The Western Sydney Wanderers continued their preparations for the 2026/27 A-League Men season with a 4-0 behind-closed-doors pre-season victory over Wellington Phoenix.
With the new campaign drawing closer, the fixture provided another valuable opportunity for the Red & Black to build match minutes, develop combinations and continue implementing their work on the training pitch.
Wellington made the brighter start and created a couple of early opportunities, with the opening 20 minutes proving an even contest between the two sides.
The Wanderers gradually began to take control, with Steven Ugarkovic and Hammond both testing the Phoenix goal before the Red & Black established themselves in possession and began to dominate proceedings.
Awan Lual was next to threaten as Western Sydney continued to build pressure, before young forward Atiya Waraga opened the scoring to give the Wanderers a 1-0 advantage.
The match also provided another opportunity for a number of the club’s emerging players to gain valuable experience within the senior environment.
A raft of changes followed as the Wanderers continued to utilise the fixture to build minutes across the squad, but the momentum remained with the Red & Black.
Liam Gillion doubled the advantage following the changes, before Miguel Di Pizio added a third as the Wanderers continued to control the contest.
Hiroshi Ibusuki then rounded out the scoring, making it 4-0 and completing another positive pre-season outing for the squad.
Beyond the result, the hit-out provided another important step in the Wanderers’ preparations, with valuable minutes spread throughout the squad ahead of the opening weeks of the new season.
The Red & Black will continue their pre-season program in New Zealand this weekend when they face Auckland FC.
Wanderers members will then have their next opportunity to see the squad in action on Saturday 26 September as part of the club’s Member and Fan Day.
