five minutes for Victory to retake the lead. Bill Tuiloma and Manjrekar James failed to deal with a penetrating pass from Denis Genreau.
Charles Nduka was able to get a touch despite having two players on him and laid the ball off nicely for Nishan Velupillay to run through and place it in the bottom right corner.
The Phoenix thought they had been given a way back into the game at 2-1 down midway through the second half when Armiento tripped over Josh Rawlins’ leg as he dribbled into the penalty area.
Referee Jack Morgan pointed to the spot and Ifeanyi Eze was ready to take it but video assistant referee Kearney Robinson called Morgan over to the monitor for a second look.
It was presumed Morgan was looking to see whether the contact was made inside the box but he decided Rawlins won the ball fairly and overturned the decision, much to the Phoenix’s frustration.
Victory added a third in the 77th minute through a Louis D’Arrigo header after the Victory substitute wasn’t picked up by Phoenix youngster Luke Brooke-Smith and James failed to close down the initial cross from Keegan Jelacic.
The Phoenix needed something special to overturn a two-goal deficit with 13 minutes left to play.
They managed to pull one back when an Armiento corner ended up in the back of the net via Victory captain Roderick Miranda late on but a third goal never eventuated.
What they said
Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano on the defeat: “I thought we made some silly errors tonight which cost us three goals. I’m not so disappointed with the first one with the corner, it was a tough angle to score from and he took it well. The second and third goals though, they were terrible to concede.”
Italiano on the overturned penalty: “I didn’t even understand what they were reviewing. I thought it was where the contact was but then Jack came in and said it was no foul, there was no contact. It was clear contact for me when he’s actually entered the box. If they’re alluding to the fact he’s diving then it’s simulation so I don’t understand why they don’t give the player a yellow card if they think he’s diving. It was disappointing.”
The big picture
Victory’s win lifted them up to fifth, only four points behind leaders Newcastle Jets, while the Phoenix remain rooted in 10th place and have now gone three games without a win.
What’s next
The Phoenix should have Sarpreet Singh available when they travel to play bottom-place Western Sydney Wanderers next Friday night.