Western Sydney Wanderers have ended an over eight-year wait to defeat Melbourne Victory in the Liberty A-League, with Amy Harrison and Alexia Apostolakis finding the net in their stunning 2-0 win at Wanderers Football Park.
Harrison opened the scoring just before half-time, before teenager Apostolakis added another after the break to wrap up an impressive win for Robbie Hooker’s side on Saturday evening.
Wanderers are in seventh and are knocking on the door of the top six, sitting only three points behind sixth-placed Western United.
Heading into the contest, Victory had only lost one of their previous 17 encounters against the Wanderers (W9, D7), with the only defeat coming on November 15 2015 – a whopping 2,967 days ago. In fact, they were undefeated in their last 11 games prior to the contest.
Victory – who were boosted by the return of reigning Julie Dolan Medallist Alex Chidiac as a second-half substitute – have now lost their last two games and sit nine points behind league leaders Melbourne City.
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Victory were dealt a blow before kick-off with back-up goalkeeper Miranda Templeman ruled out of the contest due to a knee injury in the warm-up.
This meant centre-back Tori Hansen – who had been dropped from the starting XI for Emma Checker – was the nominated back-up for the contest and Ava Breidis was brought into the squad.
Victory had the first chance of the fixture, as Lia Privitelli – who came into the side for Beattie Goad – broke in behind the Wanderers defence, but had her effort denied by an outrushing Kaylie Collins.
Jeff Hopkins wasn’t happy with what he was seeing in the opening-half, and made the bold move of substituting Kurea Okino for Sara D’Appolonia after only 36 minutes.
Wanderers, however, made the most of their chances back the other way, as a corner found its way all through to the back post to Harrison who smashed home the opener.
The home side continued to pour on the pressure after half-time. Lydia Williams received a back pass and turned it over to Maliah Morris, but she could only muster up a scuffed effort on goal which was cleared away.
Back the other way, McKenzie Wienert’s speed was causing issues in transition, although she was unable to pull one back, lifting her effort over the crossbar.
Victory’s lack of cutting edge came back to bite them, as Holly Caspers broke through the middle and fed Apostolakis, who made the run from deep and in behind the Victory defence, before slotting it past Williams to double their lead.
With the game getting away from them, Chidiac was thrusted into the action for Alana Murphy, as they looked to muster up a late fightback.
Kayla Morrison had a chance to pull one back but her header was comfortably dealt with by Collins, before later in the half, substitute Briedis had two strikes on goal, first putting an effort wide of the mark, before another was saved by the American.
Victory left themselves open as they pushed for a way back into the contest, and Caspers came close to scoring adding a third for the Wanderers, after cutting in on her left foot and hitting the woodwork with a curling effort from range.
The talking point
It had been a long time between drinks for Western Sydney Wanderers, but the drought is finally over.
The Wanderers had only beaten Melbourne Victory once in 17 previous attempts, a 3-1 win all the way back in November 2015.
On that day, Michelle Carney and Keelin Winters found the net either side of a Cassandra Dimovski own-goal, while a 15-year-old Ellie Carpenter started for the Wanderers as they ran away victors at Marconi Stadium.
Since then, Victory had gone unbeaten in 11 straight games against the Wanderers, until now.
The star
Holly Caspers put together one of her best showings of the season at Wanderers Football Park.
Caspers tallied her fourth assist of the season, with a lovely through-ball to Alexia Apostolakis, who put the result beyond doubt with a brilliant finish. The Wanderers attacker is now sitting top of the assists charts in the Liberty A-League, going one clear of Alana Murphy, Emily van Egmond, Millie Farrow and Western United duo Hannah Keane and Melissa Taranto.
Along with Sophie Harding, Caspers is proving to be one of the breakout stars of the campaign and looks set to play a huge role in any potential finals push in 2024.
What this means
Western Sydney Wanderers are right in the mix for the finals football.
Robbie Hooker’s side not only closed the gap to three points behind Western United on the standings, but also Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory, while holding a game in hand on the two Victorian outfits.
The Wanderers, however, will have a great chance to prove their mettle in the coming fortnight with a trip west to face Perth Glory next Sunday, before welcoming league leaders Melbourne City the following week in Unite Round.
Victory, on the other hand, will be looking to bounce back next week after consecutive defeats.
The ‘Vuck’ have been boosted by the return of Alex Chidiac, who should at some point, return to the starting lineup in the coming weeks.
Up next, they face Western United in a huge clash next Saturday, before taking on Perth Glory during Unite Round.
