It was a sweet weekend for the Red and Black with a Derby win, a six goal crushing and a 96th minute equaliser.
It was a positive weekend for the Western Sydney Wanderers as the Hyundai A-League squad won their second Sydney Derby, the Foxtel National Youth League crushed Perth Glory 6-0 and the Westfield W-League snatching a 96th minute equaliser against Adelaide United.
Hyundai A-League
A Brendon Santalab goal in the dying moments has given the NRMA Insurance Western Sydney Wanderers a dramatic 1-0 win over Sydney FC on Saturday night at Pirtek Stadium.
The win means the Wanderers Rule This Town once again, becoming the first team to win a home Derby in the process.
An enthralling first half produced no goals but plenty of excitement with the Wanderers hitting the woodwork no less than four times in a display reminiscent of their Round Three domination over the Sky Blues.
After just eight minutes Tomi Juric began the assault when he turned his defender and unleashed a long-range bullet only to have it saved onto the post by Vedran Janjetovic in the Sydney FC goal.
Juric had another chance after when a defensive breakdown from the visitors allowed him to shoot from a tight angle despite seemingly having his back to goal. Janjetovic however was once again on hand, getting just enough on the shot for it to dribble along the goal line until cleared.
With ten minutes to go in the half Mark Bridge went close as he cut inside, beat his defender to find his way into the box only to see his shot hit the outside of the post.
Then, with just three minutes remaining in the half the Wanderers went closer than ever to breaking the deadlock with an impressive piece of Youssouf Hersi magic.
An audacious Hersi chip from the edge of the centre circle hit beat Janjetovic only to hit the cross bar. Juric was on hand for the follow up with his strike also cannoning off the woodwork leaving the scores tied at half time.
Coming out for the second half, the Red and Black absorbed some pressure early in the second half with Ante Covic having to make several key saves to keep the scores level but the tied quickly turned back the Wanderers way.
Despite that, chances were few and far between and with the minutes ticking away it appeared the points were destined to be shared.
But in an instant the Wanderers grabbed the winner and it came via Brendon Santalab in the 87th minute.
A clever ball from Shinji Ono put Youssouf Hersi into space in the corner of the penalty area. Hersi-s shot deflected across the area to Santalab who had worked his way off his defender and was all alone against his former team.
Santalab then calmly brought the ball down off his chest and tucked it under the advancing Janjetovic to snatch a dramatic win for the home side.
Westfield W-League
A stunning 96th-minute goal from Michelle Carney enabled the Western Sydney Wanderers to pull off a miracle 1-1 draw with Adelaide United in a Westfield W-League thriller at Burton Park on Saturday.
After appearing the better team for large stretches of the contest, the Wanderers found themselves trailing when Emily Condon goaled in the 70th minute to give the Lady Reds the edge.
United appeared home and hosed with back-to-back victories for the first time since 2008, before Carney, who substituted into the game virtually on the 90-minute mark, stunned the home side with a swinging cross from the right-hand side, which rebounded off the left-hand post and into the back of the net.
Foxtel National Youth League
Three goals in each half lifted Western Sydney Wanderers to a comfortable 6-0 victory over Perth Glory at Cook Park in Sydney on Sunday.
Wanderers’ striker Mark Cindric was the goalscoring hero for the home side netting four times.
The Glory fielded a trio of players with Hyundai A-League experience in the spine of the team; midfielders Cameron Edwards and Daniel De Silva plus striker Ndumba Makeche.
However, the Wanderers soon gained the ascendency with a superb opening goal on 16 minutes from Jaushua Sotirio.
Cindric won a penalty and comfortably converting the resultant spot-kick to double the advantage just past the half-hour mark.
Cindric then outpaced the defence and again converted smartly for the third goal of the match.
Defender James Baldacchino delivered a towering header onto the base of the post from a corner as the home side finished the half in dominant fashion.
Though claiming a reasonable share of possession the Glory rarely tested the Wanderers goal in the second half in warm conditions in Sydney’s west.
Midfielder Yianni Perkatis ended any hopes the Glory may have harboured midway through the second period. Perkatis completed an easy finish after a stunning run from tall forward Joshua Barresi that ended with his shot unluckily ricocheting off the post.
Barresi again struck the post with a smart run and shot to again be denied a nineteenth birthday celebration.
Cindric scored the goal of the match with a sharp turn and clinical finish, before extending the winning margin in the dying minutes.
