Western United completes the double over City to draw level with Victory

Western United has climbed into second after another solid performance over Melbourne City, going equal on points with Melbourne Victory.

The Western side defeated City for the second time this season in one of four A-League round 12 fixtures played this weekend.

Sydney FC recorded a highly entertaining comeback win over Central Coast while Adelaide delivered a late resurgence of their own to ruin the return to action of Arthur Papas’ Newcastle Jets.

Brisbane triumphed over Western Sydney which led to the sacking of Wanderers manager Carl Robinson.

Sydney FC-Central Coast 3-2
The Sky Blues avenged their FFA Cup exit two weeks ago on Sunday evening with a hard-fought win over the Mariners.

The home side went ahead on the verge of half time thanks to a successful penalty from midfielder Anthony Caceres (45+2’).

The Gosford club emerged from the break with great initiative, scoring twice off the woodwork from just outside of the box through captain Oliver Bozanic (53’) and debutant forward Jason Cummings (58’) to take the lead.

Substitute striker Bobo shifted the game’s momentum back into Sydney’s favour with his finish from close range (71’) before Caceres earned his second of the night from a similar position (79’) in what proved to be the winner.

Sydney manager Steve Corica was immensely proud of the fighting spirit his players displayed especially when they fell behind.

“In the first half we should have been up two or three-nil…then in the second half they scored two goals and we were chasing the game but they showed character in coming back. It was sensational,” Mr Corica said post-match.

“Mariners are a tough team to play and they will always fight back so I’m really pleased with the result.”

READ MORE: Western United and Melbourne City in weekend’s big showdown

Newcastle Jets-Adelaide United 1-2
Adelaide has gone into third after two late goals saw them defeat Newcastle in their first match in six weeks.

The Jets largely controlled proceedings, scoring first through a fantastic low volley by striker Beka Mikeltadze (59’).

The Reds looked destined to lose when 15-yr-old winger Nestory Irankunda equalised with a fantastic free-kick (88’) to become the youngest goal scorer in his club’s history .

Subsitute forward Hiroshi Ibusuki’s header (90+2’) completed a remarkable turnaround for the Reds.

Newcastle played Greek winger Savvas Siatravanis for the first half and subbed in Kosta Grozos with minutes left of play.

Newcastle coach Arthur Papas had nothing but praise for his players’ efforts given the lack of match sharpness and fitness.

“I’m disappointed we lost but I’m proud of a group of men that haven’t played a game for six weeks. Some of them hadn’t played for seven,” Mr Papas said post-match.

“We had come up against a team that’s played five matches this month and it’s really a challenge to get them (his players) to be able to compete at the same level for the whole match. Evidently, that’s what we couldn’t do in the end.”

Western United-Melbourne City 1-0
The Green and Black outfit secured the double over the reigning premiers on Saturday night, bouncing back well after two successive losses.

The home side for the evening missed a golden chance to go ahead after captain Alessandro Diamanti’s penalty was expertly saved by goalkeeper Tom Glover (70’).

The hosts broke the deadlock just one minute later through midfielder Steven Lustica, his second in as many games, earning all three points in the process.

Brisbane Roar-Western Sydney 3-0
The Queenslanders earned a tremendous result to escape from last position, with the Wanderers dismissing coach Carl Robinson in the aftermath.

Roar forward Nikola Mileusnic continued his strong form, bagging a brace with a goal in each half (27’, 65’) before midfielder Rahmat Akbari scored his first professional goal (74’) to guarantee the win.

The visitors fielded Dimitri Petratos and John Koutroumbis in their starting lineup with Terry Antonis and Tassos Mourdoukoutas coming off the bench.

Western Sydney took strong action after the match, officially relieving their manager of his duties the following day.

♦ The following games were postponed: Perth-Macarthur and Wellington-Melbourne Victory.