Western Sydney Wanderers FC secured a memorable 1-0 victory over Perth Glory at CommBank Stadium on Sunday night, with debutant Ryan Fraser delivering a dramatic late winner to hand new Head Coach Gary van Egmond his first win in charge of the club.
Introduced from the bench just after the hour mark, Fraser made an immediate impact in his first appearance in Red and Black, energising the home side before sealing all three points with a stunning stoppage-time strike.
The Wanderers were forced to withstand early pressure from the visitors, with goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas producing a series of outstanding saves.
Thomas denied Adam Taggart from close range before superbly tipping Tom Lawrence’s curling free-kick away, before later reacting sharply to block Nicholas Pennington’s powerful volley on the stroke of half-time.
Seeking a breakthrough, van Egmond turned to his bench in the 60th minute, introducing Fraser to the CommBank Stadium crowd. The Scot’s arrival lifted the tempo, with Western Sydney beginning to assert control in the final third.
Bozhidar Kraev went close soon after with a driven effort well saved by Glory goalkeeper Matt Sutton, while Fraser himself had multiple shots blocked inside the box and was inches away from scoring when his clever near-post flick struck the upright.
The Wanderers continued to push deep into stoppage time, hitting the crossbar through Brandon Borrello before finally finding the breakthrough from a corner. Sutton punched the in-swinging delivery clear, but only as far as Fraser, who unleashed a ferocious half-volley through traffic and into the net to spark scenes of celebration.
The victory lifts Western Sydney off the bottom of the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder and provides a timely boost heading into next weekend’s Sydney Derby at Allianz Stadium.
