Western Sydney Wanderers have pulled off one of the Westfield W-League’s greatest upsets with a 2-1 win over reigning champions Melbourne City at Popondetta Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Wanderers fought back after Marianna Tabain’s opener for City, with a Kendall Fletcher double securing an unfancied victory for the Red & Black.
Keen to bounce back after their first loss of the season last weekend, City went on the front-foot almost immediately, opening the scoring after just three minutes.
Marianna Tabain found herself in-behind the defence after a delightful chipped ball and slotted calmly into the net to give her side an early lead.
Despite going down, the Wanderers soon settled and began to enjoy some strong spells of possession.
They would soon be rewarded with an equaliser, Kendall Fletcher rising high to powerfully head home a Paige Nielsen free-kick.
The game began to open up, with City having the best of the opportunities to find a second, yet Jada Whyman stood tall for the Wanderers on a number of occasions to keep the scores level heading into the break.
However it was Wanderers who would break the deadlock soon after the restart, Fletcher grabbing her second goal of the match from the spot after Sarah Yatim was brought down in the area.
City controlled most of the proceedings thereafter, playing much of the game in the Wanderers’ half, though Whyman continued to hold firm, denying wave after wave of City attack.
Despite City pushing hard to find a late equaliser, the Wanderers held on to record a famous win in front of an energetic home crowd.
The Wanderers will look to string together back-to-back wins when they face the Jets in Newcastle on Boxing Day, while Melbourne City will hope to regain their winning touch when they host Perth Glory on 27 December.
