Western Sydney winger Romeo Castelen continued his form resurgence, but he was left devastated after his team missed a chance to move six points clear of Brisbane Roar on the Hyundai A-League table.
Castelen scored his second goal in as many matches, shrugging off three Roar defenders and goalkeeper Michael Theo to put the Wanderers up 2-1 in the 78th minute of Friday night’s match at Suncorp Stadium.
But Roar pair Jamie Maclaren and Dimi Petratos hit back with two goals in three minutes to steal victory for the home side and lift Brisbane to a share of the A-League’s summit with Western Sydney on 38 points apiece.
MATCH REPORT: Roar re-join Wanderers on top after five goal thriller
Brisbane dominated the first half, but a 74th minute penalty to Andreu and Castelen’s subsequent goal looked set to offset a poor start by the Wanderers.
“We go 2-1 up and the game was in our hands, but we were not sharp enough and they punished us with those two goals,” Castelen told Fox Sports.
“It’s very sad because we came out good in the second half and we played a good second half.
“We had good intentions to win the game – and you could see that – but we were a bit sloppy in the end.”
Asked after the game if he was happy with his return to form, Castelen replied: “Yes, but it’s better if we have three points today and we keep them six points away from us.”
A win on Friday night would have pushed the Wanderers five points clear of Adelaide United and six ahead of the Roar.
Adelaide United will move into top spot if they defeat Wellington Phoenix in Auckland on Saturday.
Castelen said the Wanderers needed to regroup quickly ahead of next Sunday’s clash with the in-form Newcastle Jets at Hunter Stadium.
Mark Bridge (tightness), Dario Vidosic (hamstring) and captain Nikolai Topor-Stanley (suspension) will all push for selection.
