The Western Sydney Wanderers NPL 1 side are back in the winners circle following a 2-1 derby victory over arch rivals Sydney FC at the Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre.
The Western Sydney Wanderers NPL have claimed bragging rights in what was a coming-of-age performance for the young side. The win breaks a run of seven games without a victory for the Red and Black, as two goals inside ten minutes proved enough to take home all three points on Friday night.
Edmund Haddad was ruled out with injury, allowing Alaat Abdul-Rahman to make his return to the starting side in an otherwise unchanged lineup.
The Wanderers fired the first shot, as a fourth-minute intercept by Julian Cop proved fatal to Sydney FC, finding Awan Lual who calmly slotted it into the bottom right corner to give the Wanderers an early lead. This was also the Wanderers’ first goal in over 180 minutes of football.
Lual and Cop linked up once more soon after, as Lual found Cop out wide, where he cut in and struck from distance to find the bottom left corner.
The opening thirteen minutes of the game signified what was arguably the Wanderers’ most clinical period of the season.
Lual almost had his second through a pinpoint Tristan Arrarte cross but failed to get his foot to the inswinging ball.
The Red and Black headed into the break with a two-goal lead, limiting Sydney FC to a single chance.
Their first real opportunity came when substitute Dallo Sandy brought down Marshall-Witte in the box, handing Sydney FC their first goal of the game from the spot through Matthias Macalister.
Despite the concession, the Wanderers remained firm in the final ten minutes, with Sydney FC tirelessly attempting to trouble Tristan Vidakovic.
Vidakovic came up trumps as their best chance of equalising came through a cross in the dying moments, which the young goalkeeper grasped out of the air.
The result proved massive for the Red and Black’s survival chances as the Wanderers collected all three points for the first time in seven weeks. The Wanderers head to Cromer Park on Friday afternoon to take on Manly United in search of back-to-back wins.
