Perth Glory's winless run has extended to a worrying nine matches after they slumped to a 3-1 A-League Women defeat to an inspired Wellington Phoenix at Macedonia Park.
Hana Lowry's special free kick from a tight angle in the 42nd minute helped level the scores at 1-1 in Friday night's match in Perth.
But the Phoenix made the most of the wind at their back in the second half, adding goals via Michaela Robertson and Macey Leigh Fraser to seal victory.
The result lifted Wellington into ninth spot on 22 points.
Glory are two points further ahead in seventh spot, but they are a shadow of the team that were unbeaten and on top of the ladder earlier this season.
Perth round out their season with matches against Western Sydney (away), Brisbane (away) and Melbourne City (home), and they may need to win two of those to secure a finals berth.
The only concern out of Friday's match for Wellington was a first-half ankle injury to Rebecca Lake.
Glory had the advantage of a huge wind at their back in the opening half, but it was Wellington who took the lead following a swift counter attack in the 24th minute.
After Wellington raced the ball forward, Isabel Cox unleashed a beautiful floating cross for an unmarked Alyssa Whinham to bundle in at the far post.
Glory used the wind to continually test Wellington's defence.
Long throw-ins into the box became the norm, with Glory coming close several times to scoring the equaliser.
But it wasn't until the 42nd minute that Wellington's defence was finally breached - with Lowry making full use of the wind to make it happen.
Lowry's free kick six metres in from the corner flag floated over the top of the waiting main pack and curled in at the far post, sparking wild celebrations.
Officially it went down as an own goal to Phoenix defender Michaela Foster given the ball took a deflection off her at the back post, but it was Lowry's magic that was the critical factor.
Wellington were back in the lead in the 56th minute when a great assist from Winham using the outside of her right boot found Michaela Robertson, who nailed the goal from close range.
In-form Glory goalkeeper Morgan Aquino ensured the damage wasn't worse by pulling off diving saves to deny Cox and Winham in separate attacking forays by the Phoenix.
But there was no stopping Leigh Fraser's 24-yard wonder strike in the 78th minute, with the goal sealing Perth's fate.
