Sydney FC midfielder Max Burgess has denied former club Western United the chance to pull further clear on the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder.
SATURDAY REACTION: Thompson – ‘Soft’ penalty, Brillante red ‘changed the whole game’
At a rain-soaked Netsrata Jubilee Stadium on Saturday, Burgess’s second goal of the season cancelled out Steven Lustica’s opener as Sydney and Western settled on a 1-1 draw.
The visitors thought they’d snatched a late winner when a penalty was given in stoppage time against Socceroos fullback Rhyan Grant for handball but the decision was overturned after a video review by referee Shaun Evans.
The result means Western hold on to top spot but only by one point from defending champions Melbourne City after both teams have played 11 games each.
Steve Corica’s Sydney stay third, two points clear of fourth-place Adelaide United.
In a match marred by periods of torrential rain, Sydney created the better changes in the first half with Milos Ninkovic coming closest when his 30th minute effort was palmed on to the post by Western goalkeeper Jamie Young.
That save became doubly vital when Lustica opened the scoring in the 56th minute to put the visitors ahead.
Running on to a loose ball at the edge of the box, Lustica’s sidefooted effort benefited from Lachie Wales standing in the line of sight of Thomas Heward-Belle in the Sydney goal to find the net.
A VAR check showed Wales was onside and Western were chasing a seventh 1-0 win of the season.
That wasn’t to be when Burgess finished off good work by Bobo and Ninkovic to level the scores in the 64th minute.
Heward-Belle, playing ahead of Socceroo Andrew Redmayne for the second straight week, did well to push Josh Risdon’s 74th-minute header from an Alessandro Diamanti corner over the bar.
Ninkovic had the last clear-cut chance of the match but his curling effort was palmed wide acrobatically by Young.
Just when the action seemed over, Evans awarded a penalty when Dylan Wenzel-Halls’ header was deflected by Grant’s left arm but after viewing the action on the pitchside monitor he overturned his decision.
Sydney FC, who played without Harry Van der Saag and Anthony Caceres after both were ruled out with illness before the match, face Wellington next Saturday while Western host Western Sydney next Sunday.
LIVE FEED
Written for KEEPUP by Matthew Comito
FULL-TIME: LATE DRAMA SEES SCORES LEVEL AT THE FINAL WHISTLE
A moment of pure drama at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium as an awarded penalty to United was reversed after a VAR check found Rhyan Grant to have not handled the ball in the penalty area off Dylan Wenzel-Halls’ header aimed across the box.
The visitors looked set to go to the spot for a chance to clinch all three points – but it wasn’t to be for John Aloisi’s side, as referee Shaun Evans reversed his original decision on the field after being sent to the monitor to review his decision.
The dramatic moment punctuated a tightly-contested game between two sides battling up near the top of the table as the game ended 1-1.
GOAL! Burgess levels it for the hosts (9.14pm AEDT)
Max Burgess has given the Sky Blues a lifeline, cutting onto his favoured left foot to guide the ball past Jamie Young into the back of the net to make it 1-1 at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.
Burgess was served up the chance by Ninković, who shifted the ball delicately out of his possession and into the path of his teammate to score.
GOAL! Western United take the lead on the road through Lustica (9.00pm AEDT)
A Steven Lustica strike from outside the box has squirmed under the leg of Thomas Heward-Belle in Sydney’s goal and found its way into the back of the net.
The home team were up in arms as the ball hit the net, claiming Wales was stood in an offside position blocking the view of their keeper – but a VAR check proved the young United forward was onside as the ball left Lustica’s boot on the way past Heward-Belle.
Ninković off the post as Sydney turn the screws (8.15pm AEDT)
Adam Le Fondre has been a constant source of danger for the United defence through the first half, but it was Miloš Ninković who went the closest for the home side through the first half-hour of play.
Trent Buhagiar’s cross from one side of the box to the other frustrated Le Fondre who watched the ball float behind him as he ran into the six-yard box, but Ninković collected, turned and dispatched a shot on goal which rattled the foot of the right-hand goalpost.
KICK-OFF: Wales threatens early with United on the front foot (7.45pm AEDT)
Lachie Wales got the visiting Western United on the attack early, sliding into a challenge in his attacking penalty area as the green and black looked to take command.
PRE-MATCH
Sydney FC face a Western United outfit who only know one way to win. All six of their victories thus far have come by one goal to nil. A continuation of that trend will see Western end the weekend the way they started it: on top of the table.
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