Wellington Phoenix FC–Western United FC rivalry

The Wellington Phoenix FC–Western United FC rivalry is a rivalry between New Zealand club Wellington Phoenix and Victorian club Western United.

Wellington Phoenix FC–Western United FC rivalry
TeamsWellington Phoenix
Western United
First meeting13 October 2019
A-League
Wellington Phoenix 0–1 Western United
Latest meeting17 February 2023
A-League Men
Western United 0–3 Wellington Phoenix
StadiumsSky Stadium (Wellington Phoenix)
AAMI Park (Western United)
Statistics
Meetings total12
Most winsWellington Phoenix (8)
Top scorerJaushua Sotirio
Ben Waine
(3 each)
All-time seriesWellington Phoenix: 8
Drawn: 1
Western United: 3
Largest victoryWellington Phoenix 3–0 Western United
(22 May 2021)
Western United 0–3 Wellington Phoenix
(17 February 2023)

History

Beginning of rivalry

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

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

Wellington Phoenix vs. Western United
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
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

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 Australia Jaushua Sotirio Wellington Phoenix 3
New Zealand Ben Waine Wellington Phoenix
2 England David Ball Wellington Phoenix 2
Kosovo Besart Berisha Western United
Mexico Ulises Dávila Wellington Phoenix
Italy Alessandro Diamanti Western United
Bulgaria Bozhidar Kraev Wellington Phoenix
Australia Steven Lustica Western United
Serbia Aleksandar Prijović Western United
Mexico Gael Sandoval Wellington Phoenix
Poland Oskar Zawada Wellington Phoenix

Summary of results
As of 17 February 2023[3]
Competition Matches played Wellington wins Draws Western United wins Wellington goals Western United goals
League 117132311
Australia Cup 110010
Total 128132411

Players who have played for both clubs

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
Name Pos Wellington Phoenix Western United
CareerAppsGoals CareerAppsGoals
Kwabena AppiahFW 2015–16171 201961
Filip KurtoGK 2018–19260 2019–21360
Max BurgessMF 2018–19230 2019–21256
Andrew DuranteDF 2008–192814 2019–21452
Jacob TrattDF 2016–17200 2022–61

Highest attendances
  • 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
  1. "The Birth of a Rivalry: The Welly Nix vs Western United". theniche-cache.com.
  2. "Western United make history after winning start in Hyundai A-League". Western United FC. 13 October 2019.
  3. "Wellington Phoenix » Record against Western United". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  4. "Player Statistics". ALeagueStats.com. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
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