Sydney FC players have been left fuming after being denied a late penalty in their 1-0 loss to Western Sydney in an enthralling derby.
Star Wanderers forward Alou Kuol scored the winner in the 51st minute before limping off with a hip injury, but the biggest talking point of Saturday night's match was a late handball in the box that wasn't whistled for a penalty.
Joe Lolley's rocket from outside the box looked headed for goal before cannoning into the hand of Western Sydney enforcer Anthony Pantazopoulos.
Sydney's pleas for a handball were initially waved away, and even VAR cleared the incident despite Pantazopoulos' hand appearing to be away from his body.
The ladder-leading Sky Blues pushed hard for an equaliser, dominating the second half, but Wanderers goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas stood firm under the late barrage to seal the win.
The result ended Sydney's four-game winning streak, while Western Sydney have now snared back-to-back victories after starting the season with four winless outings.
Pantazopoulos copped plenty of grief from the visiting fans on hand at CommBank Stadium, but he thrived in the contest.
"That is the greatest compliment a player can get, when you are being hated by the opposition fans," Pantazopoulos told Paramount+.
"I live and breathe that stuff, so I'm buzzing."
He also copped grief from some Sydney players after the final whistle.
"That hatred is there, and I'm glad we put that on show tonight," he said.
"On our home ground we showed them you don't come here and dominate and bully us. We're that team that does that to other teams."
When asked about Sydney's late handball appeal, Pantazopoulos bluntly replied: "Well it finished 1-0."
There were a number of heated moments in the first half as both sides tried to assert their dominance.
Pantazopoulos was one of the main antagonists, with his hip and shoulder that floored Al Hassan Toure sparking a mini push and shove.
Even Sydney coach Ufuk Talay got in on the fun, purposely standing in the way of Pantazopoulos at one point as the Wanderers defender attempted to launch a long throw-in.
Pantazopoulos came close to opening the scoring in the 33rd minute when his glancing header forced Harrison Devenish-Meares into a good save.
Moments later, Kosta Barbarouses stole the ball launched a powerful shot - only for Devenish-Meares to fingertip it onto the crossbar.
The deadlock was finally broken following a defensive mistake from Sydney defender Marcel Tisserand, who headed down Pantazopoulos' long throw straight to Kuol.
Kuol trapped the ball and then sneaked his shot through the legs of Tisserand to send the crowd into raptures.
The Wanderers recruit limped off straight after that, and Western Sydney also lost left-back Alex Gersbach to a hamstring injury late in the match.
Sydney had won four of the past five meetings between the two sides, including the past four derbies at Parramatta, but they were unable to find the equaliser despite a barrage of late opportunities.
