The Western Sydney Wanderers NPL 1 side withstood a persistent Wollongong Wolves outfit to draw 1-1 on Saturday afternoon at Wanderers Football Park in what was a tactical affair between the two sides.
The Western Sydney Wanderers NPL 1 side have drawn 1-1 with the Wollongong Wolves in a tactical yet close affair at Wanderers Football Park as the two sides settled for a point each in a game where either side could have collected the win.
Departures, injuries and illness forced the Wanderers into a handful of changes that saw Lachlan Tilt replace Leon Alizart at left-back, Antony Barbic deputise in midfield and Tristan Arrarte make his first start up front.
From the first whistle, it was clear that the Wanderers had learnt from past mistakes against the Wolves as they looked to be compact against a side who favours playing on the counter-attack.
The Wolves looked to start on the front foot, and despite their best efforts, were only able to trouble Tristan Vidakovic once in the opening twenty, as a Le’ai strike forced the goalkeeper into a diving save.
Edmun Haddad looked to reclaim a deflected ball in the opposition box, but was brought down by the Wolves’ Ben Gaison as he won his side a penalty. Haddad would calmly slot his penalty into the bottom right corner, giving the Wanderers a 28th-minute lead against the momentum of the game.
The Wanderers looked to double their lead when Kaan Nizam turned his defender on the counter, only for his strike to be saved by Daniel Solsky with a flying attempt.
The Wanderers looked to carry the lead into the final third of the game, as Vidakovic would deny Hernandez in the 61st minute, and the fourth official would rule Banri Kanaizumi offside as he tapped in a Nicholas Olsen saved strike.
Moments after the offside ruling, Olsen would volley his tenth goal of the season past Vidakovic as Tilt’s attempted clearance would be deemed over the goal line.
Jesse Cameron would deny Olsen in added time with a well-timed block as both sides would ultimately settle for the draw following a cat-and-mouse-like affair.
The Wanderers will feel disappointed as they look back and reflect upon what could have been a win had they taken their chances early in the second half, although the pressure from the Wolves post-concession will have them feel the same way.
