Ryan Teague converted an 87th-minute penalty as Melbourne Victory salvaged a 2-2 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers in their entertaining Isuzu UTE A-League showdown on Saturday night.
Milanovic – the joint Golden Boot leader – had given the Wanderers a 76th-minute lead at AAMI Park, where Western Sydney appeared destined for back-to-back away wins over Victory in the A-Leagues for the first time in their history.
That was until Jack Clisby was penalised for a handball during the closing stages as Teague made no mistake from the penalty spot after Victory captain Roderick Miranda and Aydan Hammond had traded goals in the opening half.
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With Victory recruit Mitch Langerak watching from the stands as the retired Socceroo prepares for his second debut when the transfer window opens on January 16 following his arrival from J1 League side Nagoya Grampus after 14 years away, the 2023-24 Grand Finalists are now four matches without a win but are second in the standings – for points behind Auckland FC.
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The Wanderers, meanwhile, are seventh and three points outside of the top six.
Western Sydney’s first foray forward almost led to the deadlock being broken in the 12th minute after Wanderers captain Brandon Borrello hit the post.
A great chance went begging for the Wanderers 12 minutes later. This time, Western Sydney pressed Jack Duncan and the Victory goalkeeper was dispossessed by Zac Sapsford but the masked forward fluffed his shot wide of the post.
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Victory did take the lead approaching the half-hour mark when Zinedine Machach’s flick-on found Miranda at the back post and the sliding captain sent his shot past Lawrence Thomas.
After Wanderers goalkeeper Thomas produced a brilliant save to keep out Daniel Arzani’s deflected long-range effort, Western Sydney were gifted an equaliser on the stroke of half-time.
Hammond was the goalscorer after Miranda’s pass across the penalty area missed teammate Brendan Hamill and fell to the feet of the Wanderers midfielder to finish emphatically.
Victory talisman Bruno Fornaroli – starting his second straight game having been out of favour under former boss Patrick Kisnorbo – had an immediate chance to restore the home side’s lead but sliced his effort wide before Machach’s thunderous strike was tipped over the bar by Lawrence.
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There weren’t as many clear-cut opportunities in the second half as both sides searched for a go-ahead goal.
But Milanovic created a chance of his own and it resulted in a goal 12 minutes from the end in Melbourne; the Wanderers star won the ball and drove into the penalty area but producing a sweet strike with the outside of his boot to beat Duncan.
Victory pushed in search of an equaliser and they had the opportunity to move level with four minutes of regulation remaining after a VAR review saw Jack Clisby penalised for blocking Nishan Velupillay’s shot with his hand and Teague made no mistake from the penalty spot.
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Borrello almost restored Western Sydney’s lead within seconds after a barnstorming run but he was denied by Duncan, while Velupillay hit the crossbar at the other end.
