The Wanderers hosted the Wellington Phoenix in a Friday night top 6 blockbuster and showed up to play, smashing the Nix 4-0 with a near flawless performance to go up to 2nd place on the A-League ladder on goal difference and confirming a first week of the finals home fixture.
Marcelo returned from his two game suspension with Tom Beadling making way to the bench, with Kusini Yengi & Yeni Ngbakoto replaced in the starting lineup by Romain Amalfitano and Amor Layouni.
Layouni had the first chance of the game when Oli Sail came out a mile to meet a ball over the top, the lob from the winger was off target and also not in quite the right place for Brandon Borrello to have a shot on target.
It was just a few minutes later when the Wanderers did open the scoring. In the 8th minute the Nix failed to clear a penalty area scramble, eventually Ninkovic found himself clear with the ball, he laid off a cut-back to Borrello and he couldn't miss, making it 1-0. The move had begun with a great run out of defence from Aidan Simmons who refused to play the easy long ball and instead worked past three Wellington defenders to get the team going forward.
Layouni continued to torment Sam Sutton on the right wing, with every attack down that side seemingly to create chances. Zavadi for the Nix had their first chances of the game but each time he was either offside or had committed a foul in the lead up.
Western Sydney made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute. Wellington their own worst enemies, losing the ball in a bad position deep inside their own half, Borrello and Calem Nieuwenhof pounced, coming clear before a neat 1-2 passing sequence gave Nieuwenhof space, he cut past the Nix defence and then fired on his left with a placed shot past sail.
Sail kept his team in the contest with another great save with Simmons continuing his excellent match with a shot on target, then Nieuwenhof had a similar chance to his goal but this time the ball curled agonisingly wide. Wellington went into the break having failed to make a single shot on target, their chances few and far between and they were well off the pace of the Wanderers who were pinging the ball around like it was a game of snooker.
The Wanderers took full control of the game in the second half, scoring their 3rd in the 66th. Simmons scored his first goal in the A-League in the 66th minute, getting onto a lofted through ball, he chested it down & beat his marker for pace, stood up Sail and went around him effortlessly and with great composure found the back of the net past the backtracking cover defenders.
Wellington finally managed their first shot on target through former Wanderers Steven Ugarkovic, it was easily saved by Lawrence Thomas. Ngabakoto was just out of reach for a tap-in at the back post in the 76th minute when Adama Traore was released down the left flank.
Kusini Yengi finished the rout late on making it 4-0, substitute Nicolas Milanovic picked up the ball on halfway, he ran full steam ahead with Yengi in front, he stayed onside when the through ball was played, shaped his body for a first time strike on his right and Sail couldn't do anything about the well placed shot between the goalkeepers legs.
The win lifted Western Sydney into 2nd place on goal difference although Adelaide United and the Central Coast still have to play this weekend. Melbourne City secured the A-League Premiership last weekend while the Nix are at risk of falling out of the top 6 as their run of woeful form continues.
The Wanderers final game of the regular season is against Melbourne City on Friday the 28th of April with kick-off at 7:45pm in Melbourne.
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