The Western Sydney Wanderers NPL 1 Side shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw with Sydney Olympic following a late Cyrus Dehmie goal on Saturday afternoon.
The Western Sydney Wanderers NPL 1 side shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw with Sydney Olympic, following a late equaliser from Cyrus Dehmie on Saturday afternoon.
The Wanderers extended their unbeaten run to four games following the result at Wanderers Football Park.
Leon Alizart and Nicholas Badolato returned to the starting lineup, replacing Noah Peacock and Richard Nkomo, in what was otherwise a fairly unchanged side.
The match began with both teams seeking a quick start, looking to get in behind the defences with long balls over the top. It almost paid off early as Awan Lual found himself in space, only to be flagged offside.
Alizart and Edmun Haddad fired early efforts, but neither tested the goalkeeper. Julian Cop came closest to opening the scoring in the first half, with his shot hitting the side netting late in the half.
The teams went into halftime locked at 0-0 after what was an arm wrestle of a first half, with little separating them on the scoreboard or in the stats.
The second half told a different story — one of momentum shifts and attacking waves. Sydney Olympic dominated the first fifteen minutes, pinning the Wanderers in their defensive third while searching for the opener.
Michael Vakis was denied a spectacular solo goal by Tristan Vidakovic, who made a diving save to keep the game level. That moment proved pivotal, as Lual slotted the ball into the bottom corner minutes later, following a brilliant piece of footwork in the build-up.
Alaat Abdul-Rahman almost doubled the lead soon after, but it was Cyrus Dehmie who found the net in the dying moments of regulation time to bring the scores level.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw — a fitting result in what was an exciting and evenly contested game. Both teams will feel they could have claimed all three points had they been more clinical in front of goal.
The match capped off what was an exciting contest, with both teams likely feeling they could have taken all three points had they taken their chances. In the end, the result reflects what was an evenly balanced game across the full 90 minutes.
The Wanderers travel to Seymour Shaw on Saturday to take on the Sutherland Sharks, aiming to extend their unbeaten run to five games for the first time this season.
