The Western Sydney Wanderers finally got back to winning ways with a nervy 1-0 victory over Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park.
The decisive moment came in the 29th minute when former Victory man Kosta Barbarouses converted a penalty after Daniel Elder adjudged that Clarismario Santos had handled Brandon Borrello’s close-range effort.
Barbarouses calmly rolled the spot-kick past Jack Warshawsky, making his A-League debut in place of the concussed Jack Duncan.
Victory pushed hard in search of an equaliser, with Juan Mata delivering his usual class from wide areas, while Santos and Nishan Velupillay created several dangerous opportunities.
The Wanderers nearly doubled their lead when Bozhidar Kraev broke free of the Victory defence but was denied by Warshawsky after a rushed shot.
Despite dominating possession 66%-34%, Melbourne could only manage two shots on target from 13 attempts, both comfortably handled by Wanderers goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas.
Pantazopoulos, alongside Jarrod Carluccio, Ruon Tongyik, and Alex Gersbach, helped the Wanderers backline withstand continuous Victory pressure, including a key goal-line clearance from Pantazopoulos on a Juan Mata volley.
Josh Brillante was influential in midfield, linking the defence and attack while helping control the game tempo. Victory’s two clearest chances in injury time fell to Nikos Vergos, whose volley and header both flashed narrowly wide.
The win lifts the Wanderers off the bottom of the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder and ends a frustrating five-game winless run.
Alen Stajcic’s side will look to build on this momentum when they host Newcastle Jets at CommBank Stadium next Saturday, while Melbourne Victory travel to Adelaide United for the Original Rivalry without captain Jason Davidson, who serves a one-match suspension.
