The Western Sydney Wanderers NPL 2 team have played out in a thrilling 2-2 draw with North Shore Mariners at Northbridge Oval on Sunday night.
Jarrod Carluccio’s 82nd minute equaliser gave the Wanderers the share of the points after Mohamed Adam had opened the scoring in the first half with Marquin Smith scoring a double for the Mariners.
Andrea Agamemnonos had the first shot for the Red & Black with a long range volley that was off target. This was followed a couple of minutes later by Jacob Vasiliou who dribbled past two defenders before sending a shot just wide of the post.
Jake Trew and Marley Peterson then combined well to set up Agamemnonos on the edge of the penalty area and his shot was inches over the crossbar.
Midway through the first half, the Red & Black took the lead.
Once again it was Adam who would get on the scoresheet, sprinting past the defence and drilling the ball into the bottom corner for his 13th goal of the season.
North Shore responded and Wanderers goalkeeper Jack Greenwood made some good saves to keep the Red & Black in front.
Early in the second half, a Wanderers counter attack saw Fabian Monge find Adam in space with his shot parried by Mariners goalkeeper Ryan Wood.
Then just before the hour mark, North Shore equalised when Marquin Smith scored from just inside the penalty area.
The Wanderers weren’t deterred by the setback and Trew did well to beat a defender on the left wing before whipping in a dangerous cross which Peterson couldn’t quite reach.
Unfortunately, the Red & Black fell behind a minute later when Marquin Smith scored to give the Mariners a 2-1 lead.
With time running out, the Red & Black scored a dramatic equaliser. Carluccio was the hero, netting from the rebound after Peterson’s shot took a deflection.
There was one final chance for the Wanderers as Peterson found space after a nice one-two with Adam with Wood managing to make the save.
The draw keeps the Wanderers NPL 2 first team in third place, three points off league leaders Hills United. In the earlier games, the U20s won 4-1 while the U18s lost 1-0.
Next Saturday, the Red & Black return to Sydney United Sports Centre to face Central Coast Mariners. Kick-off is at 7:00pm.
North Shore Mariners 2 (Marquin Smith 59’ 67’)
Western Sydney Wanderers 2 (Mohamed Adam 24’, Jarrod Carluccio 82’)
Western Sydney Wanderers: Jack Greenwood, Lochlan Constable, Mohamed Al Taay, Noah Pagden, Daniel Wilmering, Andrea Agamemnonos (c), Fabian Monge, Marley Peterson, Mohamed Adam, Jacob Vasiliou (Jarrod Carluccio 76’), Jake Trew (Rory Jordan 67’)
Unused substitutes: Elliot Carwardine, Thomas McPherson, Yousef Sawalha
Other results:
U20: North Shore 1-4 WSW
U18: North Shore 1-0 WSW
U16: Bonnyrigg 0-2 WSW
U15: Bonnyrigg 1-3 WSW
U14: Bonnyrigg 0-0 WSW
U13: Bonnyrigg 0-2 WSW
