John Aloisi insists Western United’s belief remains high despite his side conceding a 90th minute equaliser to Ulises Davila that allowed Macarthur to hold his side to a thrilling 3-3 A-League Men draw.
Davila was in majestic form for Macarthur, registering a hat-trick in the Unite Round opener at Commbank Stadium on Friday.
The Macarthur captain and Western’s Brazilian maverick Daniel Penha traded attacking blows throughout the game, but it was Davila who got the last laugh with a scratchy header to snatch a draw.
His late goal means Western remain rooted to the bottom of the table and have just one win in their last 10 games.
But Aloisi is adamant the performance was proof his side have enough about them to ensure they climb back into finals contention.
“It does feel like a loss not because we had the lead but because we dominated,” Aloisi said.
“We just have to keep focusing, keep pushing to get the next game and try and get a win.
“If I felt the players were losing belief, then I would have seen it, not only today but last week and in training.
“But we still believe and that’s all I can ask for from the group, but if we keep performing like that I'm so confident that we're going to get the wins.”
Western began with a bang, Penha at the heart of a flowing move that allowed Ben Garuccio to put them up with three minutes gone when he chimed in at the back post.
Davila, however, is not a man to be upstaged and all the qualities which led to him winning the Johnny Warren Medal came to the fore.
First he drew Macarthur level with a 30-yard rocket in the 32nd minute before pressing and harrying the Western defence soon after halftime, regathering the ball, and rounding Western goalkeeper Tom Heward-Belle.
“I hope to see more performances like that, I thought he played really well,” said Macarthur coach Mile Sterjovski.
“He looked dangerous and there's a lot of great players in the league but Uli is definitely up there.”
Penha jagged one back when he turned in a rebound from an Angus Thurgate shot and then delivered his own thunderbolt to put Western level with five minutes left.
Aloisi skipped down the touchline with joy but that emotion was temporary, Davila heading in to give Macarthur a draw.
