The Western Sydney Wanderers travelled to Brisbane for a Christmas-Eve Eve clash with the Roar, despite hoping to get back on track after a draw & loss following the World Cup break they let the Roar back into the match in the second half with the score at full time a 1-1 draw.
Brisbane's marquee signing Charlie Austin departed the club for family reasons, leaving the Roar without their only multiple goal scoring player so far. Marko Rudan elected to retain the same starting lineup that lose 1-0 to Western United, including keeping the faith with wayward striker Suleman Krpic. As the two teams prepared for kick-off, a nitpicking official decided to inject themselves into the story by causing a 5 minute long delay due to Marcelo having a taped up ring that stubbornly wouldn't come off.
Eventually the game got underway, 7 minutes in the Wanderers created a chance down the right flank with Amalfitano and Cleur combining and giving the fullback a crossing opportunity. It was clipped in to the middle of the penalty area, Krpic was having to run backward to make contact and he couldn't get clean contact on target.
In the 17th minute an almighty goalmouth scramble resulted from a Wanderers corner, with Oli Bozanic & Tomislav Mrcela denied by desperation goal-line clearances. Bozanic wouldn't be denied a minute later, after the clearance was returned back toward the area Krpic was strong and held off his defender to give it to Borrello with a neat short pass that let him sum up the opportunity. Bozanic was steaming into the area unmarked, the cutback was precise and Bozanic couldn't miss to make it 1-0 giving the visitors a deserved lead.
Brisbane had their best chance of the half thus far with a simple cross from the right wing, curled into the centre by fullback Jack Hingert, striker Joe Knowles found the gap between Mrcela and Marceleo and made nice contact with a header but aimed it over the bar, a chance that perhaps their now gone marquee Austin would have buried.
10 minutes before the break Ngbakoto had a shot on target from a free kick, he couldn't keep it down and it grazed the top of the net. Brisbane went down the other end and Mileusnic got in behind but Knowles made his run to the near post and Mileusnic made his cut-back to the middle of the area, a miscommunication that cost at the very least a shot on target if not a goal.
The offside flag came to the rescue of Brisbane seconds before the break, Borrello was in acres of space, cut inside and finished a wicked grass cutter into the far bottom corner. A cursory VAR check confirmed the offside call and the two sides went into the break with the match in the balance at 1-0. The opening of the second half was much like the first with the Wanderers dominant, and Warren Moon didn't wait long before going for his bench to bring on Riku Danzaki.
Brisbane had another good heading chance, this time from a 58th minute corner. Armiento floated an in-swinger onto the edge of the 6 yard box, it kept Lawrence Thomas rooted to his goal line as Courtney-Perkins rose above Marcelo but once again the Roar couldn't keep their header on target, it worried Thomas but he wasn't required to make a save and it flew over the bar. Cleur picked up a card for an un-necessary professional foul on Danzaki on half-way.
Totally against the run of play Armiento had the Roar level he took what seemed like an aimless shot on target from a long distance that Thomas would have had easily covered until the ball swerved viciously before it reached him, beating him all ends up and leaving the keeper flapping at air. Romain Amalfitano looked to stop the rot in the 72nd minute, hoping for a carbon copy of the Roar goal by smashing it at Jordan Holmes, unfortunately it didn't swerve out of nowhere like the Roar shot did, but it did give the Wanderers a corner for Daniel Wilmering to take, with Marcelo giving away a foul at the back post to relieve the pressure.
Rudan reacted to the Roar's overtaking of the game by bringing on Aidan Simmons and Nathaniel Blair in exchange for Ngbakoto and Krpic then before the start of stoppage time he threw on Alessandro Lopane and Ramy Najjarine for Borrello and Amalfitano. The Roar had a heart stopper in the 91st minute, Cleur crossed to the back post, Holmes spilled the ball in the wet conditions under pressure from Najjarine, it took a last ditch intervention from Scott Neville to turn the ball out for a corner that came back into the 6 yard box where Marcelo headed over.
Adama Traore flashed a long shot wide of the post in the final seconds of the game, with the resulting goal kick the final action of the match, a strong comeback from Brisbane to keep the game at 1-1. Roar's point propelled them up to 5th place and the Wanderers was of little consequence after throwing away a potential league leading lead.
The Wanderers next match is on New Year's Day the 1st of January 2023 against Macarthur FC, in Parramatta with kick-off at 5pm.
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