Western Sydney Wanderers forward Scott McDonald scored on his club debut to help the Red & Black extended its unbeaten Sydney Derby run to six games with a 3-1 win over Sydney FC at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday night.
Western Sydney Wanderers forward Scott McDonald scored on his club debut to help the Red & Black extended its unbeaten Sydney Derby run to six games with a 3-1 win over Sydney FC at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday night.
Wanderland was teeming with drama, tension and the colours and noise of a raucous crowd divided in its loyalty as fans of both sides were treated to a dramatic goal-fest which ended 3-2 in Western Sydney’s favour.
The Red and Black went two goals ahead after a four-minute spell in the first half in which Bruce Kamau and Mitchell Duke both found the back of the net.
The vibrant crowd roared with every 50/50 challenge and clash of players committed to their respective causes, as a series of heated moments broke out after challenges from Miloš Ninkovič on Jordon Mutch, Kamau on Rhyan Grant and Duke on Ryan McGown throughout the first half.
The home fans were silenced early in the second 45 when Alex Wilkinson buried a well-executed header from an Alexander Baumjohann corner into the back of the net to bring it back to 2-1. Bobô had chances to sew it up in the aftermath before McDonald headed home the goal which ultimately proved the difference by full-time.
The away side received an 82nd-minute penalty decision after Graham Dorrans went shoulder-to-shoulder with Trent Buhagiar in the box – the minutes that passed from the resulting VAR check built pressure on Bobô to finish from the spot, and that pressure showed when the Brazilian’s strike blazed high over the bar.
But, the drama had not yet played out at Bankwest Stadium. Anthony Caceres and Ninković combined in stoppage time down the left flank to hand Bobö another chance to net for the Sky Blues, which he gratefully took from close range to notch his 50th A-League goal, and bring his side within one of an unlikely draw.
In the end, the difference between one point and none was a coat of paint for the Sky Blues, after Caceres’ last-gasp bending strike from long range cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and dropped into the danger zone to be cleared by the Wanderers under immense pressure from the circling Sydney forwards.
The final whistle blew after seven minutes of stoppage time with the Wanderers ahead three goals to two, sending the Red & Black into seventh whilst depriving Sydney FC the chance to go one point off Melbourne City at the top of the table.
