The Wanderers have pulled off a fantastic win in one of the most anticipated Sydney derbies in recent memory, defeating their rivals to go into the World Cup break in second.
The Paramatta-based side downed Sydney FC in the blockbuster fixture of the A-League’s sixth round, while Melbourne Victory suffered a crushing loss in their own rivalry clash with Adelaide United.
Macarthur FC struck at the death to secure all three points in their match with Central Coast, with centre half Jonathan Aspropotamitis contributing with his first ever A-League goal.
Melbourne City beat Arthur Papas’ Newcastle Jets to protect their unbeaten streak which has carried them to the top of the ladder, as Western United recorded a magnificent comeback to seal their maiden win of the season against Wellington Phoenix.
Central Coast-Macarthur FC 2-3
The Bulls came out on top with the latest of winners on Sunday afternoon to hand the home side an unfortunate loss.
The Campbelltown club went ahead through forward Al Hassan Toure following a major mistake from goalkeeper and captain Danny Vukovic (14′) and the Mariners’ day was made worse when centre back Brian Kaltak was handed a straight red (29′).
Jonathan Aspropotamitis doubled Macarthur’s lead with a corner header and the hosts squandered the best opportunity yet to score when striker Jason Cummings’ penalty was saved by goalkeeper Nick Suman (62′).
The Gosford outfit showed great fight and eventually made it level, thanks to a brace from forward Garang Kuol who first converted a spot-kick (65′) before scoring a wonderful goal from an incredibly awkward angle on the right side (72′).
The Bulls launched a late counter-attack in the last minute of the game which saw youngster Jed Drew score his maiden A-League goal to steal the three points (90+5′).
Defender Nectarios Triantis played the first 75 minutes for Central Coast while Macarthur midfielder Jerry Skotadis came on for the final five.
Wellington Phoenix-Western Utd 2-3
Former PAOK striker Aleksandar Prijovic made an immediate impact in his return from injury, helping the reigning champions to their first win of the campaign after falling two goals behind.
The Phoenix struck twice, first via striker Oskar Zawada (22′) and then through winger Bozhidar Kraev (59′), though Kosta Barbarouses had a penalty saved in between both efforts (39′) in what proved to be a crucial missed opportunity.
Defender Jacob Tratt’s header from a corner set piece (64′) halved the deficit and Prijovic, in his first game this season, brought it level after heading in teammate Ben Garuccio’s cross (84′).
Captain Alessandro Diamanti completed the remarkable comeback with an excellent free-kick goal in the last minute of the game (90+5′).
Playmaker James Troisi played the whole contest for Western United.
Sydney FC-Western Sydney 0-1
It was Western Sydney who reigned supreme in a stellar, atmospheric derby as Milos Ninkovic had the last laugh after receiving a hostile reception from his former team’s supporters, including a pre-match burning of a Ninkovic Sydney FC jersey.
It took 70 minutes for the Wanderers to break the deadlock with a swift counter-attack which saw Ninkovic provide the assist for striker Kusini Yengi, who released a thunderous strike into the top left corner.
Sydney manager Steve Corica was quite positive about the match, in spite of his side failing to win.
“It was a fantastic crowd. The boys put in everything, worked hard and created a number of good opportunities, we just didn’t take them. We are just disappointed with the goal and the result,” Mr Corica said to media post-match.
Newcastle Jets-Melbourne City 1-2
Star striker Jamie Maclaren stepped up again to lead City to another success as they go into the break having dropped only two points thus far this term.
The league leaders pulled in front after a horrid run out by Jets goalkeeper Michael Weier who missed the ball completely, allowing midfielder Richard Van der Venne to slot the ball into an empty net (20′).
Newcastle equalised, thanks to an own goal from Melbourne captain Scott Jamieson whose attempted clearance deflected into his own net (38′).
The current premiers soon regained their advantage when winger Marco Tilio’s fantastic grounded pass across goal was tapped in by Maclaren (57′).
The Jets were given a slight chance when City midfielder Aiden O’Neill was sent off for a second yellow (75′), though they could not manage to maximise the extra man advantage.
Midfielder Kosta Grozos played the first 68 minutes of the game for Newcastle.
Adelaide Utd-Melbourne Victory 3-0
The Reds ran rampant on Victory in the Original Rivalry clash in a perfect performance as they league now goes on break for four weeks.
The South Australians went into half time a goal up after a brilliant header by striker Hiroshi Ibusuki, directing the ball into the top left from the penalty spot area.
Adelaide captain Craig Goodwin struck his penalty into the bottom right with venom to double their lead (86′) before centre half Ben Warland put the result beyond doubt with a goal from a Goodwin free kick (90+1′).
Star forward Chris Ikonomidis played the full 90 for the travellers while his teammate Nathan Konstandopoulos came on in the 84th minute against his former side.
Melbourne coach Tony Popovic lamented his team’s failure to score and said they need to make the most of this awkward mid-season break.
“We’ve known about this, that the World Cup is in this period, and we all just have to manage it…We have to use this period to get better. This period of three or four weeks we need to use to improve, get some players back, and get better,” Mr Popovic said to media post-match.
A-League Ladder (teams with a game in hand)
1-Melbourne City: 16
2-Western Sydney: 13
3-Adelaide Utd: 11
4-Macarthur FC: 8
5-Central Coast: 7 (5)
6-Sydney FC: 7
7-Melbourne Victory: 7
8-Wellington Phoenix: 6
9-Brisbane Roar: 6 (5)
10-Newcastle Jets: 6 (5)
11-Western United: 4
12-Perth Glory: 3 (5)