A first half Richard Darko goal condemned the Western Sydney Wanderers NPL side to a frustrating 1-0 defeat against NWS Spirit.
On a cool night at Christie Park, the Wanderers had a plethora of chances in the second half, but were unable to breach the Spirit rearguard.
Despite still being without the suspended Zac Sapsford and Ariath Piol, the side was boosted by the return of Jarrod Carluccio and Aidan Simmons.
And it was Carluccio who created the first big chance of the match, as his through ball found Marcus Younis on the run, but the winger put his shot agonisingly wide of the post.
Spirit would take the lead midway through the first half, as the ball fell to Darko on the edge of the box after a corner, and he produced a powerful low volley that went into the bottom corner past Lawrence Caruso.
The Wanderers upped the ante in the second period and almost found a breakthrough just before the hour mark when Simmons and Younis were denied in quick succession by the Spirit keeper Christopher Marques, and a desperate block from a defender.
From the resulting corner, Teng Kuol’s ball across the box found Younis at the far post, but the winger was unable to put his shot on target.
George Antonis was the next to try his luck, as he managed to juggle the ball past the tackle attempts of defenders, but he lacked composure when trying to finish the chance and he shot wide.
Nathaneal Blair was introduced to the contest with 15 minutes to go as the Wanderers continued to push for the crucial equaliser, but they would ultimately come up short. Talented attacker Alex Badolato also went off injured in the closing stages of the match.
The side returns home next weekend and faces off against the Central Coast Mariners.
