It’s a potential Finals preview when Western Sydney Wanderers return home to face Hakoah Sydney City East in Round 9 of the NSW NPL 2.
Sunday’s match-up at Wanderers Football Park sees Western Sydney at home after two weeks on the road, a stretch that yielded a win and a loss.
Sitting on five wins so far this campaign, the Red & Black are fourth on the ladder with their opponents a solitary point behind them in fifth, adding to the hype surrounding this fixture.
Westen Sydney got back to winning ways last week with a commanding 3-1 win over Southern Districts Raiders at Ernie Smith Reserve.
Yet another Ali Auglah brace stole the headlines with Alex Badolato also chipping in for the opener. Auglah is the definition of ‘in-form’ this season having notched up eight goals so far, just one behind competition leader Damian Tsekenis of the Central Coast Mariners.
While Auglah will rightly command attention from Hakoah’s defence on the weekend, the Wanderers’ backline have been steadily improving since Round 1. A core group of Mohammed Al Taay, Phillip Cancar and Nectarios Triantis have been growing in stature and providing support for a rotating goalkeeper and fullback assembly.
Their opponents are also no strangers to solidity with Hakoah currently possessing the best defensive record in the league with just six goals conceded. That has come at the expense of their attack however, only making the net bulge on 14 occasions.
Hakoah are one of Australian football’s most storied clubs. Founded in 1939 by Jewish immigrants they have competed in a wide variety of leagues over their history. They also took out the inaugural National Soccer League title in 1977.
The match kicks off at 1:00pm at Wanderers Football Park. Make sure you keep an eye on Twitter for match updates.
Western Sydney Wanderers v Hakoah Sydney City East
Sunday 2 May, 1:00pm
Wanderers Football Park
