Western Sydney Wanderers 0 – 3 Sydney FC

After a first half in which the Wanderers failed to make their dominance count on the score line, Sydney showed how their ruthless nature from Graham Arnold’s tenure has not left them by putting Markus Babbel’s side to the sword in a comfortable second half display.

Trent Buhagiar opened the scoring with a simple finish from Siem De Jong’s through ball in the 49th minute before the Dutchman whipped in a fine free-kick to double the advantage fifteen minutes later. Striker Adam Le Fondre killed the game off by converting a contentious penalty in the 75th minute.    

   GALLERY: Sydney vanquish Wanderers again!   

Western Sydney Wanderers

Danijel Nizic – 6

Not much  he could’ve done for any of the goals although his distribution was quite poor throughout. No evidence as of yet that he is good enough to dethrone Vedran Janjetovic from a starting place.

Josh Risdon – 5.5

Nothing Socceroos-esque about this display from Risdon. Sloppy in possession, end product was poor and was given the run around by Milos Ninkovic.

Tarek Elrich – 6.5

Considering he was playing in an unfamiliar role, the former Adelaide United man did quite well. Marshalled Adam Le Fondre brilliantly all game and was unlucky in conceding a soft penalty towards the end.

Brendan Hamill – 6

Not a poor performance tonight although he could’ve done more. Especially with the first goal, his position was far too high, leaving Risdon vulnerable. 

Raúl Llorente – 5.5

Was a passenger for most of the first half, particularly with the Wanderers utilising Risdon down the right more. That didn’t change in the second period and the Spaniard will need to improve.

Keanu Baccus – 5.5

A frustrating game for the youngster who won possession back on plenty of occasions but was careless in his general distribution.

Kostandinos Grozos – 6

A real learning curve for the Young Socceroo Grozos, who was thrown into the deep end by Markus Babbel but put in a solid display considering the importance of the fixture.

Jaushua Sotirio – 5.5

Seemed very out of sync with his other teammates’ movements. Tried to make runs inside Michael Zullo but had no such joy. Rightly hooked just past the hour.

Alexander Baumjohann – 7

By far the Wanderers' best player of the night. Was able to constantly draw Sydney bodies towards him to open up space for his teammates. Possesses a dangerous set-piece as well and looks to be a great piece of business by Babbel.

Roly Bonevacia – 5.5

Started in an unfamiliar wide position and struggled all night. Definitely a player who needs to be playing as one of the deep lying central midfielders otherwise his technical ability is wasted.

Oriol Riera – 6

An average display by the Spaniard who needs to show more cutting edge in front of goal if he is to become one of the best in the league. Despite that, his general movement and hold-up play was good.

SUBS

Abraham Majok – 5.5

Was substituted in when his team were a goal down and they immediately conceded a second after his introduction. Therefore, a tough environment for the young winger to come on and make a difference in.

Mathieu Cordier – N/A

Came on too late to get a rating.

Sydney FC

Andrew Redmayne – 7

A terrific display by a goalkeeper who is growing in confidence every game he plays. Brilliantly punched out many dangerous Baumjohann corners and free-kicks in the first half and made a couple of crucial saves to keep it at 0-0.

Rhyan Grant – 6

Nothing special to brag about from Grant who struggled to venture forward into dangerous attacking areas. Nonetheless he kept Bonevacia quiet and was generally solid.

Alex Wilkinson – 6

Much like Grant, another solid Sydney performer who dealt with the threat of Riera relatively well. Seems to have better games when he isn’t in the limelight.

Jop van der Linden – 6

Looks to be a solid replacement for the departed Jordy Buijs. He’s Dutch, his first name begins with a ‘J’ and he even takes corners too!

Michael Zullo – 6.5

Marked Sotirio out of the game and even did damage the other way with some lovely combos with Milos Ninkovic down the left. 

Joshua Brillante – 6.5

Uncharacteristically struggled to gain control alongside Brandon O’Neill in the first period and was sloppy in possession. Rectified both of these areas in the second half as well as nullifying the threat of Baumjohann.

Brandon O’Neill – 6.5

Put in a very similar display to partner in crime Brillante. Retained possession well for most of the game with short and sharp passing.

Siem de Jong – 7.5

Found himself quite isolated in wide areas for most of the first half. However, the Dutchman showed all of his class and experience to change the script in the second. A perfectly weighted pass set up Buhagiar before the new signing dispatched a mesmerising free-kick past a hapless Nizic.

Milos Ninkovic – 8

Did not do any damage in terms of scoring or assisting but watching him on the ball is treat for any A-League fan. So good at being able to ease the pressure off of his teammates with his work in tight spaces and knowledge of what’s around him.

Trent Buhagiar – 6.5

Took his goal very well in an accomplished fashion but besides that was quite peripheral for most of his 68 minutes. Still looks to be a young exciting prospect who needs time to adapt at his new club.

Adam Le Fondre – 6.5

Known notoriously as a poacher during his time in England and it is obvious that he prefers playing on the shoulder of the last defender. Unfortunately, Elrich was well aware of that and gave Le Fondre nothing all game, except for a penalty which was put away emphatically by the Englishman.

SUBS

Alex Brosque – 6

In typical Brosque fashion he was right in the thick of it after coming on, causing a dispute between the two sides late on. Don’t be surprised if we see him play as more of a super-sub this season.

Paulo Retre – N/A

Came on too late to get a rating.

Cameron Devlin – N/A

Came on too late to get a rating.