NYL still second despite heavy loss

The Western Sydney Wanderers lost their undefeated status and dropped from the top of the Foxtel National Youth League table after a heavy defeat to rivals Sydney FC at Lambert Park.

Following a strong first half where, despite falling behind 1-0, the Red & Black had the best of the chances, the game plan was thrown into disarray early after conceding a second goal and receiving a red card early in the second half.
 
Suspensions and call-ups to the first team meant the game day squad looked slightly different to previous matches but that didn’t seem to faze the Wanderers early in the match as a high tempo was set.
 
The game was billed as an early contender for match of the season and the first 45 minutes lived up to that moniker in a half of fast-paced, intense and entertaining football from both teams.
 
Two half chances fell to Lachlan Scott early who was looking to continue his impressive form with three goals in the opening two rounds but he could not convert.
 
Josh Macdonald got into the action early with his runs troubling Sydney FC’s left-sided defence. It was Macdonald who set-up Josh Gaspari for one of his two volleyed opportunities: one blocked while the second was saved.
 
Unfortunately for the Red & Black, while they could not convert their chances, Sydney FC did with Max Burgess opening the scoring with what was essentially Sydney’s opening chance of the game.
 
The second half though was a different story as Sydney FC scored almost instantly and, combined with a red card to Liam Youlley, went on a scoring rampage that the Wanderers could not recover from.
 
The 5-0 defeat left the Wanderers wondering what could have been with missed chances in the first half costing the team dearly.
 
Despite the loss the Red & Black remain second on the Conference B ladder and have a chance to redeem themselves in two weeks when they play FFA Centre of Excellence on Sunday 6 December.
 
The Westfield W-League team sits in fourth position following their bye this weekend while the Hyundai A-League team sits in third after defeating Wellington Phoenix 2-1 for four straight wins.