Wahby keen on making a difference at St George City
St George City’s recent run in form has corresponded with the promotion of exciting defender Matthew Wahby into the first team, who sat down with Football NSW to discuss the last few weeks, his debut and his goals for the future.
Wahby made his first-team debut against former club Rockdale Ilinden in Round One of the NPL Men’s NSW season, in a big moment for the 21-year-old central defender.
“It was great,” said Wahby his first appearance for St George City’s senior squad.
“It was the perfect debut for me against my old club, I couldn’t of asked for anything better.
“We let it slip at the end, but I thought for my debut, I played pretty well, and it was pretty exciting.”
In Round 10, Wahby reached another milestone, making his first start of his senior league career in a 1-1 draw against Sydney Olympic, having started against Rockdale Ilinden in the Hahn Australia Cup Preliminary Rounds earlier in the week.
Since then, the defender hasn’t looked back, playing five matches in a row from the off.
His game time has corresponded with a significant increase in St George City’s form; they have picked up three victories and one draw with the young centre-back in the side, having only won twice in their opening nine rounds.
“I’ve had to be patient to get my opportunity, and I’m hoping I’ve been able to prove myself with that,” said Wahby.
“We’ve been in good form in the last four weeks and it’s thanks to Manny (Spanoudakis) and Aytek (Genc) and the project they’re on, and hopefully we can keep that going.
“We’ve got some tough fixtures ahead of us, so I’m hoping I can keep playing pretty well and hopefully we can get some more wins.”
St George City’s next game will see them take on APIA Leichhardt at home, and it’s a fixture Wahby is excited for, as his side aim to continue their strong run of form.
“It will be a tough game, APIA have a very good squad,” he said.
“But I believe with our tactics and Manny’s plan, we’ll get the job done, get three points on the weekend and keep climbing the ladder.”
Meanwhile, looking into the future, the 21-year-old has one resounding goal – playing football professionally in Australia.
“My goal is to break into the A-League,” said Wahby.
“I think I’ve just got to keep playing at a high level.
“I think I’ve been playing pretty well in the last few weeks and I just want to maintain that, and hopefully get some recognition and be able to break into the A-League.”
Wahby will be in action on Saturday night at Penshurst Park, as St George host APIA for a 7:15pm kick-off, with the match available live on Football NSW’s YouTube channel.
