The Wellington Phoenix will be without Tim Payne for their next match, with the defender sent off in the side’s 2-2 draw against the Perth Glory in Palmerston North on Saturday.

Payne was sent from the field for being deemed to have denied the visitors a clear goal scoring opportunity – after a lengthy VAR delay – when he made contact with Glory striker David Williams as Perth were surging up the pitch, causing Williams to hit the turf.

The Phoenix defender was initially shown a yellow card, which was upgraded after referee Lachlan Keevers consulted the sideline monitor.

It was a contentious decision as there appeared to be minimal contact and several other defensive players in the area, and one that ultimately proved costly for the Phoenix.

“It’s not easy playing against Perth. They load the line with a lot of players,” Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay said after the match.

“I think the boys defended well and the outcome, in my opinion, was decided by the officials.

Speaking of the decision to send Payne off, Talay added: “The officials had a long look at it - probably took three or four minutes to make a decision - and decided it was a red card which I thought was quite soft.”

On a pitch that was showing the impact of recent music and speedway events at the same venue, the hosts came into the match on a three-game winning streak and were flying from the opening whistle. Within 20 minutes they had soared out to a 2-0 lead, with goals through Oskar Zawada and Kosta Barbarouses giving the home fans plenty to cheer about.

The Palmerston North pitch was showing the impact of previous events. Photo / Photosport

However, Perth weren’t kept out of the game for long. Williams, who has made a habit of scoring against his former team, hit back for the visitors just two minutes after Barbarouses’ goal.

The Phoenix held their one-goal buffer at the break, and while Perth looked dangerous on attack early in the second half, the hosts continued to hold them out – even after Payne was sent from the field in the 56th minute.

It took an impressive diving header from Williams at the near post to beat Phoenix goalkeeper Oli Sail again, with Perth levelling the scores with 10 minutes to go.

The Phoenix might consider themselves lucky to have held on for a draw, with Perth searching for the win and twice hitting the crossbar in the dying stages of the match.

“The main thing was, playing with 10 men, we didn’t lose the game and we walk away with one point,” Talay said.

“If you look at it, at the start we would’ve been happy to walk away with three [points], then when we went down to 10 men, I think we could’ve done a lot better for that second goal, but at the end of the day if you’re playing with 10 men you end up being happy with one point.”