Wanderers One Man Down, One Goal Winners over Heart

A second half penalty won by Youssouf Hersi and converted by Shinji Ono gave the Wanderers all 3 points despite playing from the 13th minute without Jerome Polenz who was dismissed for cutting down David Williams in the box as he was about to shoot. Ante Covic stood tall and denied Josip Tadic from the spot to keep the game level.

The first ten minutes were played at a frenetic pace, end to end action that saw shots across the bow fired in by Mark Bridge for the Wanderers then Jason Hoffman and David Williams for Heart, Dino Kresinger was involved in the first talking point of the match. Having picked up the ball with his back to goal, he turned his marker Patrick Gerhardt and was slightly held by the central defender. The Croatian striker flung himself to the turf and was promptly awarded a yellow card for simulation. It wasn't received well by the 14,624 strong crowd and will hopefully be the final example of simulation for Western Sydney this season. David Vrankovic was very lucky to escape a harder punishment than a yellow card when Shinji Ono pounced on a wayward pass and was cut down by the Heart defender when it appeared he would be clean through on goal.

The penalty save energised the supporters and the players, Bridge having two good chances in the 18th and 20th minutes of the match. The first was cutting inside after receiving on the wing, and with the Heart defence standing off he scuffed his shot and Heart keeper Andrew Redmayne collect it at his feet. The second shot had Redmayne stretching to turn the ball away from goal, Kresinger used his strength to hold up the ball and draw the attention of four Heart defenders. As they closed in he laid the ball off to Bridge, the left footed first time shot was saved down low and Heart recovered the ball. Wanderers manager Tony Popovic elected to make a substitution in the 22nd minute to keep his players in their natural positions. Aaron Mooy was sacrificed for Iacopo La Rocca, who filled in at right back with Poljak returning to his defensive midfield position in combination with Ono playing further forward.

Pressure from Shinji Ono forced a turn-over in central midfield, ball falling to Hersi who played a lob over the top of the Heart defence. Kresinger, having manoeuvred around Vrankovic, was unlucky not to tip the ball past the diving Redmayne. The Red & Black domination continued, Kresinger nodding a corner from Ono that Germano had to head clear. Hersi stole the ball yet again from the ineffective Heart midfield, instead of his usual incisive runs he chose to strike on goal from a fair distance out, it moved and swerved in the air and for a moment threatened to arrow into the top left corner until Redmayne plucked it from the sky. Ono had his own chance from another Heart loss of possession, Bridge lofting it over the Heart defence, Ono knocked the ball down with his first touch but his second touch on the stretch couldn't get the ball past Redmayne.

Williams opened the second half with a decent effort on goal that Covic smothered low. Adam D'Apuzzo fired back 10 minutes into the half with his own tame effort. The best chance for the Heart since the penalty miss came from Williams again. As fireworks from the Parramatta Park Australia Day celebration began exploding over the stadium, Hersi nearly lit the fireworks on the pitch. Mark Bridge skipped through three Heart defenders and put the flying winger through on goal. Hersi hesitated with his shot for a couple steps more than he should have taken, and this allowed Redmayne the time to get down low and block the shot out for a corner.

Hersi continued his great work when Redmayne spilled a low cross out into the 6 yard box. Hersi with his back to goal and surrounded by defenders attempted to back heel the ball home. A poor clearance from that moment fell to Hersi who weaved toward the corner before turning back around, Vrankovic stuck the foot out and collected Hersi's leg that took him down. Delovski instantly pointed to the spot for the clear cut penalty. Shinji Ono stepped up in front of the Red & Black Bloc, Redmayne dived the wrong way, Ono slotted the goal away and the stadium exploded into noise louder than any of the firework displays across the country on it's national day. Hersi was substituted by Kwabena Appiah-Kubi to a standing ovation. Kubi had an immediately impact, creating several good chances with his blinding pace, drawing a yellow card from Jason Hoffman and a run into the box that he couldn't find a team-mate with the cut-back at the end of the run. Ono received his own standing ovation in the 83rd minute when he was replaced by Labinot Haliti, as a result of a heavy collision with Redmayne as both came out hard for a ball over the top. Haliti had his own good chance after he came on, when most expected him to head to the corner to run down the clock, he cut back onto his favoured right boot and hit a pile driver from a narrow angle that would have been a goal had Redmayne not turned the shot over the bar with his fingertips.

The Wanderers stoic performance sees them leap ahead of Adelaide United on goal difference, both teams currently on 32 points. It also signifies the end of the 2nd third of the season, and the start of the home stretch into the finals. With no injuries reported the only downside is the loss of Polenz for next weeks match, it is likely that Shannon Cole will step into the fullback position as he has done often this season.

The Wanderers next match is against Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide, on Sunday the 3rd of February at 5:00pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time.