Melbourne Victory were denied an important win on Saturday night as an 89th minute goal from Brendan Santalab saw the Western Sydney Wanderers steal a draw.
REPORT: SANTALAB STRIKE SECURES DRAW
Victory had lead since the sixteenth minute after a goal from Besart Berisha, but couldn’t hold on to the lead long enough to record a win that could have sent them up the table.
The match leaves the Wanderers tied on points for top spot with the Brisbane Roar, and Victory still in the pack of teams chasing the two league-leaders.
Final score
Melbourne Victory 1
Western Sydney Wanderers 1
Melbourne Victory will be desperate to make up some points on the Western Sydney Wanderers when they host them at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night. Join The Roar for live scores from the match, starting at 7:30pm AEDT.
Victory are currently two wins behind the Wanderers with ten matches left to play in the season making this a crucial match for their chances of winning the championship two years in a row.
Currently in fifth, they’re part of a pack of five teams all chasing the Wanderers, with the Brisbane Roar closest in second.
A win tonight would not only see Victory keep pace with their fellow top six teams but would also keep the Wanderers pointless for a week and likely allow the Brisbane Roar to take top spot.
That said, a loss could prove disastrous, as it would leave them level on points with sixth-placed Adelaide United, at risk of being overtaken in the weeks to come.
The Wanderers on the other hand will also be desperately wanting to win to keep themselves on the top of the ladder in the event of a likely Brisbane victory over the Central Coast Mariners earlier today.
That win would see the Roar temporarily overtake the Wanderers on top of the ladder leaving Western Sydney in need of a draw to share the lead or a win to own it outright.
It’s going to be a big ask for the Wanderers to pull that off because they haven’t beaten Victory in Melbourne in nearly three years and have only one win from their last five against them.
Of course, that win was in the most recent match between the two, a 2-0 result at Pirtek Stadium.
Prediction: A draw will leave the Wanderers tied at the top. 1-1.
Join The Roar for live scores from the match, starting at 7:30pm AEDT.
Bob Brown
Roar Guru
Santalab the hero with 60 seconds to go.. 1-1 with time added on. Great game. 30K screaming fans for a result!
AZ_RBB
Guest
Amazing Even one slip up could be fatal. But no one seems capable of pulling away
marron
Guest
Great game. :lol: How good is this season.
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Good result for us tonight and last night. Top six is coming to the boil nicely just at the right end of the season. Maybe the closest HAL yet. Juicy next week Melbourne Derby.
marron
Guest
Guaranteed No reports will discuss how people get banned for this, and nobody complains about that The focus will be on WSW and not victory even though they had their own pyro show.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Wow What a game!! The drama. The football. The atmosphere!! Confused about the red. But how about that Vukovic bloke
AZ_RBB
Guest
Crowd 25,445
pete4
Guest
Always fancy Santalab to get one
AZ_RBB
Guest
Castelen dribbles past half the Victorian population but fails to take a shot.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Alright I'm back. WSW trail but have had a ton of chances Nichols off Santa on. Hope Popa knows what he's doing. 1-0 after 75
pete4
Guest
Interesting to see how Victory squad rotation goes once the ACL starts in a few weeks 65 mins gone WSW pushing for the equalizer
AZ_RBB
Guest
Bridge with the chance! Just across the face of goal 1-0 after 57
AZ_RBB
Guest
Sloppy football for the first time tonight. Very little to report as a result. 1-0 after 54
AZ_RBB
Guest
WSW continue to be poor in the final half even when gifted chances by Mvfc. WSW pressing hard now. But conceding plenty of fouls as a result. 1-0 after 50
AZ_RBB
Guest
Del Pierre jogs out gingerly. Mr Williams resumes proceedings. WSW start well. Thanks to some good movement off the ball and swift passing WSW win a free. Vidosic again at the end of a delivery but unable to hit the back of the net. Zappers claiming that the pitch may be to blame for the injuries tonight.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Here we go second half. 1-0 Brisbane fans for once might be very quietly cheering for Mvfc
pete4
Guest
No Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun will just have big pictures with a dramatic headline
AZ_RBB
Guest
Half time chatter from Fox. Bozza saying that Del Pierre might be the difference. Whether he comes back or not. Rudan saying that the absence of Andreu will hurt their ability to hold possession effectively. I think WSW really need to watch their set pieces. Mvfc could run away with this without even enjoying much possession.
AZ_RBB
Guest
Laughable to link the two incidents. But yeah with the lack of football knowledge in the mainstream that will probably happen
AZ_RBB
Guest
Del Pierre also went off injured. Not ideal for the home team but they are ahead and will be buoyed by that.