Saints rattled by hungry Wanderers
It was a night to remember for the Western Sydney Wanderers FC as they picked up their third victory of the season stunning St George Saints Football Club 3-0 at Barton Park on a chilly Friday evening.
The visitors struck two early goals twenty minutes into the first half through Alaat Abdul-Rahman and Edmun Haddad while Meliwethu Nkomo added a stoppage time third to put the result beyond doubt and snap the club’s losing streak against the Saints.
The Wanderers, who were on a horror run of results prior to kick-off, were at the foot of table after the three point deduction that left them on a mere five points began the match in fine form when pushing the Saints back into their own half but were unable to trouble the ‘keeper despite their good lead up work. The home side, for their part, had endured a mixed bag of results coming in to this fixture but birthday boy Mark Rodic was hoping his team would come away with a positive return at the final whistle after forcing Tristan Vidackovic into a couple of early saves. It wasn’t to be on the night.
It was the Wanderers who drew first blood on the counter when Abdul-Rahman slid the ball under Mackenzie Syron in the 16th minute with St George unable to clear their lines. It was a wonderfully taken goal and one became two when the striker turned provider for Haddad to add a second less than two minutes later belying their lowly ladder position. It was an unexpected turn of events but one gratefully accepted by the visitors.
The home side were struggling with the speedy transitional play of a Wanderers side who threatened to extend the lead further on a number of occasions as St George attempted to grow into the match. They may have been behind but showed their maturity as there were no signs of panic within the team.
Kayden Wright came close to bridging the two-goal gap in the first-half of stoppage time but it was the Wanderers who went into the break maintaining a two goal cushion.
It was St George who came closest to scoring early in the second half when Justin Poon curled a shot narrowly wide of the woodwork. He was to warm the hands of Vidackovic moments later albeit a comfortable height for the gloveman to grasp in the now swirling rain.
St George were applying the pressure and pinning their guests back but, as witnessed in the opening stanza, the Wanderers were more than capable of turning defence into attack in the blink of an eye.
Bai Antoniou, busy all evening, drew two fine saves from Vidackovic as the Wanderers clung on in the now greasy conditions, utilizing all the outfield players off the bench.
The well drilled visitors kept their shape throughout even when needing to defend in desperate situations, of which there were several, to maintain a much needed morale boosting lead although St George’s frustration showed going into the final few minutes of the match with some heavy tackles flying in.
Despite a late rally and almost continual pressure throughout the second period, St George were unable to break down the resilient Wanderers and conceded the points to the travelling outfit although the result was put beyond doubt in stoppage time with a breakaway goal superbly taken by Nkomo when able to utilize his pace down the centre and finish with great authority.
It was a tough blow for the hosts who used Barton Park as a fortress but were brought back down to earth by a determined and hungry Wanderers outfit keen on making up for lost points.
Match Stats
St. George FC 0
Western Sydney Wanderers 3 (Alaat Abdul-Rahman 16’, Edmun Haddad 18’, Meliwethu Nkomo 90+4’)
Barton Park, Rockdale Friday, 14th February 2025
Referee: Charbel Geha
Assistants: Aaron Bloch and Amber Harris Fourth Official: Daniel Cornofsky
St George FC: 99. Mackenzie Syron, 3. Troy Danaskos, 4. Mark Rodic, 5.Nick Kalogerou, 6. Pat O’Shea (7. Aeden O’Shea 76’), 8. Evangelo Souris, 13. Sunday Yona (24. Matthew Brewster 65’), 14. Justin Poon, 15. Bai Antoniou, 16. Kayden Wright (12. Thomas Dunn 66’), 27. Jayden Seeto
Subs not used: 7. Aeden O’Shea, 20. Daniel Axford, 34. Kota Toyooka, 40. Hassan Kamberovic
Yellow Cards: Mark Rodic 84’, Matthew Brewster 90’
Red Cards: Nil
Western Sydney Wanderers: 1. Tristan Vidackovic, 2. Nathan Barrie, 5. Lachlan Tilt, 6.Ryley Hollingdale (25. Lachlan Henderson 77’), 8. Nicholas Badolato, 9. Alaat Abdul-Rahman, 22. Jesse Cameron (10. Luka Knezevic 46’), 29.Edmun Haddad (27. Julian Cop 67’), 31. Aiden Simmons, 32. Saxon Hillyer, (34. Meliwethu Nkomo 46’) 38. Noah Peacock (7. Dallo Sandy 67’)
Subs not used: 20. Lucas Sinnott
Yellow Cards: Saxon Hillyer 13’, Ryley Hollingdale 48’, Nathan Barrie 64’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Alaat Abdul-Rahman (WSW)
2 – Ryley Hollingdale (WSW)
1 – Mark Rodic (SGFC)
By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Micky Brock
