The Western Sydney Wanderers NPL 1 side have fallen 2-0 to Sydney United 58 FC in a hard-fought battle on Saturday evening.
The Wanderers have suffered their second defeat of the season, falling 2-0 to Sydney United in what was a hard-fought battle.
The opening twenty minutes was open, centre-back Ricky Fransen found himself in space providing defence splitting passes on multiple occasions with Kaan Nizam coming the closest to opening the scoring off the back of the Fransen pass.
Sydney United’s Tariq Maia capitalized on a blocked shot, striking a half-volley that found the back of the net to open the scoring.
The remaining twenty minutes of the first half saw the Red & Black continue to find space by driving the ball through their defenders, but it was Nizam and Alaat Abdul-Rahman who came closest to opening the scoring as the first half ended one-nil to the home side.
The second half began with an early attempt from Abdul-Rahman, though his shot failed to trouble the keeper. Sydney United kept the pressure on Tristan Vidakovic, forcing a great save after a counterattack exploited the space left by an out-of-position left-back, Richard Nkomo.
Julian Cop forced United keeper Josip Orlovic into the save of the game with a powerful long-distance strike that was tipped overs the bar. Despite the Wanderers’ relentless attacking pressure, Sydney United doubled their lead when Leroy Jennings capitalized on a misplaced pass from Ricky Fransen, breaking away to make it 2-0 with just over ten minutes left in regulation.
Despite the Wanderers’ efforts to fight back, they fell just short, with goalkeeper Tristan Vidakovic making two crucial saves in the final moments to keep the score at 2-0.
It was another resilient display from the boys in Red & Black, but a lack of clinical finishing and decisiveness in the final third proved costly.
The Wanderers will look to sharpen their performance on Saturday when they take on the undefeated NWS Spirit FC at Wanderers Football Park.
