The Western Sydney Wanderers could secure a spot in the A-League Men’s finals with a win over Melbourne City in their final home game of the regular season.
Western Sydney are currently on 39 points, five points ahead of their crosstown rivals in sixth and six clear of Adelaide in seventh; meaning finals would be secured with a win and Adelaide failing to do the same.
Alen Stajcic’s side will be aiming for higher and will aim to shore up their place in the top four, as well as closing the gap to second placed City to just one point.
The Wanderers have reason to be in confident mood, being the form team in the competition right now at the perfect time of the season.
They are unbeaten in nine games, their longest such stretch in 10 years, and have won four home games in a row.
Their latest success in front of the passionate Red and Black Bloc came last Sunday in arguably their best all round performance of the season.
Coming up against second placed Western United, who had won five in a row coming into the match they were excellent going forward in the first half, and put in a resolute and courageous defensive display in the second half to secure a vital 2-0 win in front of the biggest non-Sydney Derby home crowd of the season.
The game saw Alex Gersbach, a January signing, shine in his second start at left back; he scored his first ever A-League goal in the shadows of half time with a brilliant dinked finish, and created the second goal as his corner was spilled into his own goal by goalkeeper Matt Sutton.
Brandon Borrello and Zac Sapsford were hugely impressive up front, with the former getting a great assist for Gersbach’s goal, but it was at the back where most of the praise should go to.
Western United had the second best attack in the league heading into the match, and the Wanderers back line, led by Anthony Pantazopoulos and Alex Bonetig, were able to keep a crucial fourth clean sheet of the season.
Pantazopoulos’ performance in particular earned special plaudits, with the defender visibly celebrating every clearance and tackle like he’d just scored a goal.
It is a sign of the fighting spirit and never say die culture Stajcic has instilled at the Wanderers and that has come alive in the second half of the season, and it has them on the cusp of returning to the finals.
They continue to have the best attacking record in the league, scoring 52 goals, and their defensive performances are beginning to match it as well.
The match against Melbourne City will see the Wanderers look to do the double over Aurelio Vidmar’s side, having secured an important 2-0 win at AAMI Park back in December.
Goals from Nicolas Milanovic and Marcus Antonsson did the job that day, as the Wanderers were also strong and stout at the back.
City are on a three match winning streak, though they made heavy work of bottom side Brisbane last Friday.
They fell behind after nine minutes, and only assured themselves of a 3-2 victory with a German Ferreyra goal in the 86th minute.
Melbourne City have only scored 34 goals this season, the lowest of any side in the top six, but they have the best defence in the competition with just 22 goals conceded.
It will be a truly fascinating test then between a free flowing attack and a resolute defence in front of another fantastic crowd at CommBank Stadium.
