The Wellington Phoenix have snapped their winless run in the Isuzu UTE A-League on the back of a dominant first half performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Phoenix have held on to beat the Newcastle Jets 2-1 at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, after goals from Kosta Barbarouses and Kazuki Nagasawa gave the Nix a deserved 2-0 lead at halftime.
A controversial own goal midway through the second half allowed the Jets back into the game but Wellington withstood a barrage from the hosts to claim all three points for the first time since January.
Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano was relieved to have secured the team\u2019s sixth victory of the season.
\u201cSometimes when you\u2019re in those positions you forget how to win,\u201d Italiano told media post-match.
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a bit of a struggle this season and last week we probably should have picked up the three points, but I was happy to hold on.
\u201cWe were playing the score more than we were playing the game. They were throwing numbers forward and we could have capitalised. We had an opportunity to finish the game.
\u201cCredit to the boys they defended really well. They made some desperate blocks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n