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  • Wanderers Drop From Top 6


    mack

    The Western Sydney Wanderers dropped out of the A-League Finals race after suffering a 2-1 defeat at home to Melbourne City tonight.

    The Wanderers were looking for revenge for their 7-0 drubbing at the hands of Melbourne City earlier in the season with a spot in the top 6 all but assured for the winner. City came out on top with a first half brace followed by a stoic second half defensive play that the bright spark of Marcus Younis & Dylan Scicluna couldn't break down.

    Melbourne City backed up with the same squad from their record breaking 8-0 demolition of Perth Glory the week prior, while the Wanderers continued to miss Nicolas Milanovic & Lachlan Brook to international duty while also losing Brandon Borrello to injury in their 2-1 losing effort in the Sydney Derby.

    The Wanderers made a decent start, with Zac Sapsford setting up a free kick on the right wing from a cynical foul by Vicente Fernandez that saw him pick up an early yellow card. City managed to scramble away the resulting set piece opportunity. Melbourne City setup a good opportunity for Marin Jakolis, he chested down a lob into the box that he was onside, but he was put off by the cover defence just enough that he dragged his shot wide.

    City took the lead with an assist from Marcelo. Leo Natel isolated Aidan Simmons, beat him with a simple cut inside onto his right foot and smashed the ball toward goal, saw it take a flick off the Wanderers Captain and beat the dive of Thomas ar the far post.

    Sapsford could have pulled the Wanderers level shortly after, Pierias had made a number of attacking raids down the right flank and another one let him find Oscar Priestman who laid it off for Sapsford, his shot at the near post was saved well by Jamie Young. Jack Clisby was in the right place at the right time when Jamie Maclaren and Jakolis combined, the cross into the 6 yard box would have given Maclaren a golden chance if not for Clisby coming across as late cover to nod it away.

    Jakolis missed his earlier chance but he was given a saloon passage into the 18 yard box to score his 2nd goal of the season and City's 2nd of the game. Starting with non-existent pressure on Jamie Young, the Wanderers invisible midfield allowed their opponents to quickly pass it up field, then to let Jakolis run with the ball from 30 yards out. He strode into the box without challenge, Alex Bonetig ignored the golden rule of defending and ran away from the man with the ball for a phantom run to his left, leaving Jakolis to slowly shuffle inside the box, square up and shoot with Marcelo's attempted block not soon enough to stop it from hitting the side netting to make it 2-0 with 5 minutes left to play in the half, a score line which remained until the break.

    While it was not quite "season on the line" yet, there was an imperative to make a change and Marko Rudan hooked Marcus Antonsson and Bonetig with Younis and Nathan Barrie on in like for like positional substitutions. The changes did little to improve the situation, with Josh Brillante having a long range strike the crowd was momentarily excited for before Young swatted it away. City went to the bench before the hour mark, Leo Natel making away after his goal-scoring effort with Harry Politidis coming on. Dylan Scicluna came on for Simmons.

    Melbourne City paid the price for lazy wing defence as they allowed the two Red & Black substitutes to combine to draw a goal back. Scicluna was left in an acre of space on the sideline and he launched a curling cross to the back of the penalty area, Younis arrived on the edge of the 6 yard box, heading back and across the keeper, 2-1 to the Wanderers with 20 to play. Milos Ninkovic and Nathaniel Blair were the final substitutions for the Wanderers as Sapsford & Sonny Kittel left. Terry Antonis & Max Caputo entered for City as they took off Tolgay Arslan and Mathew Leckie to introduce fresh legs for the final 10 minutes.

    Younis and Ninkovic both had chances, Younis with two attempts after cutting back onto his right and striking hard & fast but not being able to beat Younis or curl it into the far side. Ninkovic was almost through on goal in the 86th minute, but just as he pulled the trigger he was closed down and had his shot blocked. City used their final window following the shot, the substitute Politidis coming off in a tactical switch with former Wanderer Alessandro Lopane after only a half-hour and Curtis Good on to shore up the defence. The Wanderers continued to push for a vital equaliser, they prodded and probed with Ninkovic, eventually a snapshot from Younis was created but his shot hit the bar in an agonising fashion for the home supporters with 6 minutes of stoppage time given by the fourth official.

