The first ever post-season Sydney Derby took place on Saturday night in Parramatta with the Wanderers returning to the finals series for the first time in half a decade, and Sydney FC came out winners with a freight train of a second half as they over-ran an heartless home side who might have made finals for the first time ever but left them just as quickly.
The 4 v 5 elimination qualifier would see one team go home and the other book a ticket against Melbourne City following Adelaide United's comprehensive win over Wellington Phoenix on Friday night. There were no major changes for the home side while Sydney FC bought former Wanderer Jack Rodwell into the starting lineup along with Robert Mak to form a strike duo with Adam Le Fondre, the two foreign forwards combining for 19 goals so far this season.
The first chance of the game fell to Kusini Yengi 7 minutes into the half with Brandon Borrello breaking into the penalty area, finding himself on the byline and cutting back. Rodwell came to the rescue by blocking the shot away. Marcelo should have put the Wanderers 1-0 up with Calem Nieuwenhof dinking a ball after a partially cleared corner, the central defender mistimed his header from only 6 yards out, a glorious chance in what promised to be a very tight fixture.
Rodwell had the best chance of the game thus far for Sydney FC, he was left wide open from an in-swinging corner and he made good contact on the ball but it was directed straight at Wanderers keeper Lawrence Thomas who didn't have to move to snaffle the header. The 30th minute shot was the first on target for the game.
Milos Ninkovic almost punished his former club in the 35the minute. The Wanderers piled on the pressure for several minutes, until Adama Traore delivered a sterling left footed cross that found Ninkovic and his volley was powerful but turned over the bar by Andrew Redmayne. A minute later the Sydney FC defence was at sixes and sevens and copped a clear handball, in the box and sending the Red & Black to the spot as Alex Wilkinson handled, giving Morgan Schneiderlin the chance to open the scoring. The French international stepped up to the spot and faced up against Redmayne who used all his delaying tactics to try and put off the midfielder.
Redmayne tried his usual song and dance routine but Schneiderlin wasn't amused firing the ball straight down the middle, scoring his second goal of the season with Redmayne diving forlornly and unable to keep it out. It was what the Wanderers deserved after their dominant first half, with the pressure getting to Mak as he was yellow carded in the aftermath. Neither team could fashion an additional chance, the closest was Borrello finding space 25 yards out from goal only to slip over as he was about to take a touch and shoot. Schneiderlin's penalty separated the two sides at half-time.
Sydney FC started the second half well, and Thomas needed to pull out a wonderful save to keep the game at 1-0. Adam Le Fondre hadn't been seen much so far but he got in front of Tomislav Mrcela and fired at the near post, on target and going in until Thomas stuck out the right paw and turned it away. Luke Brattan followed up a corner clearance with his own left foot strike that just didn't dip enough to challenge Thomas. They had another chance when Retre managed to duck and weave his way to the byline but his cutback across the face of goal wasn't met by an onrushing far post run and the Wanderers scrambled it clear. Anthony Caceres had another chance with a shot on the turn but Mrcela made one of his trademark diving blocks to keep it away from goal.
The 15 minutes after half-time were all Sydney FC, they hammered the Wanderers goal without success. Traore and Mrcela both went down with knocks, giving a much needed respite. Mrcela's injury was more severe than it looked like initially and he trudged off the pitch and was replaced by the utility defender Tom Beadling. Amor Layouni had been quiet so far but created the first attack of the half for the Wanderers by striding down the right hand side, his final ball couldn't find a team-mate.
Rhyan Grant got away with an awful challenging earlier in the game but his 64th minute chop down of Schneiderlin finally earned him his well deserved yellow card, sparking a mini-melee with Alex Wilkinson. The replay showed Grant clearly collecting Schneiderlin in the ankle with his studs up, VAR declined to intervene before the referee handed out cards to Brattan and Borrello. The challenge was followed up by Ninkovic giving it back to Brattan with his own slide tackle from the side.
Sydney FC were threatening all half and finally equalised with the assistance of a woeful defensive clearance from Traore. With no pressure following an aimless cross to the back post, Traore picked the worst option for his header, sending it back across goal straight to Mak who took two touches to clear his feet and fired off the post with a touch from Thomas not enough to keep it out. With 15 left in regulation time Rudan made a change, bringing off the ineffective Ninkovic for Nicolas Milanovic.
The 80th minute saw Sydney FC score a simple second from a set piece. The Wanderers had trouble with defending them all game and Le Fondre, one of the smallest men on the pitch rose above Beadling and Marcelo to meet the ball on the 6 yard box. Thomas was nowhere either and Le Fondre made no mistake and put Sydney FC in the lead with just 10 minutes remaining.
Marcelo had another free header, a free kick delivered perfectly and the Captain rose high, with Redmayne rooted to the line it was harder to miss than score and Marcelo smashed it over the bar with a header that would have missed another goal stacked on top of the first one. Sydney FC were forced into a sub with Joe Lolley lasting all of 10 minutes from his arrival before an injury pulled him back off the pitch.
6 minutes of stoppage time flashed up on the 4th officials ball and set the deadline for the Wanderers to turn around an inept second half. With just seconds remaining the Wanderers threw everyone forward including goalkeeper Thomas, he came in like a wrecking ball and almost made contact. The 96th minute saw a free kick taken by Thomas that he hit long into the box, Marcelo finally managed to get a header on target but it was tame, the game ending with Redmayne in possession to set up a "Sky Blue Derby" next week against Melbourne City.
It was the worst time for the worst 45 minutes for the Wanderers in a long time, despite all the talk about "rebuilding" the club from Rudan it was the same old Wanderers. The team that can't defend set pieces, couldn't score from their own corners or free kicks, suffered injuries at inopportune moments and whose offensive players were nullified out of the game. Rudan himself couldn't find a way to respond to his team's gutless second half and both the SFC leveller and their going ahead. Borrello might have scored 13 goals but tonight he was invisible, Troare once again had nothing in attack but also cost the team with poor defense, Ninkovic was kept pocketed by the SFC midfield and Marcelo threw away enough opportunities to have won the game on his own.
The long off-season beckons, with Rudan going into his 3rd season at the club there will be a shadow hanging over him despite all his rhetoric he will be expected to assemble a better squad and fight for 1st place for the whole season against the juggernaut of Melbourne City and the youthful attacking flair of Adelaide & the Mariners.
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