PHOENIX TO PLAY VICTORY IN A-LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL
The Wellington Phoenix know their opponent for their two-leg A-League semi-final after a thrilling match in Melbourne.
Melbourne Victory beat Melbourne City on Sunday in a penalty shootout to advance to the last four.
They will play the Phoenix in the first leg in Melbourne on Sunday.
The second leg will be played in Wellington on Saturday, 18 May.
Victory goalkeeper Paul Izzo saved four penalties for the Victory, three of them in the dramatic penalty shootout, during which he also scored from the spot.
The match went to the shootout after the two teams were tied 1-all after extra time.
The Victory win came despite them being reduced to 10 players in the 37th minute when midfielder Zinédine Machach, who got a red card for kicking out at City winger Leo Natel.
City were also reduced to 10, when Curtis Good was red-carded with two minutes of extra time to go.
Izzo said he didn't think he would be asked to take a shot in the shootout after shanking a shot during practice last week.
"But then the boss has just looked at me and is like, 'are you in?' - I was like, yeah."
Victory were relishing the semi-final legs against the Phoenix, Izzo said.
"I don't think there's an excuse for an empty seat next week. So we're really excited. We're so happy that we can continue this run and, you know, particularly against Wellington.
"They've gotten one over us a few times this season, so it's a perfect time to rectify that."
Premiers Plate winner Central Coast Mariners will play Sydney FC in the other semi-final, after Sydney beat Macarthur 4-0 on Saturday.
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2024-05-05T19:10:16Z dg43tfdfdgfd