Auckland FC struggle to draw with Wanderers
- Dave Worsley
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Auckland FC and Western Sydney Wanderers have played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at a packed Mt Smart Stadium
Western Sydney dominated the first-half but it was Auckland FC who led at the break; Felipe Gallegos curling his strike into the back of the net from the edge of the box after he was gifted the ball off an errant pass by Wanderers goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas.
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The visitors put themselves level in the 51st minute though as forward Nicolas Milanovic bagged his 11th goal of the season with a fierce low shot that caught goalkeeper Alex Paulsen off-guard.
The result sees Auckland FC extend their lead out to eight points at the top of the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder.
The Wanderers looked much the more likely when it came to opening the scoring and it was form Wellington Phoenix midfielder Bozhidar Kraev who was at the heart of the action.
First, the Bulgarian was denied by goalkeeper Paulsen from close range after slamming the ball straight at the keeper’s head as he raced off his line to close the angle.
Kraev then thought he’d bagged the opener in the 29th minute after finishing off a stunning team move however the goal was eventually chalked off following a VAR review with the officials highlighting forward Zac Sapsford as having been in an offside position when receiving the first pass.
In typical Auckland FC fashion they then punished their opponents right before half-time.
Minutes after defender Marlee Francois was denied by Thomas and Francis De Vries then slammed the follow-up off the outside of the post following a scramble inside the box,
Seemingly under no pressure when attempting to play out from the back, Thomas slipped as he tried to lift the ball over the Auckland press and played it straight to the feet of Gallegos and the Chilean did the rest net to make it 1-0.
Then Max Mata thought he’d scored one of the goals of the season with an outrageous bicycle kick only to see his effort tipped over the bar by Thomas.
Despite being dealt that hammer blow before half-time though the Wanderers responded well after the break and soon levelled things up.
Receiving the ball on the right edge of the Auckland box, Milanovic cut inside on his left foot and sent a fizzing low shot towards goal which caught keeper Paulsen by surprise as Brandon Borrello ran across his line of sight and the ball ended up in the back of the net.