Wanderers light up like flares

In a season that was meant to inspire Wanderers fans at the new Bankwest Stadium, the playing side have failed to keep their end of the promise.

With the Wanderers fans behind them, Western Sydney finally started show their qualities and might be the beginning of the rebirth of the club.

Derbies can often be a springboard for greater things to come, and whilst their last derby win was a false dawn, they must do their best to make sure history does not repeat themselves.

The game itself was an even affair with chances for both teams, especially on the counter-attack where the forwards had space to run at a back-tracking defence.

Western Sydney announced their intentions early as they sat in a deep block and looked to launch long balls for striker Simon Cox to win and for on-rushing teammates to win the second ball.

The Wanderers were keen to stop Sydney from enjoying too many opportunities in transition, with plenty of fouls to ensure that this game never had a flowing rhythm. That the Wanderers ended the game with 17 fouls, four yellow cards and Georgievski sent off shows that this game was a scrappy affair.

Jean-Paul de Marigny’s strategy ended up working as they nabbed their goal in the 82nd minute with Tate Russell’s cross coming from a counter-attack, and captain Mitchell Duke producing a placed header to condemn Sydney to their first loss in since Round 3 – also in the derby.

Sydney starting to lose momentum

The Sky Blues started the season in breakneck fashion, blitzing anyone who would dare stand in their way. Alongside their championship victory, it felt like we had the start of another dynasty on our hands.

Are things starting to falter for Corica, though?

They were dominated throughout their Asian Champions League clash versus Ange Postecoglou’s Yokohama F Marinos, while in the league things have not been running as smoothly as they once were.

A lot of Sydney’s wins in the A-League lately have felt gritty and hard fought for. While that can also be argued to be the sign of a championship team, it could also be an indication that complacency might have settled into this side.

Of course, the lead is surely too big now for Sydney to not top the ladder, but with finals approaching, Corica would be wise to give the team a bit of a kick to make sure they return to dominating teams like they were earlier in the season.

The Premiership win will be taken with a pinch of salt if Sydney fail to win any of local derbies this season, so the clash against Western Sydney at Bankwest on March 21 will carry an even greater importance for both sides.

With another ACL fixture approaching, this time against South Korean powerhouses Jeonbuk Motors, a convincing loss could really have a big impact on the Sydney morale and result in a disappointing end to the season in its most important period.

End to end match produces a memorable Sydney derby

The atmosphere off the ground from both sides’ fans contributed to a spectacular fixture on the pitch with end to end opportunities making it one of the better A-League matches in recent times.

While some fans may have gone overboard in the away section with plenty of flares, the general atmosphere is exactly what the A-League needs more of to win back the fans.

Both teams had enough opportunities to win the game themselves and there was a little bit of everything to keep the neutral fans engaged.

If the A-League can produce something like this more regularly while creating a safe yet enjoyable experience for the fans, it can only be healthy for the league as a whole.