Phoenix star sent off after heated scrap with opponent

Football Fern Emma Rolston saw red as the Wellington Phoenix fell to a 2-0 defeat to the Perth Glory in their A-League clash in Western Australia.

Both teams had to play the majority of the match with 10 players after Phoenix forward Rolston and Glory midfielder Ella Mastrantonio were both sent off for a heated clash in the 34th minute.

The altercation started when Mastrantonio kicked a prone Rolston after she was brought down in a tackle.

Rolston got up and reacted by trying to push Mastrantonio away as both players got into a scuffle, ending with the Kiwi forward pushing her hand into her opponent’s in the face.

Referee Casey Reibelt sent both players off, with Rolston now set to miss the Phoenix’s next clash at home to Canberra United next Sunday.

The Phoenix were already down 2-0 before the red cards as they were punished for a couple of early mistakes in the opening quarter of an hour.

American striker Cyera Hintzen scored from the Glory’s first shot in the sixth minute.

Perth then earned a penalty in the 13th minute and Susan Phonsongkham converted from the spot.

Despite their best efforts when it was 10 against 10, Wellington were unable to unlock the Perth defence and find a way back into the match.

“We got punished for two mistakes which … we’ve got to hold ourselves accountable for,” Phoenix head coach Natalie Lawrence said after the game. “We need to stop making these mistakes that are leading to these goals and start taking our chances as well.”

Lawrence refused to blame the longest road trip in a professional women’s football league for the result.

“We knew that the travel was going to be tough, we knew that the heat was going to be tough and we prepared as much as we could for it.

“There’s some fatigue amongst the girls [and] there’s a little bit of jet lag, but that’s not really an excuse that we’re willing to hide behind.

“New Zealand is where we want to be and where we want to be based and travel is part of it.”

The defeat means the Phoenix remain the only winless side in the league and are now six points adrift at the bottom of the table, with just one point from eight matches.

Lawrence felt the team “dominated” after the two red cards.

“We had more possession, we had better pass completion, we’ve had more shots, we’ve had more final third entries again than any other game this season so we’re building and getting better and better.

“Game eight and yeah one point on the board but … we believe that we’ve still got 10 games to fight for.

“As long as we keep sticking to our process then we believe the outcome will happen.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission