Gutsy Wanderers outclass Manly United
Western Sydney Wanderers have picked up a vital three points with a drama filled 2-1 win over Manly United at Wanderers Football Park.
Manly United had an early shot on target, as Kristian Sainitch forced Lawrence Caruso into some early work with a left-footed effort from distance.
Drama unfolded soon after as Western Sydney Wanderers were reduced to ten-men in under 10 minutes as Ariath Piol was sent off after having words with an assistant referee.
While Manly United began to control possession, the home side looked dangerous on transition, with Nathanael Blair running threateningly off the last line.
However, the Wanderers began to adapt and weren’t going to roll over in a deep block – they looked sharp and positive with the ball despite the one man disadvantage.
Manly’s chances were restricted despite their heavy possession of the ball as in the 30th minute, a right-footed shot from Seiya Kambayashi deflected past the post and out for a corner.
The Wanderers were structurally and individually solid, blocking off any attempted central short combinations from Manly and forcing them to attempt floating crosses and passes into the box, predominately from non-threatening positions, where they were aerially dominant.
In the 36th minute, a quick passing move from the Wanderers across the pitch saw Daniel Wilmering find Zachary Sapsford in behind, but the forward couldn’t find the target with a left footed effort from an acute angle.
It was the Wanderers, despite Manly’s possession who found the opener on the stroke of halftime.
Sapsford latched onto a loose ball with blistering pace and took a positive touch forward and in behind Manly’s defence.
Striding on, he outpaced the defensive line and slotted the ball home into the bottom righthand corner.
Manly looked to respond five minutes into the second half as Thomas Fay unleashed a right footed effort after cutting inside, but the left-back only found the arms of the goalkeeper.
The Wanderers remained dangerous on transition, as a diagonal, incisive pass from Sapsford released Marcus Younis on the right and his powerful drive was smartly saved by Jack Greenwood.
Manly United had a huge chance in the 57th minute as a whipped cross in from Lucas Rainbird found the head of Santich, but the wide midfielder couldn’t find the target with a directed effort.
The Wanderers continued to hold their own as Manly struggled to create meaningful goalscoring opportunities.
However, in the 70th minute, Manly struck level as Kambayashi equalised from close range.
A deflected cross from Fay looped towards the back post, and the Japanese star snuck ahead of his man to tap home from close range.
The Wanderers remained dangerous and a marauding run forward from right-back Jarrod Carluccio saw a shot into the arms of Greenwood.
In huge scenes, the home side went ahead for the second time in the match, again through Sapsford in the 77th minute.
Frans Deli received the ball in a dangerous position inside the box and played a clever pass to Sapsford in the box.
The forward, moving to the right after the introduction of Alexander Badolato, received the ball and thumped home a good effort across goal into the top left hand corner.
Three minutes later, the Wanderers almost added a third as Sapsford played an incisive pass through to Blair, and the striker forced a good stop from Greenwood in a quick one on one.
With one minute left of regular play, two more players were given their marching orders from the match as both Bilal Belkadi and Sapsford were removed after an altercation.
In the first minute of ten in added time, a powerful, dipping shot outside the box from Dominic Ferguson was saved sharply by Caruso that went out for a corner.
Ferguson had another effort from range off a bouncing ball a few minutes later, but couldn’t find a similarly sharp contact, as the ball skewed out for a goalkick much to the relief of the Wanderers and their supporters.
Wanderers coach Andrew Christiansen was proud of the performance his side put up, particularly after going down to 10 men early on.
“The gameplan certainly went out the door very quickly with a man getting sent off, but we were able to regroup”, he said.
“I just can’t be prouder of the boys in the character, determination and confidence shown to still play.
“Ultimately, the game plan wasn’t to sit in and play for a nil-all, we challenged the boys and they stood up to go and win the game – to fight, run and play.
“We played some fantastic football with a man down and then two men down, so can’t be happier for the boys.
“We’re on the up, our group is super talented and learning how to play men’s football and I’m really happy with the three points today.”
It’s certainly alarm bells for Manly United who suffered their eighth loss of the 2023 season as they languish in the bottom half of the ladder with coach Patrick Zwaanswijk needing to see improved results from the Northern Beaches outfit.
Match Stats
Western Sydney Wanderers FC 2 (Sapsford 45’, 77’)
Manly United FC 1 (Kambayashi 70’)
Saturday 29 April, 2023
Wanderers Football Park
Referee: Brodie Merchant
Assistant Referees: Glen Stubbings and Anastasia Filacouridis
Fourth Official: Blake Sanchez-Cruz
Western Sydney Wanderers FC: 1. Lawrence Caruso, 4. Alex Bonetig (24. Teng Kuol 62’), 6. Frans Deli, 7. Jarrod Carluccio (C), 9. Nathanael Blair (29. Edmun Haddad 90’), 11. Zachary Sapsford, 12. Edmond Lupancu, 13. Marcus Younis (10. Alexander Badolato 62’), 14. George Antonis (8. Alessandro Lopane 62’), 19. Daniel Wilmering, 77. Ariath Piol
Substitutes Not Used: 5. Luca Pecora, 20. Jack Warshawsky
Yellow Cards: Blair 48’, Caruso 73’
Red Cards: Piol 9’, Sapsford 89’
Manly United FC: 1. Jack Greenwood, 3. Jesse Piriz (4. James Oates 89’), 5. Thomas Fay, 7. Seiya Kambayashi, 8. Dominic Ferguson, 12. Kristian Santich (10. Bruno Mendes 62’), 18. Lucas Rainbird (29. Hunter Elliot 62’), 19. Alen Aganovic, 22. Bilal Belkadi, 23. Harry McCarthy, 31. Marcus Lal (11. Matthew Sim 54’)
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Levi Kaye, 32. Saxon Hillyer
Yellow Cards: Ferguson 56’, Belkadi 89’, Oates 90’
Red Cards: Belkadi 89’
Player ratings:
3 – Zachary Sapsford (WSW)
2 – Jarrod Carluccio (WSW)
1 – Frans Deli (WSW)
By Jack George (@JackGeorge0004)
