Melbourne City steal win over Wanderers and break hearts

Melbourne City’s Bart Schenkeveld has scored an injury time winner to stun 10-man Western Sydney Wanderers 4-3.

Melbourne City’s Bart Schenkeveld on the ball in last night’s win over Western Sydney Wanderers. Picture: AAP

Melbourne City’s Bart Schenkeveld has scored an injury time winner to stun 10-man Western Sydney Wanderers 4-3 in a pulsating A-League encounter at AAMI Park. It is the second seven-goal thriller Western Sydney have lost in the past nine days.

The Wanderers trailed 2-1 at halftime last night but goals to Tass Mourdoukoutas and Jaushua Sotirio gave the visitors a surprise 3-2 lead after 54 minutes.

Markus Babbel’s side were reduced to 10 men in the 66th minute when Keanu Baccus was given his marching orders after being shown a second yellow card for an ill-timed tackle.

City peppered the visitors’ goal from that point with Richie de Laet levelling the sides with a superb low shot in the 84th minute. Then Schenkeveld secured all three points when he brilliantly headed home a corner in the fourth minute of injury time.

Just days after they failed to generate a single shot on target in a lifeless 0-0 draw against Perth Glory, City were on the board 31 seconds after the opening whistle.

De Laet latched onto a horrendous back pass then left the advancing Nicholas Suman stranded before side-footing home.

The goal sparked the Wanderers who deserved their equaliser when Roly Bonevacia converted from the penalty spot after Curtis Good sent Sotirio sprawling. But Luke Brattan put City back in front with a stunning strike from outside the box in the 38th minute, the midfielder’s thunderbolt finding the top left corner. Mourdoukoutas headed home his first-ever A-League goal in the 49th minute and Sotirio silenced the home crowd with 54 minutes gone.

But the visitors were left to rue a lost opportunity as City pressed home their late numerical advantage to consign the Wanderers to their sixth successive defeat.

Glory coach Tony Popovic must decide whether to play it safe or go full bore with Diego Castro and Matthew Spiranovic ahead of tonight’s clash with Adelaide United at HBF Park.

The veteran coach has been particularly cautious with Castro and Spiranovic following the duo’s injury struggles over the past year.

Popovic said he was yet to decide on his squad for the clash with Adelaide, but said players’ histories would be taken into account.

“Certain players who are coming off injuries are not at the same level as someone who has played every game,” Popovic said.

In other matches today Newcastle Jets host the Central Coast Mariners at McDonald Jones Stadium while Sydney FC travel to Wellington to face the Phoenix.

AAP