In the words of Ufuk Talay, Sydney FC “stuck to our motto” on Saturday night.
Entering the 88th minute, Sydney trailed 3-1 before Adrian Segecic gave the home side a glimmer of hope. Then, Subway Socceroos midfielder Anthony Caceres pounced in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
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“The great thing is the boys stuck to our motto and our motto is we don’t stop and they definitely didn’t tonight,” Sydney head coach Talay told Network 10.
The Wanderers appeared destined for their first derby win since November 2023 thanks to Zac Sapsford’s double that made him the club’s leading goalscorer in the historic of the rivalry fixture.
Patryk Klimala had given Sydney a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute before Sapsford restored parity a minute later.
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A Rhyan Grant put the Wanderers ahead prior to half-time and Western Sydney opened up a two-goal buffer through Sapsford, whose fifth derby goal two minutes into the second half put him within one of the all-time record held by Sydney legend Alex Brosque.
The topsy-turvy contest continued as Sydney refused to surrender. Segecic came off the bench to reduced the deficit with two minutes of regulation remaining. As the Wanderers tried to hold on with Douglas Costa wreaking havoc, Caceres popped up to score his maiden derby goal.
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“It was crazy. To be honest, the only way it could be any better is if it was the winner,” Caceres told Network 10 post-game.
“Look, happy we didn’t et them leave here with all three points. To score my first derby goal in front of the cove, it was extremely special.
“It’s hard to make sense of all that. At the end of 90 minutes. A chaotic game.
“We started well but took our foot off the pedal. Looked like they were going to run away with it but we have a lot of character in this team.”
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With the result, Sydney moved up to third in the standings while eighth-placed Western Sydney are two points outside of the top six.
Caceres added: “We know what we’re capable of and we know any point in the game, we can turn it on.
“Games like this, they bring all the energy out of you. Desperation at times. That’s what made it possible, the desperation and desire to not disappointing the people that came out there.”
A crowd of more than 32,000 fans packed into Allianz Stadium to watch the third Sydney Derby of the season and they were treated to unforgettable battle.
“The noise was amazing. It felt like a great occasion for sport in this country,” said Caceres.
“This is a unique atmosphere in Australian sport. I think everyone should experience a derby.”
For two-goal star Sapsford, who has six goals in 2024-25, he told Network 10: “It’s really disappointing because at 3-1 in the 87th minute, you’re expecting to win the game.
“Sadly, we only came away with one point. We really wanted to win today but a point, we will take it.”
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No Wanderers play has scored more Sydney Derby goals than Sapsford, so what’s the secret?
“I’m not too sure to be honest. Maybe it’s the crowd that gets me going a bit more,” he replied.
“I just enjoy it. It’s one of those games – every player has those games where they score more and this one is for me.”
