Our Young Wanderers will look to make it two wins from the opening two games of the NPL NSW season when they make the short trip to Landen Stadium to take on newly promoted Hills United.
The Red & Black got their season off to the perfect start with a dominant win over Sutherland Sharks at home. The 3-1 scoreline didn’t reflect the superiority the Wanderers had over their opponents, registering 33 shots compared to Sutherland’s nine.
They even fell behind, but responded quickly through Nathaneal Blair, before Doni Grdic’s header and another goal for Blair secured victory for Western Sydney.
It was a strong performance from the Wanderers, who had a new look side, with the likes of Nathan Barrie, Phillip Gigliotti, and Marcus Fernandez all making their first grade debuts.
The Wanderers will look to be more clinical in this match, as they know teams can punish wastefulness and a failure to take clear cut opportunities, and another win would prove to the rest of the competition the side will not be pushovers this season.
It will be an interesting clash against a Hills United side that recorded an upset 2-1 win over Sydney Olympic in their first ever NPL NSW match.
After opening the scoring through Yu Okubo, the game turned when former Wanderers A-League Men’s player Nicolai Muller received a straight red card; Olympic pushed for an equaliser and got it through a Roy O’Donovan spot kick, but Hills snatched all three points with a penalty of their own in the 89th minute converted by Eoin Montford.
It continues a remarkable rise for Hills United, who won the FNSW League One competition last year after finishing last in 2022.
In that season, the Wanderers won both fixtures, with a smashing 7-1 win followed up by a closer 3-1 victory in the return fixture.
FNSW NPL 1 Match Details
Hills United FC vs Western Sydney Wanderers FC
Saturday 24 February 2024, 7:00pm
Landen Stadium
