Wanderers hit six in Sydney FC demolition
Western Sydney Wanderers produced a ruthless attacking display to dismantle their bitter rivals Sydney FC 6-0 at Ilinden Sports Centre, with Awan Lual delivering a stunning four-goal masterclass in a one-sided NPL Men’s NSW clash on Friday night.
NPL Men’s NSW’s young guns went head-to-head at Ilinden Sports Centre as Sydney FC faced Western Sydney Wanderers in an eagerly anticipated clash that delivered a flurry of goals and a dominant away performance.
The visitors wasted no time with Lual striking inside the opening minute after chasing down Sydney goalkeeper Gus Hoefsloot to open the scoring. The first of what would become a four-goal haul.
The Wanderers doubled their advantage in first-half stoppage time when Lachlan Sattout reacted quickest to a loose ball in the box following a long throw from Jesse Cameron.
Despite the early setback, Sydney FC created a number of chances as the half progressed, forcing several half-chances and testing the Wanderers’ defensive structure.
Mathias Macallister went closest with an overhead kick and a sharp effort across goal, while Mitchell Glasson and Taye Hedley also threatened from set pieces.
However, just as the Sky Blues looked to build momentum, Sattout’s stoppage-time strike left them two goals down at the break.
The second half began in devastating fashion for the Wanderers. Lual added his second almost immediately after the restart, finishing calmly after breaking through on goal, before completing his hat-trick minutes later by reacting quickest to a loose ball inside the box following an Alaat Abdul-Rahman delivery.
Abdul-Rahman then got on the scoresheet himself, finishing a well-worked counter-attack after being teed up by Lual to make it 5-0.
Lual capped off a sensational individual display late on, converting from the penalty spot after Tyler Williams brought him down, and was shown his marching orders, inside the area, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to complete his four-goal performance. It was his 13th goal of the 2026 NPL Men’s NSW campaign as he re-joined the Golden Boot race with Marconi Stallions’ Damian Tsekenis who sat on the same amount of goals with a game to spare.
Sydney FC continued to search for a consolation but struggled to regain control as the Wanderers’ intensity and sharpness proved too much.
The match ended 6-0 as the Wanderers claimed all the derby spoils in yet another devastating display after they romped home to a 5-0 win at the same venue against Rockdale Ilinden last weekend. It also confirmed the double against their arch-rivals after defeating the Sky Blues in round 2 of the competition 4-0 as they continued to surge the NPL Men’s NSW ladder once more.
Match Stats
Sydney FC 0
WS Wanderers: 6 (Awan Lual 1’ 46’, 48’, 72p’ Lachlan Sattout 45+1, Alaat Abdul-Rahman 62’)
Ilinden Sports Centre, Rockdale
Friday, 29th May 2026
Referee: Ethan Zvargulis
Assistants: Matthew Harris & Shakeel Mistry Fourth Official: Jack Nelson
Sydney FC: 1. Gus Hoefsloot, 8. Samuel Lancaster, 10. Taye Hedley, 14.Jared Middleton, 18. Ethan Dyer (21. Zachary De Jesus 46’), 19.Mitchell Glasson, 22. Mathias Macallister (9. Zac Fowler 56’), 26.Nickolas Alfaro (24. Dionn Nigro 56’), 27. Lachlan Middleton, 33.Marin France (7. Jordan Graoroski 56’), 34. Tyler Williams
Subs Not Used: 6. Nicolas Calder, 30. Alex Zaverdinos
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Tyler Williams 71’
WS Wanderers: 4. Ricky Fransen, 5. Jesse Cameron, 6. Oscar Morrison, 7. Alaat Abdul-Rahman, 8. Julian Cop, 9. Awan Lual (38. Georgio Hassarati 75’), 17. Joshua Cetinic (25. Marko Radovancevic 67’), 20.Harper Ryles (23. Oscar Moore 63’), 26. Bradley Marszal, 27. Lachlan Sattout, 35. Lachlan Allen
Subs not used: 10. Johnny Pavlovic, 22. Lachlan Henderson, 30. Marcus Savic, 40. Ashton Crawford
Yellow Cards: Awan Lual 33’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Awan Lual (WSW)
2 – Alaat Abdul-Rahman (WSW)
1 – Lachlan Sattout (WSW)
By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Micky Brock
