The Wanderers return home to face another local foe in Macarthur in Sunday evening A-League Men action.
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They will be looking to quickly forget the heartbreaking end to last week’s Sydney Derby at Allianz Stadium in what was truly a crazy game.
After originally falling behind, two Zac Sapsford goals helped the Wanderers go into a 3-1 lead, which they held for much of the second half.
However some strong substitutions from the opponents turned the momentum, and the home side scored two late goals, including one in the sixth minute of added time, to force the Wanderers to share the points.
It was perhaps an undeserved result for the Wanderers, with several players putting in their best performances of the season.
Sapsford was undoubtedly man of the match, with his two goals taking him to five in the derby and seven for the season in all competitions.
Josh Brillante also had a strong match in the middle of the park, showing grit and defensive nous to break up several opposition attacks whilst also contributing on the attacking end.
Gabriel Cleur, continuing in his return from injury, was also fantastic going forward and was a potent threat down the right hand side.
They now need to take that performance and find it again in Sunday’s match, which is crucial for their finals hopes.
The late draw means the Wanderers are on 22 points, three points off the top six, though they have a game in hand on their opponents last week and on the Bulls, who both sit on 25 points.
The Wanderers have a positive goal difference, but it is lower than some of the teams around them in the finals race, and they will be looking to fire at both ends of the pitch to help bolster their margin of error.
The defensive performance for much of the game on Saturday was solid until a desperate opposition simply threw too much at it, as Alex Bonetig had a strong game at centre back, whilst captain Lawrence Thomas continued his good run of form by making several key saves as the match wound down.
Western Sydney can take confidence from the fact Macarthur have lost two of their more influential attackers since the sides last met, as Jed Drew and Ariath Piol both have departed on overseas moves.
The pair both scored when Macarthur held on for a 3-2 win at CommBank Stadium, where the Wanderers played much of the second half with 10 men after a Dean Pelekanos red card.
Macarthur could also be without star striker Valere Germain, who awaits the findings of an
A-League disciplinary committee hearing after his conduct in Macarthur’s 2-2 draw with Western United last round.
The Bulls have struggled for consistency in the new year, winning three and losing three matches, with none of those wins being in back-to-back games.
They have also kept only one clean sheet in that time, showing their defence has dropped off after a strong start to the season.
The Bulls’ last win in this fixture means they are narrowly ahead in the head-to-head standings between the teams, winning five games to the Wanderers’ four, though their record at CommBank Stadium leaves much to be desired.
A win for the Wanderers would put them level with Macarthur and – if the goal difference swing is right, could see them leapfrog the Bulls at an important point in the season.
