A-League: Wanderers too strong for Phoenix

Besart Berisha has propelled Melbourne Victory to a derby comeback. Other winners were Western Sydney Wanderers and Perth Glory.

Brendon Santalab, second from right, congratulates teammate and fellow scorer Nicolas Martinez of the Wanderers on his goal against the Phoenix.

Besart Berisha has propelled Melbourne Victory to an A-League derby comeback, coming from a goal behind to defeat Melbourne City 2-1 in the dying stages.

In manic scenes, Tim Cahill was sent off for dissent without making it onto the pitch as Victory jumped off the canvas with six minutes remaining.

City were heading for a win to open up the race for second place when Neil Kilkenny scored his first goal in Australia to put them ahead after 70 minutes.

But Berisha — who was previously the night’s villain after blowing golden chances either side of halftime — put Victory on terms from Marco Rojas’ cutback.

Two minutes later, Victory had a controversial winner when Jason Geria’s fizzed cross deflected off Manny Muscat’s foot into the City net.

Besart Berisha of the Victory celebrates a goal during the round-18 A-League derby match.

The result cuts the gap from leaders Sydney FC to nine points with nine matches remaining.

The three points will also prevent Berisha from a sleepless night after his earlier blunders.

The Albanian should have put Victory ahead in the first half’s dying minutes, only to take an airswing from Alan Baro’s cross from three metres out. He then missed a penalty on 62 minutes after Luke Brattan tugged down Rojas inside the box.

Dean Bouzanis was equal to his effort, and let the Victory striker know all about it, calling him a “gypsy” in comments picked up by on-ground microphones.

Melbourne City's Dean Bouzanis saves a penalty taken by Melbourne Victory's Besart Berisha. Picture: George Salpigtidis

Besart Berisha shows frustration after he missed a penalty kick.

The Albanian was in the thick of the action for Victory’s matchwinner, requiring the referee and linesman to consult given his close attention to Bouzanis.

The goal eventually stood, much to City’s chagrin.

Worse for Michael Valkanis’ side, Cahill was denied the chance to find an equaliser.

After starting on the bench, Cahill was set for a late injection into the match but saw red when referee Chris Beath took umbridge at a comment made on the touchline.

For all the late drama, for an hour this was a turgid affair. Just 35,426 turned out; the derby’s lowest crowd at Etihad Stadium since Melbourne Heart were admitted to the league.

A first half of dubious quality saw the foul count outstrip shots on target by 26 to nil.

City’s best chance fell to Bruno Fornaroli, who headed home a 45th minute cross from Kilkenny but was flagged as off-side in a tight decision. “I thought it was a good goal,” Valkanis said.

Valkanis said he had been given no explanation for Cahill’s send off. “There were some things that happened that I’ve never seen in my footballing career,” he said.

“There were contentious decisions that I’m not going to speak about now. We have to look at the video.

After seeing Victory record a first win in four matches, Victory assistant coach Jean-Paul de Marigny applauded his side.

“We never gave up. That’s not our mentality. It’s to play right to the end,” he said.

Wanderers spark back to life

Western Sydney Wanderers’ lacklustre A-League soccer season has sparked into life with an emphatic 3-1 win over Wellington Phoenix on Saturday.

Nicolas Martinez’s third goal of the season was book ended by a Brendon Santalab double as the eighth-placed Wanderers outplayed Wellington at New Plymouth in New Zealand to edge into the top six for the first time since round nine.

It was Wanderers’ fifth win of the season, edging them into playoff contention, while Wellington drop back down the table to eighth.

A 71st minute penalty by Phoenix striker Shane Smeltz was offset five minutes later by his second yellow card and a sending off.

Wellington, just one point and one place ahead of the Wanderers going into the match, desperately needed a win after dropping points against Brisbane (1-0 loss) and Adelaide (2-2 draw) in their last two games.

The early omens were ominous, with Western Sydney’s pace down the flanks keeping the home team defence scrambling.

The pressure inevitably told in the 22nd minute, with Santalab crashing home his seventh goal of the season, after good work from Martinez in the build-up.

Western Sydney continued to look sharper, particularly through the middle, but Wellington finished brightly with a couple of half-chances.

Kosta Barbarouses provided the best three minutes before the break when he crashed a through ball from Vince Lia into the side netting.

Wellington went to the bench early in the second spell, Gui Finkler replacing Roly Bonevacia but although the Phoenix briefly threatened, it was Western Sydney who struck first.

This time Santalab turned provider, teeing up Martinez for a cool finish and the Wanderers doubled their lead as the hour mark approached.

Five minutes later it was 3-0, Santalab grabbing his second after Terry Antonis completed a strong run to the byline with the perfect pullback for Santalab’s clinical finish.

Wellington pulled one back through Smeltz’s late penalty — his first goal since returning to the Phoenix after an eight-year absence.

Diego Castro stars as Glory beat Jets

Rhys Williams made his long-awaited A-League return and Diego Castro scored a brace in Perth Glory’s 3-2 win over Newcastle in Saturday night’s clash at nib Stadium in Perth.

Castro had two goals to his name by halftime in yet another dazzling display from the Spaniard in front of 12,903 fans.

The 34-year-old converted the penalty he won in the 13th minute after his brilliant sidestep fooled Jets defender Nigel Boogaard into making an unnecessary foul.

Jets striker Andrew Hoole levelled the scores with a brilliant rising header in the 37th minute.

But Castro restored the lead just five minutes later when he scored from a tight angle after getting past Jets defender Daniel Mullen.

Adam Taggart made it 3-1 in the 59th minute when he tapped in a beautiful curling ball from Josh Risdon.

But Jason Hoffman’s 26m thunderbolt in the 71st minute ensured a nervy finish as the Jets frequently pressed into the final third only to fail to find the net.

Williams hadn’t featured for Perth since becoming embroiled in a bitter stand- off with the club over his bid to join rivals Sydney FC.

Perth stood firm in their stance of not releasing him during the transfer window, and it sparked a war of words between Williams’ manager and the club.

But Williams’ seven-game absence finally came to an end when he replaced injured defender Shane Lowry (leg) in the 38th minute.

Williams, donning fluoro orange boots, was solid in the heart of defence. But he was left worse for wear in stoppage time after a heavy clash of heads with teammate Dino Djulbic.

Williams played out the match to ensure Glory snared all three points. Glory’s win saw them close to within two points of fourth-placed Melbourne City, while the Jets slid to seventh and face a battle to secure a finals berth.

AAP