On Saturday evening, the Western Sydney Wanderers NPL 2 team went down 2-1 to Blacktown Spartans at Blacktown Football Park.
Spartans went 2-0 up after strikes from Dau Akol and Connor Eldridge, before the Wanderers scored late on through Mohamed Adam.
It was a good start to the game for the Red & Black as Adam curled a free kick just wide of the post in the tenth minute.
The next chance fell for Marley Peterson and he tested Spartans goalkeeper Michael Figueira with a long-range effort.
However, the Wanderers then fell behind in the 26th minute when Akol scored from close range following a corner.
The Red & Black continued to control possession and as halftime approached Rory Jordan chipped a nice pass through to Jarrod Carluccio, with the shot going wide.
The Wanderers pressed high to start the second half and a deflected clearance fell straight to Marley Peterson, but he fired straight at the goalkeeper.
Soon afterward there were close calls at both ends. First, Wanderers goalkeeper Nicholas Suman made an incredible double save, tipping an Eldridge volley onto the crossbar and saving the follow-up shot.
Less than a minute later, the Red & Black went down the other end and Jarrod Carluccio’s 25-yard volley was pushed wide by Figueira.
Then just before the hour mark, Spartans doubled their lead after Eldridge scored from inside the area.
The Wanderers then made a couple of substitutes to get back into the contest and one of them, winger Ali Auglah, would play a part as the Red & Black pulled a goal back with less than ten minutes remaining.
Auglah whipped in a free kick from the right wing, causing havoc in the penalty area, with Adam diverting Lochlan Constable’s shot into the net for his 15th goal of the season.
The Red & Black threw everything at their opponents in search of an equaliser but it was not to be as Andrea Agamemnonos and Rory Jordan had shots blocked by the defence.
The defeat means the Wanderers drop to fourth place. In the earlier games, the U18s won 5-1 while a late Angelo Kalamvokis free kick secured a 3-3 draw in the U20s.
Next Saturday, the Wanderers return to Sydney United Sports Centre to face Macarthur Rams. Kick-off is at 7:00pm.
Blacktown Spartans 2 (Dau Akol 26’, Connor Eldridge 59’)
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Mohamed Adam 81’)
Western Sydney Wanderers: Nicholas Suman, Bailey Rule, Mohamed Al Taay, Noah Pagden, Adrian Valenti, Lochlan Constable, Andrea Agamemnonos (c), Marley Peterson (Jacob Vasiliou 66’), Jarrod Carluccio (Ali Auglah 66’), Rory Jordan, Mohamed Adam
Unused substitutes: Oliver Kalac, Callum Watt, Yousef Sawalha
Other results:
U20: Spartans 3-3 WSW
U18: Spartans 1-5 WSW
U16: Spartans 0-4 WSW
U15: Spartans 1-1 WSW
U14: Spartans 2-4 WSW
U13: Spartans 0-2 WSW
