Victory for the Wanderers means Sydney FC’s place in the top six looks ever more precarious, writes Tom Smithies
A scrap on the pitch leads to a scrap on the table. Derby joy for the Wanderers could have longer term consequences for the balance of power in Sydney, with the red and black pulling to within three points of the sky blue thanks to victory at CommBank Stadium over their hated rivals.
If it was a triumph built on endeavour and effort more than free-flowing football, it was no less sweeter for that as the RBB celebrated with gusto. The fact the result meant Sydney FC had lost three in a row for the first time in nine years seriously gilded the lily for the home side.
It was a deserved win for Mark Rudan’s side, as we can call them now that he is officially in situ for another two seasons (at least in theory – managerial contracts at the Wanderers have after all tended to run short of term in recent years).
If the key moments that decided the contest were setpieces, they created more chances in open play and could have made the scoreline more emphatic.
Just as importantly, there was a second cleansheet in four games, and it was a fine evening’s work by the Wanderers back four. Other than Adam Le Fondre’s curling shot onto the bar, it was hard to remember Sydney FC fashioning one presentable chance.
Rudan’s sides do tend to be well structured at the back, and a team that has been conceding goals from setpieces for years has now gone four games without conceding one. It helps when your injury replacement centreback is 193cm tall, and Tomislav Mrcela looked composed alongside the 20-year-old Philip Cancar.
Further forward, Keijiro Ogawa looked the game’s smartest player, his movement in attack widening the pitch for Western Sydney but also diligent in holding his role in the defensive structure. As Rudan tries to develop a discernible style for a team that lacked an identity under Carl Robinson, Ogawa’s industry is a very useful tool.
How Sydney FC could do with the sort of thoughtful interventions that Ogawa offered. If it’s possible for a team collectively to be badly out of form, then Steve Corica’s side is in a communal funk. Milos Ninkovic flickered in the early stages like a failing bulb that went out in the second half, while Kosta Barbarouses laboured like a man making his first start for almost three months.
Most damagingly for Sydney, their front third is a creative-free environment at the moment. In the second half Le Fondre more than once waved his hands in frustration when a through ball wasn’t made, but Sydney shouldn’t be relying on balls over the top anyway.
When Max Burgess came on things improved slightly; Burgess was able to find lateral movement, drifting between the lines to try to cleave some small holes in Western Sydney’s structure. But he still plays at times like a player who doesn’t quite believe himself up to the task, for all his quick feet and ability to turn sharply.
Before that Elvis Kamsoba had suggested he might be able to ruffle red and black feathers, seeking to turn his man and run whenever given half a chance. The injury that forced him off early was another blow in what has been, in Ninkovic’s words, a “challenging season” for Corica’s side.
New signing Luciano Narsingh came off the bench for his debut and found a couple of tempting crosses, though his efforts to dribble in field were stopped in their tracks by Adama Traore
Now Sydney sit in a most uncomfortable position, having racked up more games than most others but still only having enough points to lie sixth. Like a car in the inside lane cruising below the limit, Sydney can see rivals coming up close behind in the rear view mirror. At this rate, last year’s grand finalists are facing a battle just to make the top six.
