Western Sydney Wanderers win seven goal thriller against Melbourne City

Western Sydney Wanderers have held off a fast-finishing Melbourne City to win a pulsating top-of-the-table clash 4-3 at Pirtek Stadium on Friday night.

The Wanderers looked to be cruising as they raced to a 3-0 lead with less than 25 minutes remaining thanks to Mitch Nichols’ opener and a brace to Mark Bridge.

But City weren’t done, scoring twice in two minutes via Harry Novillo and Bruno Fornaroli to set up a frantic finish.

And the drama wasn’t done there. Anthony Caceres was sent off with five minutes left before Brendon Santalab looked to have made the points safe in the final minute.

Again City responded with Erik Paartalu pulling one back deep into stoppage time but the Wanderers held on to extend their lead at the top of the ladder to five points.

What a game!

GOALS

1-0 Nichols (32’) – Bridge got the ball about 30 yards from goal and played a delightful no-look pass for Nichols, who surged into the box and finished brilliantly past Thomas Sorensen.

2-0 Bridge (60’) – A superb counter-attack by the Wanderers had them with a 3-on-2, with Bridge releasing Nichols on the right. Nichols got into the box and weighed up his options, choosing to cut the ball back to Bridge who smashed it into the top corner. A great goal!

3-0 Bridge (66’) – Dario Vidosic lobbed a perfect pass over a City defence caught horribly square, with Nichols chipping it over an advancing Sorensen. Bridge followed through to ensure it went in, sliding through and finishing it high into the net.

3-1 Novillo (76’) – Mooy sent Novillo through on the right with the Frenchman turning Nikolai Topor-Stanley inside out before piercing a shot across Andrew Redmayne into the bottom corner.

3-2 Fornaroli (78’) – Mooy again was involved, finding Fornaroli just outside the box on the left. The Uruguayan then curled a delightful shot into the far top corner, giving Redmayne no chance. Another ripper from the league’s top scorer.

-4-2 Santalab (89’) – Romeo Castelen sprung the offside trap to be one-on-one with Sorensen and unselfishly squared it to Santalab for a simple tap-in.

4-3 Paartalu (90+3’) – Mooy swung in a teasing free-kick from the left, with Paartalu getting a slight touch on it to divert it past Redmayne.

TEAMS:

Westerns Sydney Wanderers: Redmayne (gk), Neville, Alberto, Topor-Stanley (c), Jamieson, Andreu (Baccus 71’), Dimas, Vidosic (Santalab 80’), Nichols, Sotirio (Castelen 74’), Bridge

Melbourne City: Sorensen (gk), Kisnorbo (c) (Clisby 4’), Malik, Melling, Franjic (Retre 69’), Paartalu, Caceres, Zullo (Garuccio 69’), Mooy, Novillo, Fornaroli

3:47 AM