Western United coach John Aloisi has been left ruing a series of missed opportunities after his side was forced to settle for a 2-2 A-League Men draw with Macarthur FC.
Up 2-1 heading into the final 20 minutes at Campbelltown Stadium on Sunday after goals from Noah Botic and Abel Walatee, the visitors exploded with a series of chances to kill the game only to prove wasteful or unable to beat Filip Kurto.
These misses then proved costly in the 79th minute when Marin Jakolis seized upon a misguided attempted switch of play by Tate Russell, cut around a defender and sent a deflected effort home.
"If we scored, we believe we would have won the game and put the game to bed," Aloisi told Paramount+.
"In the end, disappointed because we didn't get the win – but we nearly lost the game."
Though still jumping into third on the table with a point, United are also just two points clear of seventh-placed Melbourne City, while Macarthur move into fifth.
After forcing Kurto into a series of early saves, United took a deserved lead in the 23rd minute when Ben Garuccio swung a cross onto the head of Botic, who darted in front of his marker to nod home.
Tipped as a future Socceroo by Aloisi and increasingly viewed as a bolter for qualifiers against Indonesia and China next month, it was the 23-year-old's fifth goal in his last four games.
"I'm not thinking about [Socceroos]," Botic told Paramount+.
"Whenever they call me up then it will be a huge honour and a privilege to play for my country but my focus is on Western United."
Furious they hadn't been awarded a free kick in the build-up to the goal, the Bulls restored parity to an increasingly spiteful game ten minutes later through Jake Hollman.
But United's strong opening stanza was rewarded on the stroke of halftime when Walatee collected the ball at the top of the box and fired beyond Kurto to make it 2-1.
Jakolis' equaliser, however, left both sides throwing haymakers in search of an added-time winner, with the Bulls finishing the stronger of the two sides and Danny De Silva having a goal ruled out for offside.
"We had five or six [more] chances in the last ten minutes that we hadn't made all game," Jakolis told Paramount+.
"We should be happy with the point; you can expect more but you can also lose the game."
