The Western Sydney Wanderers epic A-League drought was quenched on a stifling hot day as the Wanderers played and won their first ever competitive A-League match in Penrith.
On a day of firsts Nikita Rukaytsya scored his first ever goal for the club with a neat turn and powerful strike in the 18th minute, before Brendon Santalab sealed the game in stoppage time following neat work from Nick Kalmar.
The Wanderers bought double Asian Champions Matthew Spiranovic & Tomi Juric back into the first team squad, Juric playing his normal role up front and Spiranovic stepping into the holding midfield role.
Barely a quarter hour into the game and having dominated the early stages, the Wanderers turned their advantage on the pitch into a lead on the scoreboard. Labinot Haliti lobbed in a cross that Mateo Poljak smartly knocked down for Rukaytsya, his first touch put the ball in a perfect position, and on the turn the flying winger blasted a firebolt that was through Wellington keeper Glenn Moss before he get his hands up. Just minutes later it was Rukaytsya again in the action, Wellington failing to clear their lines, it fell inviting but he put a weak shot into the arms of Moss.
Wellington had few chances of their own, their best coming on the half-hour, a counter attack launched by Roy Krishna, Michael McGlinchey launching Nathan Burns on a mission to the edge of the Wanderers penalty area before receiving a backheel return ball. The tricky midfielder then ran past Brendan Hamill and beat Hamill's central defensive counterpart Topor-Stanley. Red & Black reinforcements arrived in the nick of time and between Poljak & Ante Covic they kept their clean sheet alive.
Sandwiched between that McGlinchey effort were long range strikes for Antony Golec, who had a superb game with Wellington's tactical setup giving him the freedom of the pitch, and Mark Bridge, who had the crowd gasping with his curling drive. Matthew Spiranovic joined in on the fun with his long drive that had Moss scrambling. Just before half-time Rukaytsya went off with an ankle injury.
Wellington came out in the second half looking to pressure the Wanderers, but their long balls produced little in the way of clean chances, their best hope being a denied penalty when Nathan Burns went to ground somewhat theatrically with 5 minutes of regulation time remaining.
As might be expected, with Wellington pressing for an equaliser, they opened themselves up at the back. In the first minute of stoppage time the Wanderers received a throw in, Kalmar driving down the line before he turned Andrew Durante inside out, he squared the ball along the edge of the 6 yard box, Santalab gratefully knocking it past Moss to seal the game.
With the pressure valve of their long streak without winning over, focus will turn to how well can Tony Popovic build up his current charges for an unlikely tilt at the top 6, and certainly for the upcoming defence of the Asian Champions League.
The Wanderers next game is against Newcastle Jets, in Newcastle, on Saturday the 14th of February, kick-off at 5:00PM.
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