By Christopher Hearn

Werribee City has upset Melbourne Knights 2-1 at Knights Stadium on Sunday thanks to a pair of late goals from Steven Cudrig and ex-Knight Ryan Filipovic.

The Bees trailed after a second-half header to Knights midfielder James McGarry, before Cudrig set up a frantic finale.

Filipovic struck from the spot with three minutes to spare to snatch victory for Nino Ragusa's side.

The match was soured, however, as Jacob Colosimo suffered what looked like a serious knee injury and was subsequently stretchered off.

In an uninspiring start, Knights forward Marijan Cvitkovic registered the first shot in the 18th minute, with goalkeeper Tommy Dunn gathering it easily.

Joshua Groenewald and Simon Symeoy then went agonisingly close to opening the scoring for Werribee, connecting simultaneously with a volley which crashed off the crossbar.

The injury to Colosimo occurred with 10 minutes to play in the first period. He was seen clutching his knee and punching the turf in frustration after the challenge with Robert Naumoski, which floored both players momentarily.

The rhythm of the Knights was disrupted and allowed Werribee to create better openings.

The whistle blew for halftime with Werribee in the ascendency as the Knights needed a response after the break. And respond, they did.

The home crowd appealed for a penalty for a foul on Shayan Alinejad, but the referee deemed the contact to be outside the area. Daniel Visevic's free-kick drew gasps from the home crowd, going inches wide.

The Knights deservedly went 1-0 ahead on 53 minutes through McGarry. Alinejad, who replaced Colosimo, put in a perfect cross for the forward to nod into the far corner.

The hosts struggled to turn their domination into a second killer goal, however.

Werribee full-back Symeoy stopped McGarry from adding to his tally with a superb interception on 69 minutes.

Cvitkovic capitalised on a defensive error two minutes later to go one-on-one with Werribee custodian Dunn, but he cleared well.

Werribee's never-say-die attitude served it well. In an attacking move, Ragusa brought on midfielder Damir Marusic for defender Symeoy, as Werribee moved to a back three.

It paid instant dividends as central defender Cudrig met an Oliver Rowland free kick to glance his header past May.

The comeback was complete two minutes later. Filipovic was adjudged to have been fouled and the referee pointed to the spot - the former Knight making no mistake to snatch an unlikely late triumph.

Werribee coach Nino Ragusa was delighted to grab the win

"I'm very pleased, the character shown was great," Ragusa said.

"After Green Gully, I questioned it. But we've got it together really quickly after that."

Knights coach Andrew Marth rued what he felt was an incorrect penalty decision that cost his side.

"I think it was outside the box, it's clearly seen by a lot of people,” Marth said.

"You live and die by decisions, and they didn't go our way today unfortunately."

MATCH DETAILS

Melbourne Knights 1 (McGarry 53') defeated by Werribee City 2 (Cudrig 85', Filipovic 87' pen.) at Knights Stadium (HT: 0-0)

Melbourne Knights: 1. Christopher MAY, 3. Sam TORRENS, 4. Ben SUREY, 5. Milan BATUR 6. Tomislav USKOK 8. James MCGARRY. 9. Jacob COLOSIMO (19. Shayan ALINEJAD 35'), 10. Marijan CVITKOVIC (14. Rodrigo COVARRUBIAS 74'), 11. Anthony COLOSIMO, 13. Antun KOVACIC, 17. Daniel VISEVIC.

Unused subs: 2. Nikola SRBINOVSKI, 18. Anthony DUZEL, 25. Michael O'FARRELL.

Yellow cards: FADLJEVIC '89

Red cards: nil

Werribee City: 1. Tommy DUNN, 2. Oliver ROWLAND, 3. Simon SYMEOY (10. Damir MARUSIC 82'), 4. Ryan FILIPOVIC, 13. Milan SAVIC, 14. Bobby VIDANOSKI, 18. Joshua GROENEWALD, 25. Robert NAUMOSKI (9. Zois GALANOPOULOS '55), 26. Ray MARKLEY (6. Anthony RAGUSA '66), 30. Ivica PRAIZ, 43. Steven CUDRIG.



Unused subs: Nemanja GOVERDARICA, Roderick YOUSEF.

Yellow cards: nil

Red cards: nil

(Image credit: Charlie Lombardo)