Wanderers left frustrated after dull draw with Roar
Justin Chadwick |
Bozhidar Kraev has missed a golden late chance as Western Sydney were forced to settle for a lacklustre 0-0 A-League Men draw with Brisbane Roar at CommBank Stadium.
In a match of few highlights, Kraev had the chance to win it in the 88th minute when Jarrod Carluccio floated a nice cross to the far post.
With the target at his mercy, an unmarked Kraev sent his header high, with the Bulgarian instantly realising the amazing chance he had just missed.
Brisbane (15 points) would have gone to the top of the table – at least temporarily – with a win on Saturday, but in the end they were lucky to come away with a share of the spoils and will finish the round in third spot.
Western Sydney (nine points) remain outside the top six.
Wanderers coach Alen Stajcic made three changes to the starting XI from last week’s 1-0 loss to 10-man Perth Glory, with Steven Ugarkovic, Gabriel Cleur and Alou Kuol all going out, and star striker Brandon Borrello headlining the ins.
The first half was a dull affair in which Brisbane failed to even fire a single shot.
Western Sydney only had four shots themselves, the best of which was Borrello’s 27-yard thunderbolt in the 44th minute that forced a sharp jumping save from goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis.
The Roar had been so lacklustre in attack that their expected goals stat was an astonishingly-low 0.02 at the 53-minute mark.
Western Sydney’s was 0.86 at the same time, and the home side almost took the lead two minutes later when Alex Bonetig unleashed a diving header – only for Brisbane defender Lucas Herrington to clear it off the line.
Roar players appealed for a handball in the box a short time later, but VAR cleared the incident.
Brisbane midfielder Sam Klein was forced off in the 72nd minute to undergo a concussion test, with both sides bringing on the reinforcements in a bid to add some spark.
Stajcic cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines as Roar players took every opportunity to waste time, with the visitors doing enough to hold on for the draw.
The Roar finished the match with only one shot on target – a low drive from Jay O’Shea in the 80th minute that was easily saved.
The Wanderers fired off three shots on target from their 13 strikes, but the best chance fell to Kraev in the dying minutes.
AAP
