Derby drought continues but Wanderers show signs of promising future

Western Sydney Wanderers’ two-year wait for Sydney derby victory goes on but attacker Mitch Duke believes the club are back on the road to Hyundai A-League success.

The Wanderers played out a pulsating 1-1 draw with their cross-city rivals on Saturday night, and although the Red and Black were unable to grab derby bragging rights for the first time since February 2017 there was plenty of promise on display from Markus Babbel’s side.

Sydney Derby Banner 13 April

Duke, who returned from a stint in the J-League and pledged his future to Western Sydney back in January, was one of the brightest performers on the pulsating ANZ Stadium stage.

The 28-year-old’s battling displays for Western Sydney since his signature sits among a growing list of reasons why Wanderers fans will be looking toward next season with renewed optimism – especially given the club’s long awaited return to Bankwest Stadium.

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“I think in the last eight games we’ve shown what we can do,” Duke told FOX Sports after the match.

“We’ve got a lot of points in these last few games. I think there’s lot to look forward to for next season.

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“We can’t make the finals but if we keep playing like this we can draw some crowds and we can make them happy.

“I think you could see tonight that all the boys are fighting hard, working hard until the end and I couldn’t prouder.”

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