Wellington Phoenix have come away from their clash against Central Coast Mariners with a 1-0 defeat, despite creating numerous chances at the North Sydney Oval.
Both sides had chances within the first minute to get on the scoresheet, but Mariners' Daniel McBreen was flagged offside following his run.
At the other end, Jason Hicks managed to pick out a long ball for the visitors, but the the ball was just nicked away in the penalty area.
Phoenix came the closest to finding the first goal in the early stages of the opening half when Stein Huysegems raced into the box to get a shot on, but his effort slammed right into the chest of the goalkeeper.
The away side began to take control of the game, but the breakthrough was made against the run of play. The Mariners put pressure on their opponents in the box until Storm Roux slid in from the side to drive the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.
In the early stages of the second half, Phoenix were awarded a penalty when Roux clipped Manny Muscat's heels in the box, allowing Huysegems to step up to the spot. The forward took his shot low and hard towards the right bottom corner, but Liam Reddy chose the correct side to save the penalty and keep Mariners' one-goal lead.
Phoenix continued their attacking surge, but Kenny Cunningham and Huysegems were left red-faced when both players failed to latch onto a loose ball in the box following a deflection off goalkeeper Ruddy.
Despite numerous chances to score, the visitors failed to take their opportunities, leaving them with another defeat under their belts.
Danielle Joynson