    In the 95th minute City gave away a free kick not far out from their penalty area. With even Lawrence Thomas going up for the set piece Jack Clisby elected to shoot at goal but couldn't get it past the wall. After a series of crosses & rebounds it fell for Ninkovic but he turned out to be in an offside position and it was the final chance of the game. Melbourne City took the 3 points with their first half goals enough to get past a Wanderers team that lacked attacking inspiration until Younis & Scicluna arrived on the scene.

    Western Sydney left too big a hole to pull themselves out from, giving up their 6th place position, with reclamation of the last finals spot now requiring a win against Melbourne Victory in the final round and for Melbourne City to then lose or draw on Sunday. A loss or draw could see the team finish as low as 7th pending result for Brisbane & Adelaide. In addition to being a potential final game as a professional before Ninkovic retires, it might also be the difference between Marko Rudan continuing into a 4th year in charge or the club having to look for yet another manager to try and turn the club around.

    The Wanderers next match is their final game of the regular season, against Melbourne Victory in Melbourne with kick-off on Saturday the 27th with kick-off at 7:45pm.


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    2 hours ago, Edinburgh said:

    @andypk if you are still thinking of going? 

    Not sure.  Will decide at the last minute but doubtful after todays performance.

    Link to comment
    59 minutes ago, StringerBellend said:

    He can't trap or pass a ball, that's nothing to do with the ACL injury. 

    Without trying to be an immensly massive knob, and I say this to someone who's opinion I respect a lot on here, thats absolutely not true. Theres a large pile studies on the impact of player performance post ACL injuries. I'm happy to have discussion about it thats evidence based, though the post game may not be the best place. We are here solely to bemoan our current standings aren't we? :D

    That all said, I dont think Tate has any real future with his current output. He's been back at it for a season and is only showing decline

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    5 hours ago, Upthehill said:

    Without trying to be an immensly massive knob, and I say this to someone who's opinion I respect a lot on here, thats absolutely not true. Theres a large pile studies on the impact of player performance post ACL injuries. I'm happy to have discussion about it thats evidence based, though the post game may not be the best place. We are here solely to bemoan our current standings aren't we? :D

    That all said, I dont think Tate has any real future with his current output. He's been back at it for a season and is only showing decline

    You are right I am being way too harsh, other than the specifics of ACL a best part of a year our of footy at that age is tragic and it's clearly set him back.

    That's said pre ACL I'd moan about him losing the ball. Simmons is far better with the ball.

    We actually do have some great young players. The positive to take from yesterday all the NPL kids did well when they got on. Barrie looks like a really good player.

     

    Link to comment
    11 hours ago, Upthehill said:

    I was on a plane. Do I bother with the highlights? Sounds like the full thing was a bit of a bust.

    The highlights would paint a better picture than the actual gameplay. We had some moments and that was it.
    It’s like the stats on the post match show, I was astounded that we had (iirc) more passes, more corners, more attempts, and possibly slightly more possession. I guess all that does is prove how ******* **** we are when you watch the actual gameplay 

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    11 hours ago, Upthehill said:

    Whilst Milanovic has had some ugly patches, that kids is a footballer.

    Priestman, Sapsford, Badolato and Simmons will all get there. And dont forget how good tate was in long stretches before his ACL injury. Our current crop of kids is obliterating the NPL, they will come good. And guys like Hendrix could be a base for a long term stable squad. Also getting rid of Antonsson and getting Borello back to being a lone striker like last season will be a huge step forward.

    I strongly believe our issue right now is our ownership. Lederer has basically gotten every decision wrong since taking over club (someone for the love of god prove me wrong because I can't think of one). I dont think the answer is burning half the squad and starting again

    This. 

    A fan of Milanovic....but think he'll be of OS soon.

    The youth are not the problem it's non performing visa and seniors.

    Going to be an interesting end of season isn't it. Who goes who stays.

