On Saturday night, the Western Sydney Wanderers NPL 2 team were defeated 3-1 at The Crest Athletic Centre by Canterbury Bankstown FC.
Goals from Gino Cerasoli, Zac Elrich and Scott Tonkin secured the win for Canterbury with Mohamed Adam netting a late goal for the Wanderers.
The Red & Black started brightly and Lochlan Constable had the first chance when the ball was cleared to him, however, his volley flew over the crossbar.
Adam then went close in the 18th minute with his shot deflecting wide of the far post.
Midway through the first half, Canterbury opened the scoring through Cerasoli. The Wanderers pushed to find an equalizer, however, they would go down 2-0 just after the half hour mark when Elrich found the net.
The Wanderers continued searching for a way back into the contest and there were a few good chances before half-time with Jacob Vasiliou cutting the ball back for Marley Peterson who couldn’t keep his shot down.
The Red & Black dominated possession in the second half and Adam had two chances in quick succession. First, he shot wide after a nice cross by Adrian Valenti and 60 seconds later he was denied by Canterbury goalkeeper Enol Ordonez Suarez.
The Wanderers substitutes began to get into the game and Callum Watt had a shot blocked following a penalty box scramble. Then with over 15 minutes remaining, Jarrod Carluccio had a great chance to pull a goal back but he was denied by an excellent save from Ordonez Suarez.
The Red & Black then received a lifeline in the final ten minutes when Jake Trew was brought down inside the penalty area. Adam took the responsibility, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to halve the deficit.
A few minutes later, Trew went close to an equaliser sending a 30-yard drive inches wide of the target. However, Canterbury would make it 3-1 late on as Scott Tonkin found the net.
Evan Tsakos had once last chance deep into stoppage time, but his long-range effort was tipped over by Ordonez Suarez.
The Wanderers stay in fourth place after the defeat. There was better news earlier in the day as both the U18 and U20 sides recorded comfortable victories.
Next up for the NPL 2 first grade team is a game against St George FC at Lily Homes Stadium. Kick-off is at 7:00 on Sunday 21 July.
Canterbury Bankstown FC 3 (Gino Cerasoli 23’, Zac Elrich 32’, Scott Tonkin 87’)
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Mohamed Adam 81’)
Western Sydney Wanderers: Nicholas Suman, Bailey Rule, Mohamed Al Taay, Noah Pagden, Adrian Valenti (Jake Trew 77’), Andrea Agamemnonos (c), (Callum Watt 46’), Lochlan Constable, Marley Peterson, Jacob Vasiliou (Jarrod Carluccio 57’), Evan Tsakos, Mohamed Adam
Unused substitutes: Jack Greenwood, Yousef Sawalha
Other results:
U20: Canterbury 0-4 WSW
U18: Canterbury 0-4 WSW
