Western United’s losing streak is finally over, after captain Josh Risdon nodded home a dramatic late winner to give his side a 2-1 victory over Brisbane Roar at AAMI Park.
Western looked set to fall to a seventh straight defeat in the league, after squandering a number of gilt-edged opportunities and falling behind with just over twenty minutes remaining thanks to a Jay O’Shea penalty on Friday night.
However, Daniel Penha, who had a goal disallowed only minutes before, smashed home a deserved equaliser from the spot before Risdon rose the highest to nod home the winner in the first minute of second-half stoppage time.
The win alleviates a heap pressure off the shoulders of John Aloisi, taking them off the bottom of the table for the time being and breathing much-needed life into their season.
It also means bragging rights for the Western boss who knocked off his brother, Ross, in the first edition of the ‘Aloisi Derby’.
Meanwhile, Brisbane missed a chance to go top of the league heading into the remainder of the weekend; instead remaining in second for the time being and could fall to as low as fifth by the end of the round.
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In a frantic opening, both sides traded chances in a matter of seconds, as Nikola Mileusnic saw his long range effort slam the post at one end; before Riku Danzaki was played through one-on-one with Macklin Freke by Penha but was denied by a smart stop from the Roar keeper.
Western began to find some momentum from there and looked to have a chance to open the scoring from the spot after Ben Garuccio went down in the box following an O’Shea challenge.
However, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) called referee Jack Morgan to have another look, and the penalty decision was waved away.
But the home side, led by Penha, would continue to cause problems. The Brazilian first rattled the crossbar with his corner, before forcing a solid save from Freke with a stinging effort from just inside the box.
Western’s wastefulness almost came back to bite them, after Louis Zabala blasted home a would-be opener for the visitors, but the Roar full-back was just offside in the build-up.
As the first half drew to a close, Penha would continue to cause all sorts of headaches and twice more he put efforts wide of the mark, first with a header from a Lachie Wales cross, before blasting over the bar after being played through by Noah Botic.
Brisbane started strongly following the interval and almost had the lead within seconds of the restart as Jez Lofthouse forced a quality save from Thomas Heward-Belle.
The second-half also saw Penha continue to chase the elusive opener, controlling the ball on the edge of the box, before firing a stinging shot along the deck that clattered the post.
Then, after the hour mark, he would go deep into his bag of tricks to try find the opener, having a bicycle kick batted away by Freke.
All of Western’s good work would be undone in an instant, as Brisbane took the lead against the run of play.
Substitute Carlo Armiento’s long range shot was parried by Heward-Belle into the path of Seb Pasquali, who took a heavy touch and collected Thomas Waddingham with his second, leading to Morgan awarding a spotkick.
O’Shea stepped up and buried the penalty, giving Brisbane the lead with just over 20 minutes to play.
It looked as if Western finally had their goal minutes after the restart as Penha completed a beautiful one-two with substitute Ramy Najjarine, slamming home a would-be equaliser.
However, the flag was raised for offside, leading to the Western boss kicking the signage board in his technical area and receiving a second yellow card.
Another Western substitute, Michael Ruhs, had an impact of his own, burying another opportunity for the home side, but it was disallowed due to a handball.
But finally, they would get their reward after Risdon’s cross was handled by Jack Hingert inside the penalty area, leading to a spot kick after a VAR check.
Penha would step up and get his deserved first goal in Western colours and the drama wasn’t done there.
With time expiring, Risdon came up from the back and nodded home Wales’ corner, cartwheeling away in celebration after giving Western a huge victory.
The talking point
Finally, the losing streak is over.
Western United boss John Aloisi and his players can breathe a little easier after they came away with a much needed three points on Friday night. Aloisi’s charges deserved at least something for their efforts at AAMI Park, creating a myriad of chances which were either saved, put wide or disallowed before finally getting the much-needed breakthrough.
It was also a first win over his brother, Ross, for Western boss John who joked post-game saying: “I don’t think my brother will invite me over for Christmas”.
Throughout this losing streak, Western have been toothless in-front of goal, leaving a lot of points on the table as a result of their wastefulness in the final third. Bar the drubbings at the hands of Western Sydney Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners, Western have been well and truly in games, but their lack of cutting edge has come back to bite them, time and time again.
But now their season has a pulse. How they back this up will be a fascinating watch in weeks to come.
The star
Daniel Penha had his best game in Western United colours on Friday night.
The Brazilian attacking midfielder was everywhere for the home side, making the most of being shifted centrally to his natural role as a No.10 instead of playing out wide where he had started the season.
Penha never gave up all evening, even after he missed a number of quality chances, continuing to ask questions of Brisbane’s defence throughout the contest.
After having a goal disallowed, he finally had the ball in the back of the net to bring Western level, kickstarting their late fightback.
Post-game, he dedicated his goal to his wife, Larissa, who is still in Brazil for her cancer treatment.
“I’m so happy,” he said on Paramount +.
“When we were in the in the change room after the first-half, the coach (John Aloisi) said to me, Daniel, don’t give up. You will have more opportunities to score.
“One was offside. After that penalty and I scored and I’m so happy to score my first goal for Western United, to help the team.
“I give this this goal for my wife because she’s still doing the treatment. She never gives up and I’m here for her… That’s really for her.
“I’m so happy to be here. But I’m still alone, and hopefully she can come soon.
“Like I said before the game. A bad day, a bad month, a bad year, A bad game, it make you strong.”
What they said
Hear from both Western United boss John Aloisi and Brisbane Roar coach Ross Aloisi in their post-game press conferences.
What this means
Western United are off the bottom of the table, leaping Perth Glory and going level on points with Sydney FC heading into the remainder of the round.
John Aloisi will be hoping getting their first three points since Round 1 can kickstart a turnaround in their fortunes, as they head on the road to face Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets to round out the calendar year.
Meanwhile, Brisbane fell to only their second defeat of the season. They are still entrenched inside the top six, but missed a great chance to go top of the table.
They return home to Suncorp Stadium to face Central Coast Mariners on Thursday night.