    Link to comment
    17 minutes ago, sonar said:

    This. 

    A fan of Milanovic....but think he'll be of OS soon.

    The youth are not the problem it's non performing visa and seniors.

    Going to be an interesting end of season isn't it. Who goes who stays.

    Very telling that in a game we needed to win the attacking visa players were taken off 

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    The fact that Thomas had no keeper saves and City had 2 shots on target says it all.

    Young with 7 saves against WSW 8 shots on target.

    I asked the question at the game....did Thomas even have to make a save?

    We conceded to a deflection and the parting of the red sea with a terrible defence display.

     

    Having said that, we were rubbish and Perias is Sotirio V2 with his frustration. Gets into amazing positions but instead of his first touch knocking the ball forward to lose his marker with pace. He traps it and starts from a standing start where all advantage is gone.

     

    Victory away. Our record speaks for itself. And apparently we haven't won a home game since Jan or something.

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    1 minute ago, Erebus said:

    The fact that Thomas had no keeper saves and City had 2 shots on target says it all.

    Young with 7 saves against WSW 8 shots on target.

    I asked the question at the game....did Thomas even have to make a save?

    We conceded to a deflection and the parting of the red sea with a terrible defence display.

     

    Having said that, we were rubbish and Perias is Sotirio V2 with his frustration. Gets into amazing positions but instead of his first touch knocking the ball forward to lose his marker with pace. He traps it and starts from a standing start where all advantage is gone.

     

    Victory away. Our record speaks for itself. And apparently we haven't won a home game since Jan or something.

    Yep city weren't great, we were worse for 75mins anyway then decide to have a go.

    As for.Pereiras that early in the first half used his pace great run got to the edge of the box then his touch was so bad he ended up taking it out for a goal kick 

     

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    I hate to sound like a bitter arse-hole, but that whole fanfare around Ninković's last home game does not sit well with me. 

    He is an A-League legend of our biggest rival. 

    Nice bloke, great ambassador for the game... but does he deserve the attention he is receiving from thr club?

    Here is a list of some more deserving club legends that were shown the door, with zero fanfare...

    Ante Čović, Brendan Santalab, NTS, Mateo Poljak, La Rocca, Michael Beauchamp etc...

    Ninko has scored more goals for Sydney FC than appearances for WSW. 

    Zero A-League goals for us. 

    Sure, he has set up a few goals with his silkly skills, but when it came to the biggest game in the semi final last season, he shat the bed along with the rest of them. 

    Spent more time off the field than on it this season. 

    I vividly remember his first interview after signing for the club... "I come here to win".

    Signing a 39 year old from FC was always a risk... eventually it freed up a VISA spot for us, and that is about all the positives. 

    When he was fit enough to be on the bench, he just took the place of a more deserving youth player, like Younis, who would've benefited from the experience, rather than just sitting in the stands. 

    Recruitment, again the major reason we'll miss finals footy this season. 

    Link to comment
    30 minutes ago, SNS100 said:

    I hate to sound like a bitter arse-hole, but that whole fanfare around Ninković's last home game does not sit well with me. 

    He is an A-League legend of our biggest rival. 

    Nice bloke, great ambassador for the game... but does he deserve the attention he is receiving from thr club?

    Here is a list of some more deserving club legends that were shown the door, with zero fanfare...

    Ante Čović, Brendan Santalab, NTS, Mateo Poljak, La Rocca, Michael Beauchamp etc...

    Ninko has scored more goals for Sydney FC than appearances for WSW. 

    Zero A-League goals for us. 

    Sure, he has set up a few goals with his silkly skills, but when it came to the biggest game in the semi final last season, he shat the bed along with the rest of them. 

    Spent more time off the field than on it this season. 

    I vividly remember his first interview after signing for the club... "I come here to win".

    Signing a 39 year old from FC was always a risk... eventually it freed up a VISA spot for us, and that is about all the positives. 

    When he was fit enough to be on the bench, he just took the place of a more deserving youth player, like Younis, who would've benefited from the experience, rather than just sitting in the stands. 

