The Wanderers kicked off their 2025/26 campaign with a commanding 3-0 win over Peninsula Power on Tuesday night and two of the standout performers, Kosta Barbarouses and Bozhidar Kraev, played pivotal roles in the dominant display.
For Barbarouses, the match marked his first official outing in Red & Black, and the experienced forward wasted no time making an impression, getting on the scoresheet and linking up with his new teammates in the front third.
“Overall, I feel great and I’m pretty pleased with the performance tonight,” Barbarouses said post-match.
“I think we showed a lot of promise in our combinations. At times, you could see how dangerous we can be, especially considering most of us have only been working together for a couple of weeks.
“There’s plenty of room for improvement, but there were really promising signs.”
The New Zealand international, who brings a wealth of A-Leagues and international experience to the squad, was composed in his assessment of the challenge against the Queensland NPL side.
“Look, we were expected to win and that’s the dangerous thing about these Cup games,” he said.
“You can only really lose them if you don’t show up. So we just needed to get the job done. I thought the first half, in particular, was a really professional performance. We got the lead early and didn’t really look like giving it up.”
While Barbarouses grabbed one goal, it was Bozhidar Kraev who stole the headlines with a first-half brace, picking up where he left off after an impressive first season in Western Sydney.
The Bulgarian international was a consistent attacking threat in 2024/25, scoring six goals and providing four assists across all competitions. His double on Tuesday night signals a continuation of that sharp form under head coach Alen Stajcic.
“I’m satisfied with the performance tonight,” said Kraev.
“I think we did a very good job, in terms of the result, our effort and how we played. We go into the next round and we’re very happy with that.”
Winning away from home is never easy and Kraev underlined the significance of building early Cup momentum, even outside of Western Sydney.
“It’s very important. Wins like this give us confidence and they give us hope for what we can achieve in this competition. We continue forward in a positive way and now we look ahead to the next round.”
With Stajcic’s first match of the 2025/26 season delivering a clinical result and key players already making an impact, the early signs suggest that this new chapter for the Wanderers has plenty to be excited about.
