The first Sydney Derby of the season proved to be a fierce match, but it was Western Sydney Wanderers who managed to secure the win over their long-time rivals.
The tensions were high at Allianz Stadium as Sydney FC kicked off against Western Sydney for their first derby of the season.
It was a physical start to the match, with both teams bringing their fire right from kick-off. There was contest after contest within the first five minutes alone, pulling the crowd straight to the edge of their seats.
Both sides began to showcase some class as they started to settle into the match. The Wanderers were the first to look dangerous, taking the first shot on goal for the game almost 20 minutes in.
Western Sydney held the pressure on their hosts as the scoreless first-half dragged on, turning up the heat and shutting down any opportunities the Sky Blues were able to muster up.
Play continued back and forth, it seemed only to be a matter of which team would blink first. But despite some dedicated desperation from both sides, it was a clean score sheet at the end of the first 45.
It was the home side to press early in the second half, slowly beginning to assert a little more dominance in their game. However, both teams continued to diminish the other’s chances, neither looking to be more dangerous than the other.
There was some excellent football across the board, however, the chances of either team finding the back of the net seemed to grow further and further away as the playing field continued to even out.
The Wanderers found a promising opening up the centre of the pitch. But a soft touch was instantly shut down by Andrew Redmayne, who took the ball from the feet of former Sydney FC player Milos Ninkovic.
Kusini Yengi was the one to finally find the back of the next for the Wanderers after the Sky Blue backline gave him a little too much time to play, putting the visitors up into the lead with just 20 minutes to go.
The tensions were heightened once more as the match drew closer to its end. Sydney FC made a couple of scrambling, last-minute attempts, but the Wanderers remained in control.
In the end, the Wanderers remained on top, taking home the derby crown with a tight 1-0 win.
Sydney FC 0
Western Sydney Wanderers 1: (Kusini YENGI 70’)
Allianz Stadium
Referee: Alex King
Assistant Referees: Andrew Lindsay, Kearney Robinson
Fourth Official: Stephen Lucas
Sydney FC: Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), James DONACHIE, Joe LOLLEY, Robert MAK, Patrick WOOD (Adrian SEGECIC 66’), Patrick YAZBEK (Jaiden KUCHARSKI 86’), Anthony CACERES (Max BURGESS 74’), Diego CABALLO, Rhyan GRANT, Luke BRATTAN, Aaron GURD
Unused subs: Thomas HEYWARD-BELLE (GK), Alex PARSONS, Adrian VLASTELICA, Jake GIRDWOOD-REICH
Western Sydney Wanderers: Lawrence THOMAS (GK), Gabriel CLEUR, Adama TRAORE, Tomislav MRCELA, Marcelo GUEDES, Kusini YENGI (Yeni N’GBAKOTO 84’), Milos NINKOVIC (Alessandro LOPANE 90+4’), Sulejman KRPIC, Romain AMALFITANO, Brandon BORRELLO, Calem NIEUWENHOF
Unused subs: Daniel MARGUSH (GK), Ramy NAJJARNE, Ruon TONGYIK, Daniel WILMERING, Zachary SAPSFORD
Feature image credit: Jaime Castaneda
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