Melbourne City missed a chance to reclaim top spot as Western Sydney Wanderers held on for a 1-1 draw at AAMI Park on Sunday.
Ross McCormack squandered a host of opportunities either side of his second half equaliser and was ultimately left frustrated by an in-form Vedran Janjetovic.
Jaushua Sotirio’s 19th minute opener earlier gave Josep Gombau a dream start in his first match as Wanderers boss and he will be the happier of the two coaches as Warren Joyce’s men failed to make their dominance count.
STORY OF THE GAME
- McCormack wasted a chance to put City ahead on 10 minutes, the striker failing to beat Janjetovic in a one-on-one after Raul Llorente coughed up possession.
- Instead, City were made to pay for a turnover of their own as Sotirio opened the scoring against the run of play.
- McCormack was unable to make the most of another good opportunity when found over the top by Nick Fitzgerland’s inventive pass.
- Janjetovic’s stellar half continued with a sharp save low to his left from Fitzgerald, before he palmed away McCormack’s goal-bound free-kick.
- The City man finally got his goal within 10 minutes of the restart, though, as he coolly stroked home from the penalty spot.
- But McCormack’s night soon turned to frustration again, spurning two free headers in quick succession.
- Tensions occasionally flared between the teams, while Riera also showed his displeasure at being substituted late in his side’s fifth consecutive draw.
GOALS
Sotirio, Western Sydney Wanderers 19′: 0-1
Oriol Riera robbed an unsuspecting Osama Malik and Llorente squared for Sotirio, who poked in at the second attempt after his initial finish came back off the post.
McCormack, Melbourne City 55′: 1-1
Llorente tripped Malik in the area, allowing McCormack to finally get on the scoresheet with a calm penalty into the bottom corner.
