Sky Blues unlocked by hungry Wanderers
Western Sydney Wanderers have secured a crucial 2-1 win over arch-rivals Sydney FC in front of a healthy crowd at the Ilinden Sports Centre on Friday night to ease their relegation woes.
The visitors showed their hunger early as they defeated the young Sky Blues outfit who in midweek saw several of their players take part in the club’s senior victory over English Championship side Wrexham FC.
It was Sydney FC who created the first chance of the exciting fixture, with a long ball from Jared Middleton finding Mathias Macallister in behind, who rifled a shot from an acute angle into the side netting.
But in the fourth minute, it was the away side who opened the scoring, with the Western Sydney Wanderers taking a necessary first step to three crucial points at the Ilinden Sports Centre.
Capitalising on a miscommunication in Sydney’s defence, Julian Cop intercepted the ball and drove inside, before sliding a clever pass to Awan Lual.
From inside the box, the young striker kept his composure, controlling the ball before finishing with aplomb by opening up his body and curling the ball into the bottom right corner.
And in the 13th minute, the Wanderers doubled their lead, with another clinical, lightning-fast attack seeing them find the back of the net.
After winning the ball on the left, the Wanderers fought hard to earn space to find the opposite flank, leaving the advancing Jesse Cameron with time to dribble down the right flank.
The right-back touched the ball forwards, before driving in a stinging ball, which connected with Cop at the nearpost.
Somehow, the winger re-directed the ball perfectly, doubling the visitors lead with an extraordinary finish.
Sydney looked to respond quickly, with Akol Akon forcing a strong save from Tristan Vidackovic from close range, but the Sky Blues couldn’t find a goal, with Western Sydney looking confident and clinical with a two-goal lead to show for it.
As the minutes went on, Wanderers began happy to give their opponents possession, and conceded few chances in the first half due to their intensity and compactness.
In the second half, Western Sydney continued to manage the game well, mixing steady spells with the ball with discipline off it to restrict Sydney from having any dangerous shots.
But in the 74th minute, Sydney were given a lifeline in this fixture, as a mis-hit clearance from Dallo Sandy led to a foul in the box.
From 12 yards, Mathias Macallister made no mistake, stepping up, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and placing the ball into the middle of the goal to halve the deficit at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre.
The home side were buoyed after finding their goal, and were beginning to pile the pressure on their rivals in the few minutes following.
But bar a couple of half-chances to Marin France, Sydney were restricted once more, with the Wanderers holding on strongly to secure a vital 2-1 victory against their academy rivals.
The victory for Richie Cardozo’s young troops has heaped more pressure on the Central Coast Mariners and Mt Druitt Town Rangers who are currently fighting it out in the relegation battle of the NPL Men’s NSW competition.
Match Stats
Sydney FC 1 (Macallister 76’)
Western Sydney Wanderers FC 2 (Lual 4’, Cop 13’)
Friday 18 July, 2025
Ilinden Sports Centre
Referee: Matt Staples
Assistant Referees: Alexis Turner and Charlotte Flynn
Fourth Official: Wael Arabi
Sydney FC: 12. Alexander Zaverdinos, 2. Miles Milliner (16. Nicholas Zdrillic 60’), 3. Kyle Shaw (C), 6. Tyler Williams (27. Lachlan Middleton 60’), 9. Mathias Macallister, 10. Taye Hedley, 14. Jared Middleton (4. Joseph Calusic 45’), 20. Oscar Gultekin * 33. Marin France 60’), 29. Joe Lacey, 44. Akol Akon (39. Dylan Rose 45’), 47. Caelan Marshall-Witte
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Jacob Cremen-Cowan
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Western Sydney Wanderers FC: 1. Tristan Vidackovic, 4. Ricky Fransen, 5. Lachlan Tilt (2. Lachlan Henderson 85’), 8. Nicholas Badolato (3. Oscar Morrison 56’), 9. Alaat Abdul-Rahman (7. Dallo Sandy 72’), 18. Awan Lual (19. Max Hately 72’), 22. Jesse Cameron (C), 24. Tristan Arrarte (11. Kaan Nizam 85’), 26. Antony Barbic, 27. Julian Cop, 33. Leon Alizart
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Lucas Sinnott
Yellow Cards: Abdul-Rahman 72’, Morrison 77’
Red Cards: None
Player ratings:
3 – Julian Cop (WSW)
2 – Ricky Fransen (WSW)
1 – Tristan Vidakovic (WSW)
