Wellington Phoenix played some good football to secure their morale-boosting 2-1 over Sydney FC tonight.
They showed a lot of enterprise, more than Sydney, and never looked overawed in the presence of their supposedly more illustrious opponents.
While Wellington gave their supporters and financial backers some reward for their good faith, Sydney fans were again left wanting.
Very light rain drifted down as the earliest supporters arrived. Pools of water lay in the stands thanks to a storm that passed through the city in the afternoon. But conditions were good for the duration of the game.
The crowd that eventually assembled wasn't as good as that which appeared at the previous home game, but they were noisy enough as the players took the pitch.
A bloke three rows behind started taking the piss out of Wellington coach Ricki Herbert and captain Ross Aloisi, but it was a tired, old joke. And by the time the game was over the Sydney supporter might have been wishing that it was in fact the other Aloisi who had been playing for Wellington.
Wellington's Filipe shone early, beating two Sydney players and setting up Richard Johnson for a shot to the left of Sydney's goal.
Things looked better for Sydney - really good, in fact - in the sixth minute when Adam Casey ran past Tony Lochhead who failed to bring down a Sydney long ball from Ufuk Talay. Casey headed the ball off Lochhead's foot and ran to goal with only Glen Moss to beat. Casey went right at first and shot across Moss, scoring inside the left post.
That could have been the beginning of the 5-0 massacre Sydney''s fans hoped for. But three minutes later Wellington answered through some individual brilliance from Filipe (helped along by some rubbish Sydney defending).
Filipe toyed with the ball on the edge of the Sydney penalty area before cutting left and evading a hopeless slide tackle and ripping the ball wide of Bolton's outstretched hand.
Sydney showed some potential going forward, usually involving combinations of Alex Brosque and Patrick but, while the Brazilian was useful on the ball, he seemed less able covering the five metres required to get to the ball. And often when he did have it he was too easily pushed off it.
Meanwhile the Wellington forwards still caused the Sydney backs some trouble.
In the 15th minute Ruben Zadkovich received the ball in space on the right and shot just over the top right corner of the Wellington goal.
Mark Milligan, supposedly tuckered out from his recent international duties, was still able to make some very quick and intelligent passes, including one to Ufuk Talay who set up Brosque for a shot saved by Moss' feet.
Then Brosque found Patrick who put a great ball through for Steve Corica who came close to getting a decisive touch.
Milligan looked good with some more clever passing. Michael Ferrante was strong winning possession for Wellington.
Brosque tried a give-and-go with Patrick but Patrick's return pass was not so good.
Then Patrick was very skilful saving possession on the left after a long cross from Zadkovich. But when Patrick followed play across the pitch he gave the ball away on the right sideline.
Jeremy Christie was good getting in the way of Corica on the edge of the Wellington penalty area. Milligan was impressive robbing Johnson.
Wellington were at least as good as Sydney at pushing the ball around. - Trying things.
In the 28th minute Daniel squared to Ferrante who pushed the ball back through to Daniel who was felled in the Sydney penalty area by Zadkovich (though a Kiwi of my acquaintance reckons he fell over the Sydney player's leg after the Sydney player had won the ball).
Daniel had to retake the penalty, after beating Bolton who dived the wrong way. The second time Bolton went the right way but still couldn't stop the shot.
Corica won a free kick, fouled from behind, and turned to referee Matthew Breeze as if to say, ''Finally! He's been doing it all night."
Zadkovich was doing okay at right back but then made a decent long run and gave the ball away.
Daniel fouled Brosque. Lochhead fouled Brosque.
Zadkovich was everywhere. Mark Rudan covered well for him, beating Shane Smeltz.
Filipe collected a good ball down the left but fell over Milligan.
In the 39th minute Smeltz made a great run into the right side of the Sydney penalty area. There were four Sydney players in the box but Smeltz got to the ball first and shot wide of the left post. He should have scored.
