The Western Sydney Wanderers have put together their most complete game of football of the season when they defeated Newcastle Jets 2-1 in the Foxtel National Youth League.
With the Jets in the mix for a grand final berth and desperate for the three points, it was the Wanderers who outplayed them for the entirety of the match, earning the win through two Lachlan Scott strikes.
A great pass by Kearyn Baccus, who was playing alongside his brother Keanu for the first time, set-up Kyle Cimenti for a run behind the lines.
Cimenti looked like he was in on goal but a last-gasp defensive effort saw his ball prodded away only to fall to Mario Shabow whose tight-angled shot hit the crossbar.
It was almost the perfect opening for the Red & Black but the very next play they were behind as Newcastle’s Finn Parris took advantage of some poor positioning to open the scoring.
Despite being a goal down the Wanderers were still the better side and came close again in the 8th minute when Alusine Fofanah cannoned the ball into the post.
Cimenti, Shabow and Youlley all had chances to equalise before half time while at the other end Matt Symes pulled out his best save of the season to deny an almost certain Jets goal at his near post.
Half time saw the introduction of centre forward Lachlan Scott and he wasted no time in making an impact: scoring the equaliser three minutes into the second stanza.
After Cimenti calmly received the ball and turned in the box only to slam his shot against the crossbar, Scott collected the rebound and buried the ball into the net.
It was a deserved equaliser for the Wanderers who had been the dominant side all afternoon and they were further rewarded when Scott scored one of the goals of the season.
Receiving the ball out wide and with a defender hot on his tail, the centre forward dribbled the ball across the pitch until he had half a chance to shoot: hitting the top corner of the net from outside of the box.
From there the Wanderers cruised to victory: Shannon Cole made his first appearance off the bench and showed experience to ensure the win.
Fofanah, Tariq Maia and Josh Macdonald all had chances to seal the match but two goals were enough to see off a Jets outfit who were never really at the races.
The Wanderers play their final match in the NYL on Saturday 9 January when they travel to Canberra to take on the FFA Centre of Excellence.
