Western Sydney Wanderers were forced to settle for a point on Friday night, playing out a 2-2 draw with Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium after a dramatic VAR intervention late in the contest.
The Wanderers had overturned an early deficit thanks to goals from Brandon Borrello and Bozhidar Kraev before Brisbane debutant Niall Thom struck in the 77th minute. Thom’s goal was initially ruled offside but awarded following a lengthy VAR review, ensuring the hosts shared the spoils.
Brisbane opened the scoring inside the opening five minutes through Georgios Vrakas. After starting the move himself, the Greek attacker benefited from a deflection following a Wanderers clearance attempt to clip the ball past goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas. The Roar nearly doubled their advantage moments later when Henry Hore rattled the crossbar from distance, with Thomas getting a vital fingertip to the effort.
The Wanderers gradually worked their way into the match and were rewarded in the 35th minute. Jarrod Carluccio’s deep delivery was kept alive by Ryan Fraser, who guided the ball back into the danger area for Borrello to power home a well-taken header.
Momentum continued to swing in the Wanderers’ favour late in the half, with Kraev producing a moment of quality in first-half stoppage time. Meeting a layoff from Angus Thurgate outside the area, the midfielder unleashed a thunderous strike from distance that flew past Brisbane goalkeeper Macklin Freke to give the visitors a deserved lead.
Western Sydney continued to threaten after the break, with Kraev again testing Freke early in the second half. However, Brisbane found their equaliser with just over ten minutes remaining when Thom bundled home from close range after combining with Quinn Macnicol, with VAR eventually confirming the goal.
Both sides pushed for a winner in an entertaining finish, with chances falling at either end. Jai Rose came closest to a late breakthrough for the Wanderers, striking the crossbar with a spectacular bicycle kick deep into stoppage time.
The Wanderers now turn their attention to their next fixture, when they return home to face Adelaide United at CommBank Stadium on Friday night.
