Western United have recorded a vital victory against Western Sydney to kickstart their season, though the weekend was tarnished by a messy Melbourne derby which saw fans storm the pitch and attack a Melbourne City player.
Western United managed a narrow win over the Wanderers in the A-League’s eighth round, thanks to star player and former PAOK striker Aleksandar Prijovic, but the focus was predominantly on the Saturday blockbuster between City and Victory.
Chaos erupted in the highly anticipated derby after a protest against the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), regarding their decision to host the next three Grand Finals in Sydney, turned awry.
Fans lit flares and soon after invaded the pitch, with one supporter hitting goalkeeper Tom Glover in the head with a metal bucket, thus leading to the abandonment of the game before a result could be determined.
The A-Leagues released a statement condemning the actions of the select group of people with “criminal intent”.
“This is a watershed moment for our game that demands a zero tolerance for the incidents that we witnessed last night and the kind of people that perpetrated them,” the statement read.
“Our Clubs will work deliberately and exhaustively, hand-in-hand with law enforcement agencies, and with Football Australia – as the game’s regulator – to ensure that our game can never again be used as camouflage for criminals.”
In the other matches of the round, Macarthur sealed a tight win over Perth to rebound from last week’s loss, as did Brisbane in their contest with Arthur Papas’ Newcastle side.
Central Coast came from behind to down Sydney FC while Wellington earned a massive success against Adelaide.
Western United-Western Sydney 1-0
An early strike from Aleksandar Prijovic was enough to deliver the defending champions a much needed three points in the round’s closing fixture on Sunday afternoon.
The Serbian marksman found the winning goal just five minutes in after he hit the ball in with his chest following an excellent low cross from playmaker James Troisi.
Macarthur FC-Perth Glory 1-0
The Bulls have pushed their way to fourth via a club debut goal from former Greek Super League forward Bachana Arabuli.
Arabuli, a former Panionios and Lamia attacker, headed in a cross in the 71st minute to guide Macarthur to the win which sees them go one point ahead of five clubs all currently on ten points.
Centre half Jonathan Aspropotamitis helped the Campbelltown-based club keep a clean sheet, with teammate Jerry Skotadis playing the final 18 minutes, while Perth defender Johnny Koutroumbis came off the bench for the last eight.
Central Coast-Sydney FC 2-1
The Mariners bagged two goals in quick succession to down Sydney and get back to winning ways on Saturday evening.
The Sky Blues went ahead early after midfielder Paolo Retre tapped the ball following a Danny Vukovic save (11′).
The Gosford outfit found an equaliser through forward Marco Tulio’s header from a free kick (36′) before centre back Daniel Hall responded with his own header, this time from a corner, to give Central Coast the lead three minutes later.
Sydney midfielder Anthony Caceres was frustrated with the result, given they had a very bright opening half hour of play.
“We are very disappointed especially after the first 30 minutes which was the best we played all season. We got the goal but then gave them two goals and they got behind the ball and limited us to very few chances,” Caceres said to media post-match.
Wellington Phoenix-Adelaide United 3-1
The New Zealanders secured a solid triumph over the Reds to make their way back into the top six.
The Phoenix began phenomenally, scoring inside the first two minutes of play via marksman Oskar Zawada, though Socceroo star and Adelaide captain Craig Goodwin struck a magnificent free kick into the top right to make it level (12′).
Wellington winger Bozhidar Kraev headed in a cross to restore their lead (37′) before Adelaide’s Ben Halloran was sent off for a second yellow early into the second half (51′).
Wide midfielder Yan Sasse doubled the hosts’ advantage with an effort that deflected into the back of the net.
Kraev had a chance to make it four when he stepped up to the penalty spot, but his effort was saved by a diving Joe Gauci (78′).
Star forward Kosta Barbarouses featured off the bench for Wellington and played out the final 17 minutes of the match.
Newcastle Jets-Brisbane Roar 0-1
Roar attacker Nikola Mileusnic stepped up with a late strike to seal a massive Friday night success.
It was a tight contest which saw nearly 80 minutes go by without a goal when Mileusnic had an acrobatic overhead kick saved by goalkeeper Jack Duncan, with the forward then hitting the rebound into the goal while still on the floor to escape from Newcastle with all three points.
A-League Ladder (teams with a game in hand)
1-Melbourne City: 16 (7)
2-Western Sydney: 14
3-Adelaide Utd: 12
4-Macarthur FC: 10
5-Central Coast: 10 (7)
6-Wellington Phoenix: 10
7-Brisbane Roar: 10 (7)
8-Melbourne Victory: 10 (7)
9-Sydney FC: 10
10-Newcastle Jets: 9 (7)
11-Western Utd: 7
12-Perth Glory: 6 (7)
