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Nichols stunner puts Wanderers top

A 79th-minute stunner from Mitch Nichols has powered Western Sydney to both a 2-1 win over Brisbane and the top of the A-League table.

The clash of the competition heavyweights appeared headed for a stalemate after Mark Bridge’s opening salvo was cancelled out by a deflected Jamie Maclaren dink in the first half.

A free-flowing opening 45 minutes disintegrated into a jerky tit-for-tat affair in the second stanza, where both sides struggled to gather any momentum with the ball.

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However as the points were destined to be shared, the match roared to life on Nichols’ in-swinger.

The in-form midfielder took a couple of touches outside the box and then unleashed both barrels on a shot that left a diving Jamie Young clutching air, and gave him his fifth goal of the season.

The Roar thought they had a chance to equalise in the dying minutes when Jacob Pepper looked to have handled the ball inside the box in injury time, but it was waved off, leaving the reborn Wanderers to nab their sixth straight win.

The Red and Black Bloc had earlier followed through with their threat to boycott the game due to grievances with Football Federation Australia, however it didn’t stop the small crowd of 9,680 from giving their star midfielder a standing ovation when his shift ended not long after the match-winner.

Against the eerie backdrop of a quiet Wanderland, the home side spluttered out of the gates after Nichols picked up a yellow card in just the third minute for a deliberate infringement.

Maclaren also came close to opening the scoring twice inside the early exchanges, including a 13th minute cracker that shaved the post.

However the Wanderers eventually grew into the match and it was Bridge that found the back of the net first, set up by some clever defensive work by Andreu, before Romeo Castalen’s cross upfield was deflected by Daniel Bowles.

Instantly the modest crowd clicked into a chant, only for Maclaren to silence them again with a 36th-minute goal against the run of play that drew an uncharacteristic gobful from Nikola Topai-Stanley.

– AAP

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