Sydney humbled in derby
WESTERN Sydney have claimed their first A-League victory of the season, outplaying Sydney FC 2-0 in what was a heated derby clash at Allianz Stadium last night.
The Sky Blues, who last week capitulated against Brisbane after Alessandro Del Piero left the pitch with a calf complaint, again appeared rudderless without their injured skipper in suffering their first home loss in nine matches.
The Wanderers’ own Italian import Iacopo La Rocca opened the scoring early with Shinji Ono rounding out the goals in front of a record crowd of 40,388 at Allianz Stadium, topping Sydney’s previous mark for a regularseason match.
With both teams locked at a win apiece and a draw in three previous derbies, the Wanderers can now claim bragging rights.
Serbian recruit Nikola Petkovic provided the only glimmer of hope for the hosts, with his long-range missile that hit the crossbar 10 minutes before the break their best chance of the match.
It was Sydney’s defending from set-pieces that was their undoing in their 6-0 drubbing by the Roar and they were guilty of the same mistakes.
La Rocca, replacing the injured Aaron Mooy ( concussion) in the starting lineup, broke the deadlock in the 11th minute off an Ono corner as the Rome-born journeyman was barely challenged by the Sky Blues’ backline.
Youssouf Hersi, who was a constant menace down the right for Sydney, looked to have doubled the advantage moments later but was ruled off-side.
The second goal was again the result of poor defending with Tiago Calvano and Sebastian Ryall unable to dispossess Ono, who managed to slot the ball home for a 2-0 lead in the 26th minute.
Nicky Carle was tasked with providing the creative spark in the Del Piero’s place but took until the 84th minute to have his first shot.
While starting the second half strongly, Sydney just weren’t able to match the Wanderers’ firepower.