Wellington Phoenix FC–Western United FC rivalry
| Teams | Wellington Phoenix Western United |
|---|---|
| First meeting | 13 October 2019 A-League Wellington Phoenix 0–1 Western United |
| Latest meeting | 17 February 2023 A-League Men Western United 0–3 Wellington Phoenix |
| Stadiums | Sky Stadium (Wellington Phoenix) AAMI Park (Western United) |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 12 |
| Most wins | Wellington Phoenix (8) |
| Top scorer | Jaushua Sotirio Ben Waine (3 each) |
| All-time series | Wellington Phoenix: 8 Drawn: 1 Western United: 3 |
| Largest victory | Wellington Phoenix 3–0 Western United (22 May 2021) Western United 0–3 Wellington Phoenix (17 February 2023) |
The Wellington Phoenix FC–Western United FC rivalry is a rivalry between New Zealand club Wellington Phoenix and Victorian club Western United.
History[edit]
Beginning of rivalry[edit]
Following the conclusion of the 2018–19 A-League season, Wellington Phoenix manager Mark Rudan was announced as the inaugural manager for expansion team Western United. In the following weeks, Rudan signed three Wellington Phoenix players to the club ahead of their inaugural season; club captain and record appearance holder Andrew Durante, reigning A-League Goalkeeper of the Year Filip Kurto, and Max Burgess. Speculation abounded that Rudan solicited these players during the previous season, while all were still contracted to the Wellington Phoenix. This created animosity between fans of Wellington Phoenix and Rudan, along with Western United themselves.[1]
Early matches[edit]
The first meeting between the two teams was an A-League match on 13 October 2019 in Western United's first competitive match. The match, played at Wellington's home ground at Sky Stadium, finished 1–0 to Western United via a goal by Besart Berisha; Durante, Kurto and Burgess all played.[2]
Results[edit]
Wellington Phoenix vs. Western United[edit]
| Venue | Date | Competition | Score | Home goalscorers | Away goalscorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sky Stadium | 13 October 2019 | A-League | 0–1 | Berisha 34' | 8,254 | |
| 21 February 2020 | A-League | 2–0 | Cacace 29', Ball 90' | 7,281 | ||
| WIN Stadium | 11 April 2021 | A-League | 3–2 | Dávila 45' (pen.), Sotirio 53', Waine 90' | Berisha 32' (pen.), Guarrotxena 56' | 1,226 |
| Sky Stadium | 22 May 2021 | A-League | 3–0 | Lewis 38', Piscopo 57', Hemed 63' | 24,105 | |
| WIN Stadium | 21 January 2022 | A-League Men | 2–1 | Sandoval 16', Hooper 35' | Lustica 90' | 586 |
| Sky Stadium | 13 November 2022 | A-League Men | 2–3 | Zawada 22', Kraev 59' | Tratt 64, Prijović 84', Diamanti 90+5' | 5,203 |
Western United vs. Wellington Phoenix[edit]
| Venue | Date | Competition | Score | Home goalscorers | Away goalscorers | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mars Stadium | 28 December 2019 | A-League | 1–3 | Diamanti 89' (pen.) | Ball 41', McCowatt 55', Dávila 80' | 5,084 |
| University of Tasmania Stadium | 22 April 2021 | A-League | 1–1 | Wales 27' | Waine 7' | 2,528 |
| GMHBA Stadium | 7 December 2021 | FFA Cup | 0–1 | Waine 35' | 1,217 | |
| Morshead Park Stadium | 9 April 2022 | A-League Men | 1–4 | Lustica 54' | Wootton 29', Sotirio 32', 63', Sandoval 45+2' | 1,423 |
| AAMI Park | 14 May 2022 | A-League Men Finals | 1–0 | Prijović 10' | 3,376 | |
| University of Tasmania Stadium | 17 February 2023 | A-League Men | 0–3 | Sasse 19', Kraev 58', Zawada 64' (pen.) | 2,690 |
Fixture top scorers in the rivalry[edit]
Players in bold represent those who are currently playing for Wellington Phoenix or Western United. As of 17 February 2023.
| Rank | Scorer | Club(s) | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jaushua Sotirio
|
Wellington Phoenix | 3 |
 Ben Waine
|
Wellington Phoenix | ||
| 2 |  David Ball
|
Wellington Phoenix | 2 |
 Besart Berisha
|
Western United | ||
 Ulises Dávila
|
Wellington Phoenix | ||
 Alessandro Diamanti
|
Western United | ||
 Bozhidar Kraev
|
Wellington Phoenix | ||
| Steven Lustica
|
Western United | ||
 Aleksandar Prijović
|
Western United | ||
| Gael Sandoval
|
Wellington Phoenix | ||
 Oskar Zawada
|
Wellington Phoenix |
Summary of results[edit]
- As of 17 February 2023[3]
| Competition | Matches played | Wellington wins | Draws | Western United wins | Wellington goals | Western United goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 11 |
| Australia Cup | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 11 |
Players who have played for both clubs[edit]
Due to the rivalry between the clubs, four players have played for Wellington Phoenix and Western United since 2019. Statistics are sourced from ALeagueStats.com[4] and updated as of 26 December 2022.
Wellington Phoenix, then Western United[edit]
| Name | Pos | Wellington Phoenix | Western United | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | Apps | Goals | Career | Apps | Goals | ||
| Kwabena Appiah | FW | 2015–16 | 17 | 1 | 2019 | 6 | 1 |
| Filip Kurto | GK | 2018–19 | 26 | 0 | 2019–21 | 36 | 0 |
| Max Burgess | MF | 2018–19 | 23 | 0 | 2019–21 | 25 | 6 |
| Andrew Durante | DF | 2008–19 | 281 | 4 | 2019–21 | 45 | 2 |
| Jacob Tratt | DF | 2016–17 | 20 | 0 | 2022– | 6 | 1 |
Highest attendances[edit]
- Wellington 3–0 Western; 24,105 (22 May 2021); Sky Stadium (Wellington Phoenix home)
- Wellington 0–1 Western; 8,254 (13 October 2019); Westpac Stadium (Wellington Phoenix home)
- Wellington 2–0 Western; 7,281 (21 February 2020); Sky Stadium (Wellington Phoenix home)
- Wellington 2–3 Western; 5,203 (13 November 2022); Sky Stadium (Wellington Phoenix home)
- Western 1–3 Wellington; 5,084 (28 December 2019); Mars Stadium (Western United home)
References[edit]
- ↑ "The Birth of a Rivalry: The Welly Nix vs Western United". theniche-cache.com.
- ↑ "Western United make history after winning start in Hyundai A-League". Western United FC. 13 October 2019.
- ↑ "Wellington Phoenix » Record against Western United". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- ↑ "Player Statistics". ALeagueStats.com. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
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|---|---|
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