The Harbour City is red and black after the Western Sydney Wanderers won by their greatest ever margin in a Derby – demolishing Sydney FC 4-0 at Allianz Stadium.
Talk about sending a statement.
The ghosts of the ‘Demolition Derby’ past were exorcised on Saturday night, as the Western Sydney Wanderers put their cross-town rivals Sydney FC to the sword.
Two goals from Amor Layouni plus strikes from Kusini Yengi and Sky Blues old boy Calem Nieuwenhof proved to be the difference as the Wanderers ran rampant and in the process, secure bragging rights over their neighbours.
It was their second Derby win of the campaign, having won the first match-up 1-0 back in November at Sydney’s spiritual home – but dropping the reverse fixture in Parramatta last month.
However, from the word go, the Wanderers came out like a side possessed, playing with verve, swagger and intensity on the break – showcasing all the traits that have made them won of the league’s most dangerous sides over the last few month.
The Wanderers were willed on by the Red and Black Bloc – who provided a brilliant soundtrack all evening in the packed away terrace – as Marko Rudan’s side laid siege on their opponent’s home deck.
The win was the second-biggest in Derby history, only bettered by Sydney FC’s 5-0 win over the Wanderers back in December 2017.
Despite winning games and getting results earlier in the season, the Wanderers have struggled to hit the net nearly as much as they would have liked; but in recent times, they have found another gear in their attack.
Western Sydney have scored a whopping 14 goals in their last five games – including three bags of four – which has been off the back of the form of attacking guns such as Brandon Borrello, Milos Ninkovic and new January signing Layouni – who just earned a recall to the Tunisia national team ahead of the international break.
In fact, this run of scintillating attacking form started after their 1-0 loss to the Sky Blues in the second Sydney Derby back in February, where Borrello labelled Steve Corica’ side: “bang average” after the contest.
Fast forward to now and Borrello, who was central to the Wanderers’ demolition job, certainly felt a level of vindication when he was asked about the result post-game.
“It’s great, we had to show a reaction from the last game. I thought we played better in the last game, like I said before. We certainly did tonight, so I guess they got what they deserved in the end,” Borrello told Network 10.
There was a lot of talk in the media about being bang average… I don’t know what their team talk is gonna be like but I can tell you now ours is very positive.
“I think our team really understands that this is a game not just for us as players. We don’t care what goes on in the media mate, we play for the west.
“We represented them crazy well tonight, so we got what we deserve. The fans got what they deserved, and it’s even better it’s at their home ground.”
Borrello has been playing like a man on a mission as of late, scoring four goals in his last five games, which was rewarded with a recall to the Socceroos squad for the Ecuador friendlies later this month.
But this time around, it was his work teeing up his fellow teammates that had tongues wagging. The attacker’s lovely bit of composure to play the ‘hockey assist’ for Yengi’s opener – the same player who famously scored the winner at the opposite end of the ground in the first Derby this season.
He even reminded The Cove of who he was too – taking his jersey off and brandishing it towards Sydney’s active fans.
Network 10 commentator Andy Harper, however, couldn’t get over Borrello’s pass – describing it as the “best moment of his return” to the Isuzu UTE A-League so far.
“Yeah look, it felt great,” Borrello said.
“I mean, as soon as I knew I came inside, I knew Amor was going to make forward runs we knew we can break them down like that.
“When you have got those trust in your players when they know they make the runs, you’re playing the pass and he laid it off well to ‘Kus’ and he scored.”
‘It was our best performance of the season’
Is the finals drought finally about to end?
The Wanderers are now on the precipice of ending their six-year long wait for post-season action, with the win taking them nine points clear inside the top six and only three points behind second-placed Adelaide United.
Coach Marko Rudan couldn’t his excitement and happiness with the performance post-game.
“I think it was our best performance of the season,” he told Network 10.
“We were very dominant… most of their chances came when we were 4-0 up and the game was pretty much done and dusted. But the collectiveness the togetherness, the fight for each other, not just that but tactically we got it spot on today and we worked really hard without the ball.
“We started really brightly as opposed to last time we played and we need to make sure that we started right. Getting those two goals.
“I just think tactically we were spot on, but then again, you need to have the right attitude and the attitude was right there… right from the start all the way to the end. They didn’t drop off. They wanted more and they got they got what they deserved tonight.”
It’s the second time in four weeks that the Wanderers have won by a 4-0 scoreline, something that has come of a result of their recent change in tactics to be a lot more progressive in possession and stray from the counter-attacking brand they started the season with.
But no one really saw this kind of result coming, especially given the tightness of the table and when taking the last two meetings into account.
Except for Rudan.
“Yeah, I did,” he said when asked if he saw this coming.
