06 Nov Victory and Wanderers Stalemate at Etihad Stadium

Melbourne Victory and Western Sydney Wanderers have played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at Etihad Stadium on Cup Eve.

The Wanderers had a bulk of possession early on in the game, with the front half failing to get it past Victory keeper Lawrence Thomas in the early part.

Victory were down to 10 men after two yellows to defender Mitch Austin, with the second yellow going for delaying the restart.

Momentum seemed to be on the away teams side, with Riera and Hamill pressing to break the deadlock and get the visitors the lead.

The Spanish trio of Llorente, Cejudo and Riera did combine however to give the Wanderers their first goal in the 33rd minute, and Victory looked in trouble.

GOOOAAALLLLLLL!!! @ORiera9 breaks the deadlock 🔓 #WSW #MVCvWSW

— WS Wanderers FC (@wswanderersfc) November 6, 2017

Victory almost were down 2-0 before Half Time with a Rhys Williams foul in the box to Kusukami, which saw Riera hit the ball from the spot which Thomas saved left side of the post.

Victory looked dominant come the second half, and it didn’t take them long to equalise through Thomas Deng in the 49th minute to square the game up once again.

What a header #MVCvWSW 1-1 #ALeague pic.twitter.com/I7ArYMN3L2

— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) November 6, 2017

The home side got a treat with state league cult hero Kenny Athiu coming on for his first run in Victory colours later on in the match, and was in the thick of it early.

Game ultimately ending in a slow start, but highly entertaining 1-1 draw. Wanderers still undefeated after the draw, and Victory still looking for their first win of the season.