    Recruitment, again the major reason we'll miss finals footy this season. 

    He did give us some real moments of skill last year that were worth the ticket price 

    Id rather watch players with true skill than some of other players fail to do the basics 

    But yep, it was all a bit of a waste of time for us. Last year he added value, but this year was always going to be a year too far but of course we didn't plan for that

    Link to comment

    I liked that the club did something to respect a real legend of A League. Yes it should have been done previously to some of the local club legends! The club did a decent thing, here and it should continue.

    As for the game. I'm not really agreeing with the majority of you. Yes, absolutely disappointing to lose and the season has turned to dust. Considering City absolutely destroyed us a few weeks ago and then destroyed Perth last week, I was looking for a response. I never thought we'd win and I never thought we'd get close. We did.

    They dominated us for a fair bit of the first half, as they do.  No kids in their side and 5 decent/good imports all on the field. They are probably the best team - on paper - but haven't really clicked much of the time. McLaren continues to struggle.

    Simmons, except for one moment, did really well against Natel. Arslan was kept under control and Marcelo really controlled the backline for most of the game. Perias is quick but no vision. Did some good things and wasted much. Antonsson looks really down on confidence and has to go. Rudan right to hook him. Brilliante (not a favourite on here!) was very strong and did take us forward a lot of the time (despite other forumite comments). We tried to go round and play through/over their much stronger midfield and it worked a lot of the time but we don't have a solid finisher.

    The second half was much more of us and Younis a large part of that. Sapsford, Blair, Younis, Priestman, Simmons, Bonetig, Barrie and Scicluna are worth keeping. But that shows the difference - 11 experienced players v young blokes learning and a few experienced players.

    Kittel shows there's a player in there but not enough of the player showed up for us. Ninkovic is 2 metres shower than he used to be but was one of the few on the park who controls and keeps the ball. I hope we can keep him as a coach. The stories we heard from people around us about what he does with kids and families to encourage and help were brilliant.

    So a disappointing result, with some really promising performances. We don't look like a team that is gelling and knows each other's game. That, for me, along with some poor ball control from players that should be much better, is a major problem. The reality is we were just beaten by a much better team (at least with experience and on paper) and we aren't improving. The 'tactics' we seem to employ are limited and have been shown up in the second half of the season. That is on the coaching staff. I'll say no more as there is enough said elsewhere in the forum.

    Link to comment

    That's way more positive than I could be 

    We were shockingly bad until the 70th minute brainless football and that was from our experienced players 

    Lawrence Thomas must be the most creative player in the A League as we seemed intent on getting the ball to him as often as possible 

    #rudanout

    Edited by StringerBellend
    Link to comment
    4 hours ago, BoyFromTheWest said:

    I liked that the club did something to respect a real legend of A League. Yes it should have been done previously to some of the local club legends! The club did a decent thing, here and it should continue.

    As for the game. I'm not really agreeing with the majority of you. Yes, absolutely disappointing to lose and the season has turned to dust. Considering City absolutely destroyed us a few weeks ago and then destroyed Perth last week, I was looking for a response. I never thought we'd win and I never thought we'd get close. We did.

    They dominated us for a fair bit of the first half, as they do.  No kids in their side and 5 decent/good imports all on the field. They are probably the best team - on paper - but haven't really clicked much of the time. McLaren continues to struggle.

    Simmons, except for one moment, did really well against Natel. Arslan was kept under control and Marcelo really controlled the backline for most of the game. Perias is quick but no vision. Did some good things and wasted much. Antonsson looks really down on confidence and has to go. Rudan right to hook him. Brilliante (not a favourite on here!) was very strong and did take us forward a lot of the time (despite other forumite comments). We tried to go round and play through/over their much stronger midfield and it worked a lot of the time but we don't have a solid finisher.

    The second half was much more of us and Younis a large part of that. Sapsford, Blair, Younis, Priestman, Simmons, Bonetig, Barrie and Scicluna are worth keeping. But that shows the difference - 11 experienced players v young blokes learning and a few experienced players.

