Welcome to Wonderkid Watch: A weekly piece that keeps you up to date with the players and stories emerging from A-Leagues clubs playing at NPL level in Australia.
Younis brace fuels Wanderers’ Derby delight
Western Sydney Wanderers claimed bragging rights against Sydney FC in their NPLM NSW derby showdown over the weekend.
Marcus Younis produced his best performance of the season, scoring twice to help the Wanderers overcame rivals Sydney 5-2 at Ilinden Sports Centre on Friday night.
Younis opened the scoring inside three minutes before Sydney netted two unanswered goals to take the lead. Western Sydney, however, hit back with four goals without reply to sink their cross-town foes.
FULL DETAILS: A-League All Stars Men & Women to take on English giants in May
NXGN: A-Leagues pair named among the world’s best young footballers
There was another goal for Younis 17 minutes from the end, while Ryley Hollingdale‘s wonderful free-kick completed the scoring after former Sky Blues star Zac Sapsford and Aydan Hammond were also on target.
Tiago Quintal scored for Sydney FC.
It was another display of Younis’ immense talent but it has not been easy for the 18-year-old attacker.
He joined Western Sydney aged 12 and after a flying start, his rise was derailed by a series of injuries.
Knee injuries and snapped collarbones meant Younis missed more than two years of football.
“I’ve come to the realisation of how important the mental side of football is, it’s 70% of the game. you can be on top of the world one week, and then you can be dropped the next week. It’s very important that you don’t ride the high’s too high and you don’t ride the lows too low,” he said in an interview with the Wanderers last year.
“There’s a lot of things you can do. You can read books on football psychology, you can do some journaling – I do those two a lot – and those have helped me with my confidence, my self belief, my self image, what I want to achieve and how I’m going to achieve it.
“I feel like those setbacks – and there have been a lot of setbacks in the last year and a half – can make you stronger depending on how you are resilient towards them. And the coaches do see how you react when things aren’t going well.”
Younis has certainly made up for lost time. After not being in the first grade NPL side in 2022, he signed a scholarship contract with the Mariners.
In 2022-23, the teenager made his A-Leagues debut – an eight-minute cameo against eventual Grand Finalists Melbourne City in January 2023.
Younis then earned a call-up to the Australian Under-18 team for the Portugal Sub-18 International Tournament in June last year and he scored against England.
JOSH NISBET: Brilliant call-up story & response to transfer rumour in first Socceroos presser
Since then, he has made seven Isuzu UTE A-League appearances this season having also played two Australia Cup matches.
The Wanderers are third in the NPL NSW standings, a point behind leaders Wollongong Wolves, while Sydney are ninth and six points off the pace.
Central Coast Mariners are three points further back in 13th position following their 2-2 draw with Manly United.
Luka Smyth bagged a brace for the Mariners at Pluim Park on Saturday.
Elsewhere in New South Wales, Newcastle Jets showed no mercy in their 7-1 demolition of 10-man Parramatta FC in League Two.
Newcastle recorded their biggest win of the season thanks to a Xavier Bertoncello hat-trick and Justin Vidic double. Ben Van Dorssen and Kierry James also scored for the ruthless Jets.
The Jets are third in the third tier of NSW football, two points behind Mounties Wanderers.
In League One, high-flying Bulls FC were stunned 4-1 by Bankstown City in a game where Luke Sterjovski – son of Socceroos great and Macarthur FC head coach Mile – scored.
City put on a show in front of their iconic Italian coach
It is the kind of football that had Alessandro Diamanti celebrating on the sidelines as Melbourne City played out a 2-2 draw with Bulleen Lions in VPL1 – the second tier of Victorian football below NPLM VIC.
Kavian Rahmani and Xavier Stella were on the scoresheet for City at Casey Fields on Sunday.
City are coached by former Italy international and one of the Isuzu UTE A-League’s finest imports – Diamanti.
He was left celebrating on the field of play when his side opened the scoring through Stella in the first half.
A stunning team move saw City regain the lead against Bulleen on Sunday, with Rahmani finding the back of the net. The 17-year-old joined the academy firstly in a development squad back in 2019 and then fully with City’s Under-15 side the following year.
City are 11th through six rounds, eight points behind unbeaten leaders Melbourne Victory.
Victory remain undefeated after they played out a goalless draw away to Caroline Springs George Cross.
“I’m a bit disappointed,” said head coach Joe Palatsides. “We just needed to cope better with their playing style.”
“They seemed hungrier early on and had more energy than us. In the second half we really changed our mentality towards them and adapted a lot better.
“I know our boys can perform better and maybe, on another day, if we played a bit better we would’ve come away with the points.”
“But at the end of the day, in a tough game like that, away from home, you get a point without playing your best, you’re pretty happy to come away with a point.”
As for Diogo Ferreira’s Western United, they were too good for winless North Geelong Warriors 2-0 thanks to goals from Abel Walatee and Nicolas Koek.
Roar star stays hot in QLD
Brisbane Roar youngster Rylan Brownlie is enjoying a fast start to the NPL QLD season.
Brownlie scored another goal over the weekend as the Roar defeated league-leading Lions FC on Sunday for their first win of the campaign after Ty Cobb scored the winner.
The 17-year-old has now scored three goals in four matches to start the NPL season, with Brisbane collecting four points.
Brownlie – the son of former midfielder Royce – signed a scholarship contract with the Roar heading into the 2023-24 Isuzu UTE A-League season and he has scored one goal in nine appearances this term.
“I started as one of the youngest in the squad at the Academy and I’ve always played up my whole life chasing an extra spot and the next starting 11. It’s an absolute privilege to be here and I’m so excited to go on with this team,” he said at the time.
Meanwhile, Perth Glory kicked off their NPLM WA season with a 1-0 victory at Inglewood United, where Daniel Jankuloski scored.
In NPLW NSW, Blacktown Spartans were too good for Emerging Jets 6-0 while Bulls FC drew 1-1 at UNSW FC.
The NPLW VIC season started over the weekend as Calder United – in partnership with Western United – lost 4-2 to FV Emerging, though Japanese import Akane Shimizu scored twice.
It was Kogulan Sabaratnam first match in charge of Calder United in the NPL. He is also an individual development coach with the Western United in the Liberty A-League.
