Wanderers beat Roar but Spanish star Juan Mata limps off with a hamstring injury

Western Sydney returned to winning form in Brisbane but it was victory marred by an injury to the club’s biggest star.

Western Sydney Wanderers’ 1-0 win over A-League cellar-dwellers Brisbane Roar has come at a cost, with Spanish star Juan Mata limping off early with a hamstring injury.

Mata, 36, lasted only 11 minutes at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night before being forced off with an injury that must have the former Manchester United and Chelsea midfielder in doubt for next Saturday’s derby against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium.

“We were agonising over it a little bit, but it’s probably better to be precautionary at this stage,” Wanderers coach Alen Stajcic told Paramount Plus.

“He felt it early ... it might be a one or two-week (injury).”

While Mata’s time on the park was short, he had enough to make a telling contribution with a well-placed eighth-minute corner that was headed home by Bulgarian attacking midfielder Bozhidar Kraev.

The win was a relief for a Wanderers side that had gone into the contest desperate to avoid a third successive defeat.

For the Roar – who went into the match on the back of their first win of the season, a 4-3 away victory over Sydney FC – the defeat continued the club’s miserable home record, which has now extended to a ninth straight loss.

Juan Mata's delivery ➡️ Bozhidar Kraev's header

The Spaniard sets up @wswanderersfc's opening goal at Suncorp Stadium 🔥

📺 Watch #BRIvWSW live and exclusive NOW on Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/qcSaTc0oPL

— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) January 31, 2025

The loss also spoiled Brisbane veteran’s Scott Neville’s 300th and final A-League appearance, with the former Wanderers defender having announced on Thursday that he was retiring after the match.

Roar captain Jay O’Shea, while disappointed with his team’s performance he described as “just not good enough”, paid tribute to Neville.

“He’s one of the best professionals I’ve ever worked with,” O’Shea said.

In a match played in steamy conditions and on a pitch affected by two recent music concerts, the Wanderers had a host of other first-half chances, with Brisbane needing good saves from goalkeeper Macklin Freke to deny Western Sydney trio Zac Sapsford, Brandon Borrello and the returning Gabriel Cleur.

Borrello did have the ball in the back of the net in the 39th minute via a shot that deflected off Roar defender Hosine Bility.

However, Borrello was ruled to have fouled Brisbane’s other centre-back Lucas Herrington before shooting, dashing the Wanderers’ hopes of doubling their leads before half-time.

The Wanderers were again left frustrated after again thinking they had scored a second goal, this time in the 72nd minute, through attacker Nicolas Milanovic.

However, VAR intervention came to the Roar’s aid, with Sapsford correctly ruled to be offside before laying the ball into Milanovic’s path.

Nicolas Milanovic celebrates after thinking he had scored for the Wanderers only for an offiside ruling denying him a goal. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

But in the end a second goal wasn’t needed.

“They’re a hard team to play, especially at home, so credit to the boys, and we kept a clean sheet,” Milanovic said.

“There’s a big game next week and it’s important that we got a win this week.”

 Clearance farce delays debut

Brisbane’s hopes of giving new signing Nathan Amanatidis his Roar debut were dashed, with his clearance from his former club Sydney FC arriving too late to allow the 19-year-old winger to be named in Brisbane’s match-day squad.

It was a blight on both the Roar and Sydney that Amanatidis wasn’t cleared in time for the game considering the teenager signed with the Queensland club – which didn’t play last weekend – more than a week ago.

Originally published as Wanderers beat Roar but Spanish star Juan Mata limps off with a hamstring injury