    Kittel shows there's a player in there but not enough of the player showed up for us. Ninkovic is 2 metres shower than he used to be but was one of the few on the park who controls and keeps the ball. I hope we can keep him as a coach. The stories we heard from people around us about what he does with kids and families to encourage and help were brilliant.

    So a disappointing result, with some really promising performances. We don't look like a team that is gelling and knows each other's game. That, for me, along with some poor ball control from players that should be much better, is a major problem. The reality is we were just beaten by a much better team (at least with experience and on paper) and we aren't improving. The 'tactics' we seem to employ are limited and have been shown up in the second half of the season. That is on the coaching staff. I'll say no more as there is enough said elsewhere in the forum.

    :golecapproves:

    Link to comment
    16 hours ago, BoyFromTheWest said:

    I liked that the club did something to respect a real legend of A League. Yes it should have been done previously to some of the local club legends! The club did a decent thing, here and it should continue.

    As for the game. I'm not really agreeing with the majority of you. Yes, absolutely disappointing to lose and the season has turned to dust. Considering City absolutely destroyed us a few weeks ago and then destroyed Perth last week, I was looking for a response. I never thought we'd win and I never thought we'd get close. We did.

    They dominated us for a fair bit of the first half, as they do.  No kids in their side and 5 decent/good imports all on the field. They are probably the best team - on paper - but haven't really clicked much of the time. McLaren continues to struggle.

    Simmons, except for one moment, did really well against Natel. Arslan was kept under control and Marcelo really controlled the backline for most of the game. Perias is quick but no vision. Did some good things and wasted much. Antonsson looks really down on confidence and has to go. Rudan right to hook him. Brilliante (not a favourite on here!) was very strong and did take us forward a lot of the time (despite other forumite comments). We tried to go round and play through/over their much stronger midfield and it worked a lot of the time but we don't have a solid finisher.

    The second half was much more of us and Younis a large part of that. Sapsford, Blair, Younis, Priestman, Simmons, Bonetig, Barrie and Scicluna are worth keeping. But that shows the difference - 11 experienced players v young blokes learning and a few experienced players.

    Kittel shows there's a player in there but not enough of the player showed up for us. Ninkovic is 2 metres shower than he used to be but was one of the few on the park who controls and keeps the ball. I hope we can keep him as a coach. The stories we heard from people around us about what he does with kids and families to encourage and help were brilliant.

    So a disappointing result, with some really promising performances. We don't look like a team that is gelling and knows each other's game. That, for me, along with some poor ball control from players that should be much better, is a major problem. The reality is we were just beaten by a much better team (at least with experience and on paper) and we aren't improving. The 'tactics' we seem to employ are limited and have been shown up in the second half of the season. That is on the coaching staff. I'll say no more as there is enough said elsewhere in the forum.

    Agree with all of that except Briliante. I thought he was very poor. Gave the ball away far too much. 

    Link to comment
    21 hours ago, Erebus said:

    The fact that Thomas had no keeper saves and City had 2 shots on target says it all.

    Young with 7 saves against WSW 8 shots on target.

    I asked the question at the game....did Thomas even have to make a save?

    We conceded to a deflection and the parting of the red sea with a terrible defence display.

     

    Having said that, we were rubbish and Perias is Sotirio V2 with his frustration. Gets into amazing positions but instead of his first touch knocking the ball forward to lose his marker with pace. He traps it and starts from a standing start where all advantage is gone.

     

    Victory away. Our record speaks for itself. And apparently we haven't won a home game since Jan or something.


    Lawrence did have to rush out late on to intercept a through ball (and promptly gave it to Antonis lol)

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    4 minutes ago, SBW said:

    It was a meh performance.

    Only positive is Younis scoring his first goal.

    Other than that... Listen here ****FACE out!

    Meh is too positive it was total shite 

    Link to comment
    1 hour ago, braad said:


    Lawrence did have to rush out late on to intercept a through ball (and promptly gave it to Antonis lol)

    He did see plenty of ball as we managed to pass it back to him from every throw in and free kick for a reason only Rude Boy would know 

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