Adelaide United's super start to the A-League Women's season has continued in Wellington, where the Reds ground out a 1-0 win over the Phoenix.
Mackenzie Barry's own goal after 21 minutes settled the contest, with Adelaide worthy winners despite a lack of clear-cut chances.
It was scrappy stuff but enough to put United on top of the A-League Women's table, at least until Saturday's other matches were competed.
A slippery surface at Sky Stadium, which hosted thousands at a Guns N' Roses concert less than 48 hours earlier, meant Jenna McCormick's 100th A-League Women hit-out was not a classic.
Unfortunately for Barry, her attempted clearance from Chelsea Dawber's centre sliced past goalkeeper Brianna Edwards and won it for the Reds.
The defender was in tears on the final whistle, with Phoenix coach Natalie Lawrence needing to console her.
"There was a lot of emotions with a lot of the players," Lawrence said.
"The morale is always it's always hard when you're not picking up points. But there's belief in the squad that we will and I know we will."
The game opened up late as Wellington chased their first point of the season, with Edwards on hand to keep the Phoenix in it.
When Dawber's through-ball sent Paige Hayward's clear, Edwards produced a smart save from the one-on-one to keep the match in the balance.
Unfortunately for the winless Nix, they produced just six shots all match to Adelaide's 17, and were particularly toothless in the second half.
They stay rooted to the foot of the league, while Adelaide go marching on.
Traditionally one of the competition's weaker sides, the Reds under Adrian Stenta look like finalists for a second-straight campaign.
In five matches to date they've won four, all 1-0, including a first-up win against powerhouses Sydney FC.
United's only loss was to Western United, a 2-1 defeat when they conceded in the 91st and 97th minute.
Stenta said he was happy with the clean sheet but thought his side had another gear.
"We've just got to try and find a way to score more than one goal because whenever you've got that slender lead, you invite pressure," he said.
"But we are a very difficult team to score against. And that makes me happy as a former defender."