Milligan put good pressure on Filipe and Ross Aloisi beat Corica and put a good ball through to Daniel on the left. Rudan cleared Daniel's cross.
Talay put a lovely ball down the right for Brosque who squared to Patrick whose shot was blocked by Aloisi.
Casey, who had a reliable first half, showed a good turn of pace.
Sydney started the second half on top.
Milligan continued to impress: accepting responsibility, making tackles and delivering good short and long passes. Fyfe received a lot of plaudits, in song, from the noisy guy behind me.
Wellington had a lot of players behind the ball.
In the 54th minute Brosque ran onto a ball in the left of the Wellington penalty area but shot high.
In the 57th minute Wellington had a free kick on the left that went loose in the Sydney penalty area and Wellington were unlucky not to pounce on it.
Two minutes later Brendon Santalab and Robbie Middleby came on for Casey and Patrick. The players that came off were those that hadn't really been "doing anything''. Middleby, at least, started doing something.
In the 60th minute Middleby chased a ball down the left and crossed to Brosque who had three digs at the ball before being denied by Moss and the right upright.
Vaughan Coveny came on for Filipe in the 62nd minute and became a focus for Wellington's counter attacks. And Wellington had begun to look threatening again.
Then Brosque, on a good run from half way, fell over and appealed for a free kick.
Tony Popovic, who didn't always look up to it, played to Middleby who passed on to Milligan who put a dud ball through for Brosque.
Sydney went forward again through Brosque but then Brosque and Zadkovich fell over.
Much of Wellington's play was coming from the left, looking for Coveny in the middle.
Christie cut out a ball from Brosque to Corica that would have seen Wellington in serious trouble.
Steven O'Dor ate up Santalab and played to Smeltz on the right. Smeltz crossed to Coveny who had overrun slightly and flicked the ball wide to the right of goal.
Rudan, with a head injury and yellow card, was replaced by David Zdrilic. The noisy guy behind me, who had been calling for movement all the game, now cried, ''You've got three strikers on the park and you're all standing still."
In the 80th minute Zdrilic had two shots blocked and the ball fell for Talay further out. Talay hit a long, low shot to the left of goal.
A minute later Brosque on another good run put a good ball across for Middleby on the left. Middleby thought about his options too long and Moss came of his line to block the shot.
Don't you hate it when you go to the loo during a game and hear the crowd going nuts? Apparently Sydney almost scored twice.
In the 89th minute Middleby dropped like a stone in the Wellington penalty area. Zdrilic got his yellow card for appealing too passionately.
Fyfe was very neat evading Coveny. And Popovic, who had been pushing forward the whole game, got more desperate about it.
Middleby and Zdrilic combined on the left and Zdrilic hit a speculator over the top right corner of the Wellington goal. But Sydney didn't really get close to finding an equaliser.
After the game Sydney coach Branko Culina said his side had defended atrociously. It was not good enough, he said.
Sydney could make excuses, he said, but they had gifted Wellington the first goal. "We just simply weren't good enough. And for a team with so many good players that is disappointing. If tonight is any indication, we might be in trouble."
He said it was unacceptable that Sydney had had three games at home with only one point to show for it.
He said he might need to change the team around "because obviously something is not right - Good teams do not allow this; they fight to the bitter end."
After Sydney's goal he told his players to just control the game. 'They just didn't do it."
But he said, "I do believe in this team and will continue believing in this team. I just wish they believed in themselves and acted on it."
Ricki Herbert dedicated the result to Wellington's board, owners and fans.
He said he was not very surprised with his team's victory; he thought they should have won the week before also.
He said they planned for Aloisi to work hard on Corica and for Filipe to be in and around the penalty area. It was a decent outcome, he said.
He said the club had stability and a fantastic owner. "Now the season has momentum."
Aloisi said there weren't many teams that beat Sydney in Sydney and that "it took character to come back from a goal behind"