Awaritefe sinks former side as Blacktown City edge out Wanderers
Blacktown City are back to winning ways after a solid 1-0 win over a struggling Western Sydney Wanderers side at Landen Stadium with the loss further deepening the A-League academies woes.
What made it tougher was that former Wanderer graduate Reuben Awaritefe scored the winner which has heaped more misery on the side.
The Wanderers threw in some of its elite young guns as A-League senior players Aydan Hammond, Aidan Simmons, Nathan Barrie and Oscar Priestman came into the side hoping to spark the Red and Black outfit to victory.
The visitors defence strategy became clear very early on, getting as many bodies back in the box as they could to block any Blacktown City offence.
The home team definitely had the better of the chances in the first half, with Mitch Mallia leading Blacktown City until his unfortunate injury late in the half.
The Wanderers produced the first almost goal of the game as Edmun Haddad sent a flyer straight into the crossbar in the seventh minute.
Mallia followed up with a couple of fast runs down the sideline, but the Western Sydney Wanderers’ defence got back quickly enough to block.
Travis Major was doing a great job of sending balls into the box for an attack, with a great one coming in the 26th minute near the head of Mallia which was picked up by Vidackovic.
Lachlan Campbell was making himself known to the referees in the worst way, getting a booking for a silly foul on Hammond and continuing to argue for various fouls.
Tensions were high when Blacktown City were awarded a corner late in the half, with Grant Lynch getting pushy with Aidan Simmons.
Despite some good back and forth action, scores were level at 0-0 at the break.
The second half was much the same as the first, although Western Sydney Wanderers seemed to be stronger in possession.
Adam Berry tried his chance at a long shot after twenty minutes which went straight to the keeper after being forced wide from the stacked Wanderers’ defence.
Where Blacktown City had a lot of half chances, Western Sydney Wanderers were struggling to produce any real attack.
It was Blacktown City who finally broke the deadlock in the 82nd minute as substitute Reuben Awaritefe managed a great run straight through a scrambling Wanderers’ back line to chip a nice ball over the head of Vidackovic and into the back of the net.
Blacktown City coach Mark Crittenden was very pleased with the result, and said it was exactly what the team needed as finals approach.
“We were confident,” Crittenden said.
“We knew that if we kept everything tight, it was only going to be one or two (goals) to win it and that’s exactly what it was.
“We’re hoping to cement fifth on Friday night (against Sydney FC), then hopefully rest a couple of the boys before finals.”
Match Stats
Blacktown City FC 1 (Reuben Awaritefe 83’)
Western Sydney Wanderers FC 0
Sunday August 17th, 2025
Landen Stadium, Seven Hills
Referee: Reece Edwards
Assistant Referees: James Makris and Hayden Langholz
Fourth Official: Sophie Allum
Blacktown City FC: 1. Cayden Henderson (GK), 4. Lachlan Campbell, 5. Grant Lynch, 6. Adam Berry, 7. Travis Major (c) (25. Reuben Awaritefe 61’), 9. Keanu Moore (22. Jacob Maniti 72’), 10. Maksim Jez, 14. Mitchell Mallia (19. Sebastian Hayward 41’), 16. Benjamin Berry, 18. Nicholas O’Brien, 23. Jakob Cresnar
Substitutes Not Used: 12. Daniel McHugh, 24. Jackson Bandiera, 40. Cooper Rogers
Yellow Cards: Lachlan Campbell 32’, Travic Major 44’, Reuben Awaritefe 65’
Red Cards: Nil
Western Sydney Wanderers FC: 1. Tristan Vidackovic, 2. Nathan Barrie (5. Lachlan Tilt 45’), 4. Ricky Fransen, 9. Alaat Abdul-Rahman, 10. Edmun Haddad (24. Tristan Arrate 65’), 18. Awan Lual, 21. Aydan Hammond, 22. Jesse Cameron, 27. Julian Cop, 28. Oscar Priestman, 31. Aidan Simmons
Substitutes Not Used: 19. Max Hately, 20. Lucas Sinnott, 25. Lachlan Henderson, 26. Antony Barbic
Yellow Cards: Nathan Barrie 45+1’
Red Cards: Nil
Plater Ratings
3 – Adam Berry (Blacktown City)
2 – Aydan Hammond (WSW)
1 – Reuben Awaritefe (Blacktown City)
