The rescheduled Sydney Derby at Kogarah Oval ended the same as the first at the Western Sydney Stadium, with Mitch Duke scoring the only goal to give the Red & Black part of Sydney all three points and bragging rights.
Western Sydney Wanderers started the match well, looking sharper and faster in the opening 15 minutes, forcing several corners and putting the hosts under pressure. The best chance early came from a Mitch Duke long shot, it deflected and luckily for Sydney FC, it looped over the crossbar for a corner. Nicolai Muller for the Wanderers and Adrian Cacerers for Sydney FC both had their own long rage efforts.
On 30 minutes Muller nearly opened the scoring. He drifted onto the left flank at a throw-in, picked up the ball from Sullivan, took a touch before launching a curling shot that had Redmayne beaten but couldn't drop fast enough and instead smashed into the crossbar. 37 minutes into the game Luke Brattan fired a long range free kick just wide of Daniel Lopar's right hand dive and out for a goal kick. Not longer after Daniel Georgievski mishit a cross that had Andrew Redmayne worried at potentially having bought the ball back across the goal line, but with no goal line technology there was no VAR intervention.
The Wanderers ended the half with a good counter-attack, Muller flying down the right wing and delivering a cross into the middle. Duke had dreams of a repeat of his flying header in the first Derby this season, but he didn't get great contact and it went wide. Sydney FC had one last attack down their right wing, but Barbarouses put the chance wide as well.
Sydney FC started the 2nd half stronger, with several shots that did little to trouble Lopar. Bruce Kamau walked off the pitch and was replaced by Tate Russell due to a groin injury. On the hour Sydney FC attacked down their left wing, Le Fondre crossing from the edge of the area to Milos Ninkovic, and his header went well wide when he should have at least hit the target.
15 minutes from full time Simon Cox should have opened the scoring. A ball from Tate Russell went all the way through the penalty area to reach Cox 10 yards out, his first touch was poor and he took far too long to get a shot on goal, by the time he did he had been closed down and it was blocked. From a follow up corner Schwegler blasted an audacious volley over the top of goal.
The Wanderers had taken everything Sydney FC had thrown at them in the second half, and in the 82nd minute Duke the Captain stood up and gave his side the lead. Tate Russell sent a cross into the area, Duke was retreating to make contact and it was very good contact, going back across goal and giving Redmayne no chance.
With time running out the 2nd flashpoint was a disgraceful tackle from young Sydney FC substitute Marco Tilio. He launched himself into a late, studs up lunge into the ankle of Daniel Georgievski, and as they tangled up on the ground Georgievski's leg grazed the young players chin and he reacted by rolling around the turf like he'd been shot. After an interminable VAR check, Georgievski was sent off and nothing was done about the awful tackle that instigated it.
Unsurprisingly, Sydney FC mounted immense pressure on the Wanderers goal, but the league leaders couldn't find a clear sight at goal and the game ended with them losing their second Sydney Derby of the season. The result sees the Wanderers unbeaten in all 4 games of the Jean-Paul de Marigny era, and rocketing up the A-League ladder to within 2 points of 6th place.
The Wanderers play Brisbane Roar in Brisbane on Friday 6th March, kick-off at 8:30PM Sydney time.
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