19-year-old Aidan Simmons stole the show with a brilliant performance in Western Sydney Wanderers’ emphatic 4-0 win over Wellington Phoenix at CommBank Stadium on Friday night.
Western Sydney Wanderers are humming right now.
Marko Rudan’s side turned on the style on Friday night, demolishing Wellington Phoenix 4-0 at CommBank Stadium to keep themselves right in the mix for a top two berth and secure a home final in the process.
Goals from Brandon Borrello and Calem Nieuwenhof had the Wanderers ahead at the half-time break, before Aidan Simmons and Kusini Yengi rounded out the scorers to seal the win.
However, it was Simmons who stole the show, scoring a sensational maiden goal to give Western Sydney a sizeable three-goal advantage in the second-half.
The 19-year-old right-back did brilliantly to dispossess Kosta Barbarouses, before rounding Wellington keeper Oli Sail, then showing tremendous poise to beat a Phoenix defender and bury his strike into the back of the net.
“It’s an honour to score your first goal for the club,” Simmons told Paramount + post-game.
“It was a great moment and what a feeling it was.”
It capped off a masterful display from the Young Socceroo, who got an extended opportunity in the XI after Gabriel Cleur was sidelined and has remained in the side since his return.
The youngster joined the club from Sydney FC in the off-season, signing a two-year scholarship contract and has gone on to make 11 appearances in the Isuzu UTE A-League this season.
On Friday, Simmons linked up beautifully with fellow Sky Blues academy product Calem Nieuwenhof, Amor Layouni and then, substitute Yeni Ngbakoto on the right-flank, causing the Wellington defence all sorts of headaches with his speed.
“We wanted a home final for the fans and we got that,” Simmons said.
“We came in here to try and get the three points and we demolished them to be fair. We did what we came to do.”
His coach, Rudan was also pleased with the overall team performance, as the Wanderers locked in their first home final since 2016’s Semi Final win over Brisbane Roar.
“From start to the end, it was an absolute clinic,” he told Paramount +.
“We played with intensity, with intention, with purpose and we’ve got our just deserves. I thought the scoreline was probably spot on. They had a lot of chances, that first half was one-way traffic and that second half we just kept building.”
The Wanderers now sit ahead of Adelaide United in second-place on the standings heading into the remainder of the weekend and will be hoping both the Reds and Central Coast Mariners drop points if they are to remain in the top two.
Western Sydney round out their regular season with a clash against premiers Melbourne City next Friday night at AAMI Park, which could be a finals preview.
