Western Sydney Wanderers have lift off after cruising to a convincing 3-0 victory over Wellington Phoenix amid inclement conditions at Westpac Stadium on Saturday.
Alexander Baumjohann struck inside 11 minutes and Oriol Riera and Jordan O’Doherty notched after half-time to secure the club’s first Hyundai A-League win under new boss Markus Babbel, who was serving a touchline ban.
The result left Mark Rudan with his maiden defeat in charge of a largely outplayed Phoenix and denied Andrew Durante any joy in his 250th club appearance.
Wellington entered as the form team but found themselves behind early as Roly Bonevacia and Bruce Kamau combined to tee up Baumjohann for his goal in the competition.
It was a sign of the domination to come with midfielders Bonevacia and Baumjohann both threatening to double the advantage before the break.
The extreme wind almost saw Tarek Elrich slice a clearance into his own net shortly after the restart, but it was nothing more than a momentary scare for the visitors.
They remained on the front foot and went further ahead when Riera coolly converted a penalty after O’Doherty’s shot struck Durante’s hand.
Josh Risdon and substitute Nathan Burns tested the woodwork at either end late on, although a third Wanderers goal always appeared most likely.
O’Doherty provided it, the ex-Adelaide United man capping off a breakaway to open his Western Sydney account and help erase the memory of last weekend’s Sydney Derby defeat.
