The Western Sydney Wanderers have kept their place at the top of the NPL 2 table on Saturday evening after a nailbiting 2-1 win over St George.
After Marley Peterson’s long range goal was cancelled out by St George midfielder Bradley Bartels, Mohamed Adam’s 80th minute strike ensured the Red & Black are now unbeaten in six games.
The Wanderers got off to a flyer with Peterson scoring after less than a minute, smashing the ball into the bottom corner from 25 yards out.
There were further chances for Jarrod Carluccio and Peterson, before St George had a good spell, with Noah Pagden getting in the way of a shot from Aleksandar Lekoski.
Pagden would do even better in the 37th minute, blocking Lekoski’s shot after he looked certain to score.
With halftime approaching, Wanderers goalkeeper Elliot Carwardine was called into action, tipping over a long range strike from Paolo Mitry, before making a double save from Mitry and Marcus Beattie a couple of minutes later.
The Red & Black had to withstand some heavy pressure at the start of the second half, and it was Fabian Monge’s turn to be the hero as he denied Mitry with a block on the goal line.
However, St George would equalise midway through the second period after Bartels found the net.
It was backs to the wall stuff and incredibly the Red & Black made another two goal-line clearances in the space of a minute, this time through Mohamed Al Taay and Andrea Agamemnonos.
The Wanderers gritty defending proved crucial, managing to regain control of the contest, striking the decisive blow with ten minutes remaining.
Wanderers substitute Lochlan Constable did brilliantly in the buildup, weaving his way past a defender before squaring it for Adam, who made no mistake to score for the fifth game in a row.
In the closing minutes, St George threw everything at us in search of another equaliser, but the Red & Black held on, aided by some assured goalkeeping from Carwardine.
The victory means that the Wanderers will continue to lead the NPL 2 competition – one point ahead of North Shore Mariners.
The Wanderers next match is against third placed Spirit FC on Sunday at Sydney United Sports Centre. Kick-off is at 3:00pm.
St George FC 1 (Bradley Bartels 66’)
Western Sydney Wanderers 2 (Marley Peterson 1’, Mohamed Adam 80’)
Western Sydney Wanderers: Elliot Carwardine, Tate Russell (c), Mohamed Al Taay, Noah Pagden (Thomas Aquilina 81’), Mathieu Cordier, Andrea Agamemnonos, Fabian Monge (Lochlan Constable 61’), Marley Peterson, Jarrod Carluccio (Jacob Vasiliou 72’), Daniel Wilmering, Mohamed Adam
Unused substitutes: Tom Marsh, Rory Jordan
Other results:
U20: St George FC 0-7 WSW
U18: St George FC 1-7 WSW
U16: Northern Tigers 2-2 WSW
U15: Northern Tigers 0-6 WSW
U14: Northern Tigers 0-8 WSW
U13: Northern Tigers 1-4 WSW
