City, Wanderers play out chaotic ALM draw
Western Sydney Wanderers have snatched a crucial point in a dramatic 3-3 draw with defending A-League Men's champions Melbourne City, but captain Rhys Williams suffered a crippling serious hamstring tear.
Wanderers took a 2-0 lead within nine minutes in Sunday night's clash at AAMI Park through James Troisi and Jack Rodwell, but Scott Galloway and Jamie McLaren drew at City level before half-time.
Marco Tillio put City ahead with a brilliant goal in the 60th minute and Keijiro Ogawa scored eight minutes later.
The spectacular, end-to-end game turned sour when a distraught Williams, who has a long injury history, was pulled off a stretcher in the 78th minute, while the Wanderers were denied a penalty seven minutes later. went.
Both the teams were playing their first game since December 18 after the game was postponed due to COVID-19 cases.
West Sydney were without coach Carl Robinson due to illness, with assistant Labinot Haliti taking the reins.
In the fifth minute, Keanu Backus teed Troisi, who hit a hard hit in the bottom corner.
Four minutes later, Dimi Petratos slipped a pass to Rodwell, who charged the ball and scored his first ALM goal at the near post.
The city retaliated in the 16th minute.
After a clever build-up, Scott Jamieson skidded the ball in front of the goal and Galloway tapped home, with the ball tipping toward Petratos.
City leveled in the 36th minute when Florin Berenguer played a short corner for Jamieson, who swung the ball into the mixer for McLaren and headed home.
In the 45th, McLaren charged towards the ball at the back post but pulled up and crashed into the goal while hitting a tap-in wide.
Six minutes after coming on, Tillio gave City the lead when he cut a ball off Andrew Knabbout to his left and ripped a delightful strike home.
In the 68th minute, Steven Ugarkovic brilliantly released Ogawa, who controlled the ball and overtook Tom Glover brilliantly.
Three minutes later, a shot was blocked by Matt Leckie, before Adama Traore hit McLaren on the ball and drove it over the line.
Shortly after, Wanderers goalkeeper Tomas Mezius tipped Leckie's close range header over the bar.
The Wanderers saw Williams injured, then, in the 85th minute, disappointed not to receive a handball penalty, when Rostin Griffiths appeared to extend his hand towards the Terry Antonis strike.
Glover brilliantly denied Ogawa off his feet in the 94th, then Griffiths intercepted Troisi's shot less than a minute later to save a point.
