Western Sydney Wanderers vs. Auckland FC
CommBank Stadium, Sydney, Australia
Friday, December 12th, 10:00pm (NZT)
Written by Jonno Ross – Port Member.
After beating the Central Coast Mariners 2-1 in testing conditions last Friday night, Auckland FC come up against the Western Sydney Wanderers for the second time this season. We’ll be looking to win back-to-back games for just the second time in this campaign, and with the side currently in second place, there’s no doubt they’ll be looking to overtake Sydney FC at the summit of the league table.
Western Sydney Wanderers are coming off the back of a 0-0 draw against the Brisbane Roar last weekend.
Frustratingly for the Wanderers, they just couldn’t break down the Roar’s defence, despite knocking on the door several times. The Roar got what they wanted, setting up defensively and seeming to be content with playing for a point away from home.
Anthony Pantazopoulos was the Wanderers’ main threat from fullback, consistently posing a threat; however, his brilliant balls into the box couldn’t be capitalised on.
The Wanderer’s consistency in attack will be something that head coach Alen Stajcic will have been working on at training during the week – his side has now gone 180 minutes without scoring a goal, and has scored just once in their last three games. Not the efficiency in front of goal they had hoped for, especially after signing New Zealand international, Kosta Barbarouses, in the off-season.
Barbarouses is, however, his side’s leading goalscorer, with 3 goals for his new club. How he’d love to end his goal drought against his former side’s (Wellington Phoenix) rivals…he hasn’t scored since his brace against the Central Coast Mariners in round 5 of the competition.
The Wanderers need to find their feet going forward. They have found the net just 6 times in the competition thus far – less than one goal per game.
Auckland FC play their second of three away games in a row when they come up against the Wanderers on Friday.
Last time out against this week’s hosts, we came away with a 1-0 victory at Go Media Stadium, thanks to a goal from Jesse Randall.
The last time we played at CommBank Stadium, it was a drama-filled game, with Auckland’s former player, Neyder Moreno, popping up in the 95th minute to steal a huge 3 points for AFC. Absolute scenes at Tyler St, where AFC supporters were sent into absolute ecstasy when we scored.
AFC will look to win back-to-back games for just the second time this season. The last time we achieved any sort of win streak was when we won three on the bounce, starting in round two. We beat the Wanderers, Adelaide, and the Phoenix, before coming to a halt with a draw against Brisbane.
The boys seem to be hitting form after their performance of the season against the Phoenix, then backing it up with last week’s win against Central Coast. Last week’s game wasn’t easy, but playing in the pouring rain didn’t stop us from playing some good football.
Lachie Brook is looking dangerous in the number 10 role, and we’re causing havoc with opposition defence trying to defend Brook, Rogerson, Cosgrove and Randall, not to mention de Vries up and down the left side. Defenders nightmare.
Fun fact – we’ve played three times against the Wanderers, and we remain undefeated, having earned one draw and two wins against them. Here’s hoping that our streak continues.
Will it be an open game with both teams gunning for the win, or will it be a cagey affair with both teams not wanting to lose? A point on the road to Western Sydney could be deemed as a good result, but championship-winning sides find a way to win these games, especially playing away from home.
8th-placed WSW could see them go as high as 5th in the league. A win for Auckland could see us on top of the league, depending on Sydney FC’s result. A loss could see us drop from second to third, depending on Brisbane Roar’s result against Macarthur FC.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Western Sydney Wanderers
As mentioned earlier, Anthony Pantazopoulos was arguably the most threatening player on the pitch last week against Brisbane. The fullback was beating his man continuously, as he bought the ball forward, with dangerous deliveries into the box. He’s not shy of having a pop at goal either, forcing Brisbane keeper Dean Bouzanis into making the save of the match. One for our defenders to look out for.
This man needs no introduction. Kosta Barbarouses is always a threat against us. His pace and nimble feet are a danger to any opposition. Out of all players, he’s the one we don’t want to score against us. In Auckland’s 2-1 win against the Phoenix at home last season, he found the net. Can he come back to haunt us again?
Auckland FC
Lachie Brooke has found his new position in the team. He’s gone from being a winger to the number 10 role, and he’s only getting better. Keeping Guillermo May on the bench is no easy feat. He’s exciting, he’s quick, and he’s got skills, and he loves a nutmeg or two.
