A spirited comeback looked on the cards, but it wasn’t to be for the Wanderers, who went down 3-2 in the first ever Sydney Derby in NPL1 at Ilinden Sports Centre.
It was an even start to the match with both sides having their fair share of chances in the opening stages.
The Wanderers looked the most likely to score first, with Rory Jordan going close to an opening goal 20 minutes in.
However, it was Sydney FC who struck first blood a minute later through Patrick Wood on a deadly counter-attack.
Several minutes later in the 28th minute Jake Hollman doubled Sydney’s lead with a tap-in inside the penalty box.
The Red & Black dug deep and almost had their efforts rewarded through Ali Auglah. He cut inside from the right wing and unleashed a dipping strike from outside the box, only to be denied by the crossbar.
A minute later, Sydney FC’s central midfielder Jake Hollman was left unmarked inside the box and scored his second goal of the match with a side-footed effort.
The second half began with plenty of possession and chances for the Red & Black.
The first major chance of the half fell to Ali Auglah when he hit the crossbar for the second time in the match.
On this occasion, it was a curling free kick from just outside the box.
Auglah wasn’t to be denied a third time, though, as a brilliant Rory Jordan cut-back played hard along the edge of the box found Ali Auglah, who curled his first-time shot into the bottom left corner.
The Wanderers continued to apply pressure to the Sky Blues and Stefan Nicolic provided the Red & Black with a second goal with a cross-come-shot in the 83rd minute.
The Wanderers continued to push for an equaliser, but despite a spirited second half performance, it wasn’t enough to get the points.
Sydney FC 3 (Patrick WOOD 22’, Jake HOLLMAN 28’, 41’)
Western Sydney Wanderers 2 (Ali AUGLAH 61’, Stefan NICOLIC 83’)
Western Sydney Wanderers: 40. Oliver KALAC (GK), 2. Thomas AQUILINA, 7. Jarrod CARLUCCIO (c), 9. Duantae MARINER (12. Stefan NICOLIC 65’), 11. Lochlan CONSTABLE, 17. Dean PALEKANOS, 19. Rory JORDAN (28. Isaac HOVER 81’), 21. Ali AUGLAH, 22. Paolo BONANNI, 23. Jamie PERCEVSKI, 24. Peter GROZOS (25. Yousef SAWALHA 65’)
Unused Substitutes: 50. Jack GIBSON (GK), 15. Nectarios TRIANTIS, 26. Alessandro LOPANE
Other NPL Results
U20: Match postponed
U18: Bonnyrigg 2-1 WSW
U16: Bonnyrigg 1-2 WSW
U15: Bonnyrigg 0-8 WSW
U14: Bonnyrigg 0-2 WSW
U13: Bonnyrigg 0-9 WSW
