WHAT'S BEST UP FRONT? 

Wanderers coach Markus Babbel has pointed throughout his time in red and black that his team can create chances, but they just can't score. 

No matter how hard they try, only 10 times so far this season have they tasted that sweet relief. To Babbel's credit, Alex Meier's form deserved some time on the bench, to find something new, something different.

Nicolai Müller partnered Kwame Yeboah and Mitch Duke in a front three that looked like it had more dynamism. In the four matches Meier wasn't playing, the Wanderers scored just twice. 

The German was called back into the side, preparing to play against a strong defence that will sit back with little room for quick nimble players to expose space against Western United. 

Meier's movements still seemed to cause the Wanderers problems. When Muller broke with the ball midway through the first half, Meier moved in between the two central defenders, but with his back to goal. Instead he ordered his counterpart to play it wide. 

He didn't turn to drag a defender, didn't stretch the defence by altering his position. The move came to nothing and Western Sydney had to start over again. 

Daniel Georgievski's crossing was off the mark while Mitch Duke gets cornered on the left, forced onto his weaker foot. Patrick Ziegler got the Wanderers three points with a well-timed run to the back post from Muller's corner. 

Western Sydney got more joy out on their right hand side, which brings us to the next point we learned. 

TATE RUSSELL: SUPERSTAR 

Superstar might be a stretch, but for his first minutes of the season, right full-back Tate Russell looked a natural replacement for Tarek Elrich and Daniel Wilmering, the latter unfortunately rupturing his ACL midweek. 

The Wanderers first real chance came because of the two players brought back into the side. Meier and Russell. The 20-year old's cultured cross found the head of the German who headed wide. 

Russell is no stranger to the 'fill-in' role, making his debut last season in place of Josh Risdon. If his first match of this season is anything to go by, many wouldn't be surprised if he made the right-back spot his own.