Unstoppable Wanderers run over Blacktown City
The Western Sydney Wanderers have notched up their 10th win of the season in an emphatic manner with a 3-0 win over competition heavyweights Blacktown City on Sunday afternoon at Wanderers Football Park to extend their run as real Premiership contenders.
A first half blitz from the Wanderers was enough to seal the result with a sensational solo goal from Aydan Hammond, in combination with a double from Nathanael Blair enough for a three-goal lead heading into the break.
The second half saw both sides reduced to ten men which blew the game wide open and left the fans with an entertaining final sector of play.
It was a back-and-forth start to the game with Blacktown happy to build some momentum in their attacking phases whilst Western Sydney patiently waited for its moment on the counterattack .
After a relatively tame opening ten minutes of the match, both sides found another gear in attack and began to play a more free-flowing style going forward.
Blacktown found itself with the first chance of the game as Joey Gibbs squared a ball to Jak O’Brien, who sliced his chance past the back stick.
Moments after, the hosts pounced on a counterattack and after a clever bit of combination play from Blair and Adam Bugarija. The league’s top scorer was played through on goal and made no mistakes to open the scoring in the 13th minute.
The opener was a cruel blow for Blacktown who were for the most part in control of the game and conceded with the Wanderers’ first shot on target.
Blacktown continued to fire back and came close through Travis Major as his looping header from close range just went over the bar.
Just as their opponents came close to scoring on one end, Western Sydney doubled their lead ten minutes after bagging the first goal of the game.
A sensational solo run from Hammond saw him cut the Blacktown defence with ease before slotting his chance home to make it two-nil in the 23rd minute.
Despite being two goals down, Blacktown’s intensity in front of goals increased as the half progressed as they continued to ask questions of their opposing defenders.
A misjudgement from Taiga Harper in goals gifted Blacktown a chance to fire back but Fernandez’s goal-bound strike was deflected away for a corner.
As the minutes ticked away at the conclusion of the first half both sides began to throw more numbers forward in search of a goal prior to the break.
Western Sydney was the beneficiaries of this and after a few close chances, a penalty was awarded in its favour after Adam Berry was deemed to have taken down Bugarija moments before the break.
With confidence flowing through his veins, Blair stepped up and buried his opportunity from the spot to give the hosts an unprecedented three-goal lead heading into halftime.
Coming out of the break with a three-goal deficit to overcome, Blacktown’s day went from bad to worse as they were reduced to ten men.
With both Fernandez and Doni Grdic heading towards the ball, both players collided but after initially only being issued with a yellow, the decision was overturned and Blacktown were forced to play the final 40 minutes a man down.
However, the extra man advantage for the Wanderers was voided just 13 minutes later when Anthony Pantazapoulos was dismissed for an altercation with Mitch Mallia.
Blacktown re-affirmed their control of the game from this point onward but had to remain wary of the threat that Western Sydney possessed on the counterattack.
Travis Major came close on two occasions, forcing a great save from Harper before his shot across the face of goal was inches away from finding the back of the net.
Western Sydney had one last chance to make it four after Hammond was played through on goal by Edmun Hadda but one heavy touch too many gave Tristan Prendergast a lifeline, as he scooped up the ball into his safe hands.
Despite a flurry of chances and a domination of possession in the final half-hour of play, Blacktown were unable to crack the sturdy Wanderers defence, as they held on for a well-earned clean sheet.
With his side flying high in first place, Wanderers’ coach Andrew Christiansen wasn’t shy in hiding his joy in not only the result but the overall start to the season.
“(I’m) delighted, Blacktown are a real strong opponent but I thought we dealt with their (attacking) threats real well, I’m really proud to keep a clean sheet, (I’m) buzzing with that,” he said.
“Everyone worked hard as a group, they send a lot of bodies forward and we as a group defended well, we really earned that clean sheet so I’m really happy with that.”
Blacktown City coach Mark Crittenden also praised his opposition for their impressive start to the game, which set the platform for the notable win.
“I thought their first half was outstanding, they’re quick and their ball movement was outstanding, big (Nathanael) Blair up top was hard to handle and Hammond (was too), they’ve got some good boys there,” he added.
“I thought we were a bit naïve in our defending but in saying that credit to them, the first half was really good, the second half became a bit of a shambles but at the end of the day it’s three points to them and it’s thoroughly deserved.
“We had enough chances to score a couple but it was just one of those days, but no, credit to the young boys.”
Match Stats
Western Sydney Wanderers FC 3 (Blair 13’, 41’ Hammond 23’)
Blacktown City FC 0
Sunday 14 April 2024
Wanderers Football Park, Rooty Hill
Referee: Karl Davies
Assistant Referees: Arinath Gobinath and Alessandro Llana
Fourth Official: Rowan Fisher
Western Sydney Wanderers FC: 1. Taiga Harper, 3. Anthony Pantazapoulos, 4. Doni Grdic, 6. Dylan Scicluna (77. Phillip Gigliotti 63’), 9. Nathanael Blair (47. Edmun Hadda 63’), 10. Alexander Badolato, 11. Adam Bugarija (99. Ryan Devine 69’), 12. Alex Bonetig (16. Roman Culina 45’), 13. Aydan Hammond (23. Marcus Fernandez 87’), 22. Jesse Cameron, 66. Ryan Hollingdale
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Lucas Sinnott,
Yellow Cards: Hadda 79’, Hammond 83’, Badolato 90’
Red Cards: Pantazapoulos 65’
Blacktown City FC: 1. Tristan Prendergast, 4. Lachlan Campbell (22. Jacob Maniti 62’), 6. Adam Berry, 7. Travis Major, 8. Jak O’Brien, 12. Tyren Burnie, 14. Mitchell Mallia (11. Danny Choi 71’), 16. Ben Berry, 17. Martin Fernandez, 18. Nicholas O’Brien, 23. Joey Gibbs (10. Mario Shabow 71’)
Unused subs: 19. Julian Rodriguez, 20. Cayden Henderson
Yellow Cards: Campbell 41’, Gibbs 60’
Red Cards: Fernandez 53’
Playing Ratings:
3 – Aydan Hammond (WSW)
2 – Taiga Harper (WSW)
1 – Nathanael Blair (WSW)
-By Dom Criniti