“I’ve been telling my players for a long time now… part of the strategy at the start of the year was to build this team because we had so many new players and we had… new staff and before the Newcastle away game… I decided to change things around and make sure we played with the ball a lot more and you can see that right now.
“It’s not a surprise because the last four or five games we’ve been scoring four goals, four goals, a couple of goals. We’re creating a lot of chances, even against Perth last week. I don’t know how we didn’t score at least a couple, right, but that happens sometimes but more importantly we we had some pretty big outs today.
“Gabriel Cleur who has played close to every minute of every game. Tomi Mrcela has been a rock at the back with Marcelo and Morgan Schneiderlin has really grown into his role.
“But we work with all these players…. Aidan Simmons gets off the flight, plays right back. It’s not normal for him to play that position. But we put a lot of work into these players.
“So anyone that comes in is able to do a job for us, they understand the template, they understand their roles and responsibilities and like I said it’s just smooth sailing as far as we’re concerned.
“And that’s our job as coaches is to make sure they all understand what they’re doing but the most important thing is the belief. We’ve worked on the belief, the mental side of the game, the mindset and the mental toughness. To come over here is never easy, right.
But to win 4-0 away from home, it’s arguably one of the club’s best ever victories in history as well. I’d go as far as saying that, because it’s such a big game.”
Where to next for Sydney FC?
Back to back losses for Sydney FC and suddenly the pressure is rising on yet again for the Sky Blues.
Steve Corica’s go into the final five games of the campaign only two points inside the top six – while the gap between them and 11th place Brisbane Roar is only four points after they defeated Western United earlier in the day.
The Sky Blues coach spoke about the need to respond when they return to action against the reigning champions on April 1 – in what shapes as one of potentially five season defining contests in the run home.
“It should sting for everyone, not just for myrself. We’re at home and we have been beaten 4-0 so this is definitely not good enough,” Corica told Network 10.
“Last five games, we need a response from them.
“We’ve got an opportunity to go and win a game and to show their fighting spirit they’re all important. It’s not just the next game. This is going to be the next five games and once we get into the finals, then we can go and give it a good crack.”
Corica is set to welcome back Max Burgess from suspension along with striker Adam Le Fondre after an injury layoff, but is sweating on the fitness of James Donachie after he went down in the first-half with a hamstring injury.
REPORT – AAP
A group of Sydney FC old boys have come back to haunt their former club as Western Sydney steamrolled their way past their arch-rivals for a 4-0 win.
Milos Ninkovic, who controversially swapped the city’s east for the west in the off-season, set up two goals on Saturday, including his side’s third of the night which fell to Calem Nieuwenhof.
The 22-year-old midfielder was another casualty of a roster cleanout by Steve Corica and his goal condemned the Sky Blues to their biggest defeat in this fixture’s history.
Kusini Yengi had opened the scoring for the Wanderers at Allianz Stadium and the man who set him up – Tunisian international Amor Layouni – grabbed a double.
The result lifts Marko Rudan’s men to third spot on the table and leaves Corica’s side in perilous danger of dropping out of the finals spaces with five games of the regular season left.
The beef between Rudan and Corica, whose side edged the last derby 1-0, had dominated the build-up to the game.
Sydney rode their luck that night but this time they had no such fortune, with the Wanderers dominating from start to finish.
Yengi looked in ominous touch throughout and he started and finished his side’s opener in the 13th minute by picking the ball up inside his own half before relaying it to Brandon Borrello.
With his back to goal, Borrello laid off a sumptuous pass to an on-rushing Layouni, who bore down on goal and squared it to Yengi who finished with ease.
The 24-year-old wheeled away before taking his shirt off and holding it up in taunt towards the Sydney fans behind the goal.
More woe was to come for Sydney when centre back James Donachie limped off with a hamstring injury and Jack Rodwell, who was released by the Wanderers last season, was brought on as his replacement.
Almost immediately Western Sydney pressed forward and Ninkovic did the damage, drawing the Sky Blues’ defence out of shape before playing in Layouni for their second of the night.
The Wanderers were flying and their confidence was so infectious that left back Adama Traore threw in a few Cruyff turns for good measure.
Nieuwenhof was at the heart of everything and was pulling all the strings in the midfield after halftime.
As Ninkovic went driving forward he teed the ball off to Nieuwenhof who unleashed a shot that Redmayne was powerless to prevent.
With half an hour to go the game was dead, but the Wanderers turned the screw one last time as Layouni grabbed his second of the night after a smart pass by Borrello.
SATURDAY AGENDA
Newcastle Jets 2-2 Perth Glory
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium
Brisbane Roar 1-0 Western United
Venue: Kayo Stadium
REACTION: ‘Absolute God of football’ keeps Brisbane’s finals hopes alive with stunning late strike
Sydney FC 0-4 Western Sydney Wanderers
Venue: Allianz Stadium
