It was a magical night for the Western Sydney Wanderers who defeated arch-rivals Sydney FC 1-0 grabbing derby bragging rights in their round 12 National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s fixture at Valentine Sports Park on Friday evening.
It was a former Sky Blue in Zachary Sapsford who came back to haunt his former club scoring the decisive goal that gave the Wanderers a much needed three points and their third victory in 2023.
As expected with the high-quality football talent on the field, the early stages were played at a frantic pace with neither side pulling out of a challenge either.
One challenge in particular coming from Aaron Gurd in just the second minute giving the visitors a free-kick as Nathaniel Blair shot from distance which was saved by Adrian Pavlesic comfortably.
The Sky Blues were edging proceedings early on with Adrian Segecic letting fly with a shot that just went wide of the post in the seventh minute.
Fellow Sydney FC attacker Jaiden Kucharski then had the best chance of the game in the 22nd minute after exchanging passes with Matthew Scarcella saw his strike hit the base of the right post before rebounding out.
It was the Wanderers that would take the lead however through Sapsford who pounced on a lapse pass out from the back before finishing decisively into the net as the clock ticked past the 25th minute – it was also his first goal of the 2023 NPL NSW Men’s campaign.
The goal spurred the Wanderers on as they had two more great chances through Ariath Piol and Edmond Lupancu in the first half, as the visitors went into the break happier of the two leading 1-0.
Sydney FC’s Nathan Paull had the next best opportunity in the 52nd minute as the defender connected with his head following a neat free-kick but failed to put enough power to trouble the score-line.
The Wanderers almost had a second in the 54th minute as George Antonis nearly found the top left corner with a decent effort before Marcus Younis followed up with a stabbing half volley that sailed over the target shortly after.
The game started to find its voice again as Sydney FC went on the hunt for an equalizer.
Alen Harbas nearly put his name in headlights with his first effort of the contest. The striker saw his shot miss the intended target before Ben Gibson also had a golden chance to grab one for the hosts but failed to hit the back of the net soon after.
The good crowd at Valentine Sports Park were treated to some great football by both sides and Paull almost stole the show with an ambitious long-range effort from inside his own half that just dipped over the post in the 80th minute. Had that gone it you would have bet that it would have appeared on countless social media channels.
The Wanderers did everything to hold the result as they battled courageously in the hope of securing maximum points.
Their good work was almost undone in the dying stages of the match as Zane Schreiber went close with yet another long-range effort which drew a good save from Lawrence Caruso before Paull saw his header face the same fate as the Wanderers celebrated a memorable win.
Post-match Wanderers coach Andrew Christiansen was very pleased with his side’s performance and importantly capturing the three points.
“It was a deserved three points tonight in a big game.
“In big games, big players step up and they did so tonight and I’m very happy for the players.
“There was a mindset tonight to do whatever it took to win the game. Sometimes football isn’t about just possession, there’s more to the game and they did what they needed to for the three points.”
It was a different mood in the opposite changeroom as Sydney FC coach Jimmy Van Weeran was disappointed with his side’s efficiency in front of goal.
“I still think that’s a game we should have won.
“Fair Credit to them, they were competitive and showed a lot of desire tonight.
“We created some half moments where Jaiden hit the post in the first half, we need to be better and show more quality in the final third.”
Match Stats
Sydney FC 0
Western Sydney Wanderers FC 1 (Sapsford 26’)
Friday 21 April, 2023
Valentine Sports Park, Glenwood
Referee: Kelly Jones
Assistant Referees: Patrick Teleki and Arinath Gobinath
Fourth Official: Mikayla Ryan
Sydney FC: 30. Adam Pavlesic, 4. Nathan Paull, 6. Matthew Scarcella, 18. Oscar Priestman, 19. Adrian Segecic (11. Clayton Taylor 45’), 25. Jaiden Kucharski (10. Alen Harbas 45’), 26. Zane Schreiber, 27. Alexander Parsons (7. Ben Gibson 60’), 28. Jake Girdwood-Reich (38. Zachary De Jesus 60’), 29. Aaron Gurd (13. Hayden Matthews 71’), 34. Max Buratto.
Substitutes Not Used:. 20. Max Vartuli
Yellow Cards: Gurd 1’, Girdwood-Reich 21’, Schreiber 43’
Red Cards: Nil
Western Sydney Wanderers FC: 1. Lawrence Caruso, 3. Liam Bonetig, 6. Frans Deli, 7. Jarrod Carluccio, 9. Nathaniel Blair, 11. Zac Sapsford, 12. Edmond Lupancu, 13. Marcus Younis (27. Fariah Koko 79’), 14. George Antonis (8. Allesandro Lopane 84’), 19. Daniel Wilmering, 77. Ariath Piol (10. Alexander Badolato 62’)
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Jack Warshawsky 23. Mason Fernandez, 26. Yiannis Frerck.
Yellow Cards: Antonis 5’, Younis 13’, Lupancu 14’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings:
3 – Zachary Sapsford (WSW)
2 – George Antonis (WSW)
1 – Nathaniel Blair (WSW)
By Justin Smith (@smiththejustin)
