Amidst the chaos, Western secure a desperately needed, deserved, win

Western United’s 2-1 win over Brisbane Roar was a ridiculous game of football. Flat out ridiculous. That’s the only way that you can describe it. There were multiple goals disallowed, one contentious penalty call overturned but another allowed to stand, a multitude of VAR reviews, chance after chance going begging, and an Aloisi brother getting red-carded sent to the stands (and it’s not the one you’re thinking of!). 

But in the end, when the dust had settled and the chaos subsided, United had what they needed more than anything else. A win. Delivered by Daniel Penha’s 83rd-minute penalty and Josh Risdon’s towering 91st-minute header. Three points to take them off the bottom of the table. And they deserved it.

Internally, the club had been looking at Friday evening’s clash as a season reset. After six straight losses, the last of which was a 4-0 humiliation at the hands of the Central Coast, they kind of had to. Lose in this one and they could have found themselves up to eleven points back of the top six, something that would have placed their finals hopes all but in a box just a quarter of the way through the season. 

Yet when Jay O’Shea’s 69th penalty buried itself in the bottom corner of the net to give the visitors the lead, it felt like yet another defeat was the almost inevitable outcome; a tragifarce car wreck playing out in 90 minutes of slow motion, one you almost felt guilty for finding almost funny as a nuetral.

Because United were the better side on Friday, they created more and they largely kept the Roar at bay for most of the contest. But when you’re on a slide like they’ve been on, naive notions of performing well enough can feel like they take a back seat to a cruel universe toying with you for no reason other than because it can.

By the end of the first half, United was outshooting Roar nine to four, with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.19 compared to Roar’s 0.1. Only a superb save from Macklin Freke, sticking a strong paw skyward as he fell to deflect a shot away, had denied Riku Danzaki the game’s opening goal in the eighth minute. Penha, finally being deployed in a more central role as Lachlan Wales shifted out to the right, had blazed wide or been denied by Freke on several occasions and hit the crossbar with an almost Olimpico.  

A VAR review of what referee Jack Morgan had initially decreed an O’Shea foul on Ben Garrucio inside the penalty area had denied United a penalty in the 18th minute. 20 minutes later, Jez Lofthouse was perhaps fortunate that a VAR review on his boots sliding down the back of Seb Pasquali’s calf was only deemed worthy of being upgraded to a yellow card.

Nobody would have declared it an injustice had United been ahead at the main break. 

In the second half, Penha again went close to breaking the deadlock, driving a shot from the top of the box into the post in the 61st minute before chesting down a delivery and firing in an acrobatic bicycle kick of an effort that nestled in Freke’s chest. 

But then Seb Pasquali’s attempt to recover after a wayward control of a spilled save from Tom Heward saw him collect Thomas Waddingham, who had snuck up on him like an unwelcome gas bill to poke the ball away just before the United midfielder could swing a boot at it. 

It was cruel because Pasquali’s presence in the midfield, combined with Penha’s move central, had their side looking more fluid than they had all season. Add Ramy Najjarine to the starting lineup against Sydney next week in place of Danzaki and that might just be their best lineup. But that fluidity felt like it was going to count very little as O’Shea wheeled away in celebration. 

As Penha then had what would have been the equaliser disallowed four minutes later for offside, Michael Ruhs obstructing Freke for the goal, John Aloisi could contain his indignation against the callousness of the universe no longer. He lashed out, kicking the sponsor boarding in a frustrated rage and earning his second yellow card and marching orders to the stands; resembling an almost black hole of malicious umbrage as he sat next to Mal Impiombato a few rows back of his dugout. 

But then another twist occurred. Fate, perhaps, setting its sights not on a now powerless John in the stands but instead on his brother Ross in the Roar dugout. Or perhaps it was not a twist so much as a cosmic realignment of justice, a bone thrown United’s way just as they appeared to be hurtling towards their nadir. 

A handball, one Ross vociferously took issue with post-game, was awarded against Jack Hingert. Up stepped Penha and, finally, the Brazilian had a goal. He’d had seven shots previously to that point, he ended the game with a remarkable 1.85 xG alone – more than half a goal greater than Roar’s combined total of 1.14 xg – and now, from his highest percentage but perhaps also highest stake opportunity, he had his goal. 

Then eight minutes later, the captain, Risdon, rose to meet a Wales corner with a powerful header, beating Freke and his marker to the ball for the winner. The defender hasn’t had the best of seasons thus far for United and hasn’t been able to hide his frustration, it rolling off his body language in combination with his collection of several bookings. But now he was doing backflips, or at least attempting to, as United took the three points. 

United would end the game with 17 shots, seven on target, to Roar’s eleven, with three on target. Five big chances to two. 2.9 xG to 1.14.  A deserved win. A desperately needed win.

Maybe United will go back to haplessness next week. It would be a very annoying younger brother thing to do to get your side up for a visit from your in-form older sibling’s side before reverting to type again. But that’s for another day. Because for at least 24 hours, until Perth Glory faces Newcastle on Saturday evening, United aren’t bottom. They finally won again.