Wellington Phoenix dominated for much of the match and were 2-0 up, but Western United scored three times in the last 25 minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat on Sunday.
The home team kicked off on a picturesque Wellington day, with both teams getting off to a slow, scrappy start.
The first glimpse of excitement came in the 12th minute, when a failed Jamie Young clearance gave Wellington a chance, which they failed to take, losing the ball.
Another chance came from a United corner, with Wellington counter attacking. Oskar Zawada beat a few opposition players and laid the ball of to Bozhidar Kraev, who missed the target.
Wellington finally converted a chance in the 22nd minute when Zawada took advantage of a defensive mistake, scoring a left footed shot in the bottom corner to score his first goal for Wellington and put them up 1-0.
In the 37th minute, a slip from Young put Western United under major pressure and Zawada ran into the penalty box before being fouled by Joshua Risdon, giving Wellington a chance to go up 2-0 with a penalty.
Kosta Barbarouses went up to the spot and went bottom right, but Young deflected it wide to rectify his own mistake.
The first half ended 1-0, with Western United lucky they weren’t losing by a lot more after several defensive mistakes.
The away side started the second half well with Lachlan Wales getting a one-on-one chance that Oli Sail saved in the 49th minute.
Wellington got their second goal 10 minutes later, when Kraev scored a superb volley off a failed free-kick clearance, giving the hosts some much-needed breathing room.
This was until the 63rd minute, when defender Jacob Tratt scored a clinical bottom-corner header off a corner to make it 2-1, giving the visitors some hope of salvation.
Just 15 minutes later, Western United almost had their equaliser, when substitute Alessanadro Diamanti fired a volley just wide of the goal.
It looked like the late goal could be the catalyst in Western United turning their season around and it was, with Aleksander Prijovic scoring a header in the 84th minute to equalise for the reigning champions and make it 2-2.
There were five minutes of added time and the visitors with their newfound momentum helped them to score in the 94th minute from a Diamanti free-kick, giving the side their first win.
This match has major ramifications for the ladder, with Western United moving off the bottom of the ladder and the Phoenix staying in seventh.
The A-League Men now has a one month international break due to the World Cup.
When fixtures resume, Wellington goes away to play Western Sydney Wanderers, meanwhile Western United fly away to face Perth Glory.
 Wellington Phoenix 2 (Zawada 22’, Kraev 59’)
Western United 3 (Tratt 63’, Prijovic 84′, Diamanti 94’)
Sky Stadium
Referee: Tim Danoskos
Assistant Referees: Isaac Trevis and Andrej Griev                           Fourth Official: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh
Home Team: Oliver SAIL (GK), Scott WOOTTON, Steven UGARKOVIC, Kosta BARBAROUSES (David BALL 54’) , Benjamin OLD (Oskar VAN HATTUM 76’), Oskar ZAWADA (Benjamin WAINE 54’), Bozhidar KRAEV, Callan ELLIOT, Sam SUTTON, Joshua LAWS, Clayton LEWIS
Unused subs: Alexander PAULSEN (GK), Nicholas PENNINGTON, Yan SASSE
Western Sydney Wanderers: Jamie YOUNG (GK), Leo LACROIX, Lachlan WALES (Dylan PIERIAS 79’), Dylan WENZELL-HALLS (Nicolas MILANOVIC 46’) , Connor PAIN (Alessandro DIAMANTI 66’) , James TROISI, Benjamin GARUCCIO, Joshua RISDON, Jacob TRATT, Rhys BOZINOVSKI (Alexander PRIJOVIC 66’), Neil KILKENNY                                              Unused subs: Ryan SCOTT (GK), Sebastian PASQUALI, Benjamin COLLINS
Feature Image Credit: Western United
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