A stunning goal from Gabriel Cleur capped off an excellent come-from-behind Isuzu UTE A-League win for Western Sydney Wanderers as they defeated local rivals Macarthur Bulls 2-1 at CommBank Stadium.
After a competitive first-half, it was the Bulls who finally made the breakthrough early in the second 45 minutes on Sunday as defender Anthony Pantazopoulos steered the ball over his own goal line after connecting with Harrison Sawyer’s header.
Now level, the Wanderers took the lead in the 77th minute in spectacular fashion as defender Cleur lashed a stunning half-volley into the top corner from the edge of the box.
The result means the Wanderers remain in eighth spot on the ladder but crucially now level on points with sixth-placed Sydney FC after snapping a run of three straight losses on home soil.
For Macarthur, defeats means they too remain outside the finals positions but are also level on points with Sydney FC.
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Making his first ever Isuzu UTE A-League appearance, Bulls defender Kevin Boli almost scored a spectacular scissor kick on debut but his effort was blocked on the line by Alex Bonetig before keeper Lawrence Thomas then smothered the loose ball.
The home side were inches away from opening the scoring in the 14th minute as defender Pantazopoulos glanced a header narrowly wide of the far post from what was a well-worked set-piece routine.
With the Bulls seemingly playing to the aerial strength of Sawyer, Jakolis pounced first on the big forward’s knock down but blazed his shot high over the bar before the Wanderers then wasted a glorious chance at the other end.
Sent through on goal after combining well with Borrello, Bozhidar Kraev opened up his body and curled a low shot towards the far post which narrowly missed the target – much to the dismay of the arriving Milanovic who wanted the ball squared for a simple tap-in.
Having set-up Kraev moments earlier, Borrello was then sent through on goal by Sapsford but the Socceroo saw his effort well-saved by Bulls keeper Filip Kurto.
The Bulls felt aggrieved in the 34th minute as Sawyer was seemingly brought down inside the box in a tangle with Pantazopoulos with replays showing the defender had a hold of the forward’s shirt, however play-on was the decision from referee Alireza Faghani.
Sapsford then saw a curling effort from outside the box palmed away by the ever-reliable Kurto as the home side looked to open the scoring before half-time.
The Wanderers looked to up the ante at the start of the second stanza with Jack Clisby sending a rasping low drive towards goal which was well saved however it was the Bulls who would find the breakthrough.
Beating Josh Brillante down the right, Jakolis picked out Sawyer inside the box and while the target man’s header wasn’t goal-bound it did flick off the thigh of the retreating Pantazopoulos before bouncing over the line for an own-goal
Looking to respond immediately Sapsford then had a great chance to level the scores however the forward fired high over the bar without working Kurto.
Now using his size to good effect, Sawyer thought for all the world he’d bagged his first Isuzu UTE A-League goal as he glanced a header towards the bottom corner only to see Thomas spring to his left and produce a world class save to keep it at 1-0.
The Wanderers did have their equaliser though and it came from the boot of the prolific Milanovic in the 67th minute.
Played in by a lofted ball over the defence from Cleur, Milanovic slotted the ball beyond the advancing Kurto and while the goal was initially chalked off for offside, replays showed the 23-year-old was level with the last defender and the Wanderers were back on level terms.
Having laid on the equaliser, Cleur then fired his side in front with an absolute rocket from 25-metres out.
Cushioning the ball in front of him, the full back was afforded time and space on the edge of the Bulls’ box and promptly slammed a dipping half-volley beyond the diving Kurto and into the back of the net.
Desperately searching the equaliser, Bulls forward Sawyer saw two chances go begging as the away side through everything at a Wanderers backline looking to preserve their lead.
The Wanderers then had a glorious chance to put themselves at ease deep into stoppage time but Aydan Hammond pulled the ball wide of the target after he was sent through one-on-one with Kurto.
