A depleted Wanderers NPL side have fallen short against NWS Spirit, losing 1-0 at Christie Park.
With star men Marcus Younis and Dylan Scicluna dropping out of the side after performing well in midweek, it was an inexperienced Wanderers side that took the field for a third week in a row, though the side was bolstered by the return of Jesse Cameron from international duty.
There were very few chances to begin the match, with Spirit having a couple of sighters at goal, whilst the Wanderers looked to absorb the pressure and hit their hosts on the counter-attack.
The game suddenly sprung into life in the 27th minute when Rashun Tafunai almost put the Red and Black in front when he lunged for a Gigliotti cross, but agonisingly couldn’t make good contact with the ball.
The Wanderers were punished for the miss five minutes later when Michael Konestabo scored from close range, despite the best efforts of Lucas Sinnott in goal.
Western Sydney almost found an equaliser immediately when Dallo Sandy was able to sidefoot a shot towards goal, but it drifted wide of the target.
Andrew Christiansen made changes at the break, with Luke Nieuwenhof coming off the bench for his first appearance in first grade since returning from a serious injury.
The midfielder looked good in the centre of the park as he looked to be positive with the ball and picking out his teammates, but the final product was deserting the Wanderers in the second half.
Spirit had a couple of forays forward that required the intervention of Sinnott, but as the game wound down, they sat back in a solid shape in order to hold on to their lead, and they were able to see out the game despite late pressure from the Wanderers.
The Wanderers face a home Sydney Derby next Sunday.
