Western Sydney Wanderers have warmed up for a salivating derby with Sydney FC by moving to second on the table with a dominant win against Western United.
Marko Rudan’s side hadn’t won in the A-League Men since New Year’s Day but snapped their four-game winless streak on Sunday with a 1-0 victory courtesy of a 28th minute strike from Yeni Ngbakoto
In front of 7,849 at CommBank Stadium, the Wanderers were in control from start to finish.
And they will go into Saturday’s derby with the Sky Blues believing they can further strengthen their bid to play finals for the first time in six years.
“There was only one team who deserved to win today,” Rudan said.
“We’re starting to evolve into the team I knew we were going to be.
“We’re always in the game and we’re always trying to put our footprint on the way we play.
“We go into next week’s derby full of confidence, we’re at home with a great resolve about us.
“It’s not just another game, I’m not going to give you that cliche, it’s a big game for our club.”
Rudan was able to hand mid-season recruit Morgan Schneiderlin a 15-minute cameo against Western, with Milos Ninkovic also given gametime ahead of next week’s meeting with his old club.
“He (Schneiderlin) has to learn about our movements with the ball and our DNA as well,” Rudan said.
“He’s been very humble, he’s a winner and he wants to add to us.”
The Wanderers were dominant throughout and could well have had a few more goals but for the reflexes of veteran goalkeeper Jamie Young.
The Western No.1 was forced to deny Ngbakoto before the Congolese winger chimed in with his fourth goal of the season with half an hour gone.
Neil Kilkenny nearly pulled Western back level, with a floated cross glancing the Wanderers’ post, but John Aloisi’s side otherwise struggled for an attacking spark.
Their cause was not helped by the fact they also lost Josh Risdon in the second half due to heat exhaustion.
“It’s always a tough game when you play here, you need a bit to go your way,” said Aloisi, whose side slumped to 11th on the table ahead of next weekend’s game against Adelaide United.
“We didn’t press well and they played through us.
“Josh was getting dizzy and sick, so we weren’t going to risk him.
“We have to deal with it, it’s summer football and it’s something we have to get used to.”
Wanderers forward Brandon Borrello thought he had scored his side’s second, only for the goal to be ruled out as a result of teammate Romain Amalfitano obstructing Young’s vision.
