Socceroos in the A-League: Maclaren nets decisive late spot kick
Jamie Maclaren kept his cool from the spot to secure Melbourne City a vital point while Mitch Duke played his part as the Western Sydney Wanderers snatched a share of the spoils in Adelaide.
Watch all of the extended highlights involving our Socceroos from another exciting matchweek of A-League action!
Sydney FC 1-1 Melbourne City
Melbourne City striker Jamie Maclaren scored a 98th-minute penalty to snatch his side a share of the spoils against Sydney FC in a dramatic 1-1 draw at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday night.
Marco Tilio continued his impact off the bench for Patrick Kisnorbo's side, winning the all-important penalty after a challenge in Sydney's defensive box from Alex Wilkinson to send Maclaren to the spot, and the City spearhead made no mistake in cancelling out Kosta Barbarouses' 54th-minute opener.
The Sky Blues played attractive, free-flowing football throughout the first hour of play, highlighted by a classy display by Luke Brattan in the centre of the park.
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But it was a moment of pure bedlam which produced the opening goal, scored by Barbarouses in a move which saw a spill from Tom Glover, two Sky Blue strikes cleared off the line and a third diverted off the left-hand goalpost in the space of five seconds.
Barbarouses' initial shot sparked the chaos. Curtis Good prevented the ball from finding the back of the net, but not from crossing the line, as VAR upheld the on-field decision to award Barbarouses the goal to hand Sydney the lead.
City made a relentless push for an equaliser in the final 20 minutes of play, and star striker Maclaren found himself in a number of promising positions to help his side find a way back into the game.
But in the end, Maclaren relied on the energetic impact of substitute Tilio to net his 14th goal of the current campaign - The teenager won the spot-kick, and Maclaren sent Andrew Redmayne the wrong way as he slotted his strike home, as City kept the Sky Blues from jumping into second place on the A-League table.
Adelaide United 1-1 Western Sydney Wanderers
There was a goal and red card to either side in a gripping 1-1 draw played out between Adelaide United and Western Sydney Wanderers at Coopers Stadium on Saturday night.
Both teams reversed their roles in either half. Adelaide scored first through Tomi Juric before Louis D'Arrigo was dismissed for two yellow card offences in the first 45. After the break, the Wanderers struck back through Simon Cox before Mark Natta pulled Stefan Mauk down in a goalscoring position to join D'Arrigo in going down the tunnel.
The Wanderers equalised with 20 minutes to play, and looked set to capitalise on their one-man advantage before being reduced to ten men themselves as the two undermanned sides were forced to settle for one point apiece.
The result hinged on a three-on-one Wanderers counter attack deep into second-half stoppage time; Daniel Wilmering, Kwame Yeboah and Bernie Ibini burst toward goal with just one Reds defender in between them and Joe Gauci, but when Ibini received from Wilmering he fired wide of the mark to give the home side a lifeline.
The 1-1 result ensured the Reds and Wanderers joined Macarthur FC, Sydney FC and Melbourne City in dropping points throughout Matchweek 16. The five sides placed second to sixth on the A-League table failed to put any genuine pressure on Central Coast Mariners who will remain on top of the table despite not playing a game in the current Matchweek.
