Auckland FC and Western Sydney Wanderers played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at a packed Go Media Stadium as young forward Nicolas Milanovic bagged his 11th goal of the season.
Despite Western Sydney dominating the first-half it was Auckland FC who led at the break; Felipe Gallegos curling his strike into the back of the net from the edge of the box after he was gifted the ball care of an errant pass by Wanderers goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas.
The visitors dragged themselves level in the 51st minute though as forward Nicolas Milanovic bagged his 11th goal of the season with a fierce low shot that caught goalkeeper Alex Paulsen off-guard.
Both sides had chances to win the game in what was a thrilling finale at Go Media Stadium with Wanderers’ Jack Clisby smashing an effort against the crossbar before Auckland skipper Hiroki Sakai was thwarted by Thomas.
The result sees Auckland FC extend their lead out to eight points at the top of the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder.
As for the Wanderers, Alen Stajcic’s side remain firmly entrenched inside the top six and sit in fourth spot on the ladder with four games left to play.
The Wanderers looked much the more likely when it came to opening the scoring and it was form Wellington Phoenix midfielder Bozhidar Kraev who was at the heart of the action.
First, the Bulgarian was denied by goalkeeper Alex Paulsen from close range after slamming the ball straight at the keeper’s head as he raced off his line to close the angle.
Kraev then thought he’d bagged the opener in the 29th minute after finishing off a stunning team move however the goal was eventually chalked off following a VAR review with the officials highlighting forward Zac Sapsford as having been in an offside position when receiving the first pass.
In typical Auckland FC fashion they then punished their opponents right before half-time.
Minutes after defender Marlee Francois was denied by Thomas and Francis De Vries then slammed the follow-up off the outside of the post following a scramble inside the box, the Black Knights were gifted the opener in a moment Wanderers keeper Thomas won’t want to see again.
Seemingly under no pressure when attempting to play out from the back, Thomas slipped as he tried to lift the ball over the Auckland press and played it straight to the feet of Gallegos and the Chilean did the rest; dispatching the ball into an unguarded net to make it 1-0.
Almost capping off the half in sensational fashion, forward Max Mata thought he’d scored one of the goals of the season with an outrageous bicycle kick only to see his effort tipped over the bar by Thomas.
Despite being dealt that hammer blow before half-time though the Wanderers responded well after the break and soon levelled things up.
Receiving the ball on the right edge of the Auckland box, Milanovic cut inside on his left foot and sent a fizzing low shot towards goal which caught keeper Paulsen by surprise as Brandon Borrello ran across his line of sight and the ball ended up in the back of the net.
The Wanderers brought on striker Marcus Antonsson in an effort to find a second and they nearly did so, however the Swede could only find the side netting after defender Anthony Pantazopoulos caused panic amongst the Auckland defence after launching a monster goal kick down field which cleared three-quarters of the pitch.
The home side then saw a glorious chance go begging in the 83rd minute as star striker Guillermo May blazed a loose ball over the bar from close range after Wanderers sub Clisby had produced a brilliant clearance to thwart the Auckland attack moments earlier.
Charging up the other end, the Wanderers then almost snatched the win in the 90th minute when Clisby rounded off a rapid counter attack by smashing a stunning effort beyond Paulsen that crashed back off the bar and away to safety.
With the crossbar still rattling Auckland then charged up the other end and passed up a good chance to seal a late winner as captain Hiroki Sakai’s left-footed effort was well saved by Thomas in the Wanderers goal.
