The Western Sydney Wanderers NPL NSW side will look to return to winning ways as they travel to face fellow promoted side St George City on Saturday night.
The young Wanderers fought hard in their narrow 3-2 defeat to last year’s champions Blacktown City last time out.
The Wanderers took the lead against City – who had their coach and a player sent off – but a late Travis Major penalty consigned the team to their first defeat of the season.
They were far from disgraced in a match up against one of the top sides in the league; Nathaniel Blair scored two penalties, whilst Marcus Younis once again impressed down the right wing.
They come up against a St George City side that has so far lost to Rockdale in a 4-3 goalfest, and drew with NWS Spirit in the last round.
The team that won the grand final in last year’s FNSW League One competition is still led by talismanic captain Tarik Ercan – who opened the scoring last week – and also carries strong attacking threats with the likes of the exciting Paolo Mitry, as well as Kosta and Maki Petratos.
They also feature a familiar face for the Wanderers, with last season’s captain Dean Pelekanos now plying his trade for St George.
The sides clashed three times last season. St George won the first clash 3-2 early in the season, before the Wanderers fired back with a 2-0 home success in one of their best performances of the season.
The sides then met in the first week of the finals, where a Wanderers side missing many of their top players were narrowly defeated 2-1 at Penshurst Park.
Andrew Christiansen will be hoping hat his side can achieve what they couldn’t last season by defeating St George at their home
ground.
St George City FC vs Western Sydney Wanderers FC
Saturday 18 February 2023, 7pm
Penshurst Park
