Western United had to settle for a 2-2 draw against Macarthur in the A-League on Tuesday night.
Playing their second game in 72 hours, United rang the changes as they looked to get some fresh legs on the park.
There were six changes to the starting line up, including Christian Theoharous and Nicolas Milanovic making their first starts.
Milanovic made the most of the start, scoring United’s first goal in the 16th minute.
Both sides had chances after that to score in the first half, but neither side could with United leading 1-0 at the break.
United had a couple of chances early in the second half to extend their lead. Aloisi started to make some changes, bringing on some of their key guys.
Aleksandar Prijovic, who was among those changes, looked dangerous right from the start.
He would be rewarded with a goal after being set up by Lachie Wales.
The Bulls responded soon after to close the gap.
They would score a second after an own goal, as Leo Lacroix diverted Tomislav Uskok’s header into his own net.
United had a couple of late chances, but couldn’t get the winner.
United coach John Aloisi said he was proud of the effort from the boys.
“It was a quick turnaround from Saturday with a few changes and a lot of these guys haven’t played a lot of football this season,” he said.
“It was humid here, it was a tough night for the boys physically. They worked hard.
“There are a lot of heads that are down in there but I’m proud of them. We felt we were going to win the game, but in football things can turn pretty quickly, these things happen but we’re still proud of them.”
Aloisi said he was thrilled with how the youngsters had stepped up when given the opportunity.
He said these guys will be important as the club juggles a tough schedule.
“They were impressive… They deserved their opportunities.
“They’ve been training well and we know throughout this period we have to rotate players.”
The result was enough to move United to the top of the table.
United was set to be back in action on Saturday night against Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday night.
The game was after deadline.
