Sydney FC exact revenge and eliminate Western Sydney with inaugural Sydney Derby finals win | OneFootball

Sydney FC have triumphed 2-1 over Western Sydney Wanderers at CommBank Stadium in the Sydney Derby elimination final.

Second-half goals from Robert Mak and Adam Le Fondre got the job done for the Sky Blues after Morgan Schneiderlin had opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 39th minute.

Steve Corica’s men will now face Melbourne City over two legs for a place in the Grand Final, also to be held in Parramatta, while the loss ends Wanderers’ season.

As many fans were still making their way into the ground due to delays at the turnstiles, Wanderers had an early chance when ex-Sky Blue Milos Ninkovic found space between the lines and picked out the run of Brandon Borrello, but the Socceroo’s ball cross was scrambled away.

The hosts were looking the more dangerous side early, with Sydney FC struggling to maintain possession when they did manage to win the ball back.

Western Sydney captain Marcelo, who had been picked out by Calem Nieuwenhof, had a golden chance to open the scoring with a free header but could only steer his effort wide of Andrew Redmayne’s upright.

With Englishman Joe Lolley not fit enough to start the Sky Blues’ attack was somewhat blunted, however Robert Mak and Max Burgess remained threatening.

The absence of The Cove was quite notable, with natural lulls in noise from the RBB resulting in a library-like atmosphere at times. The attendance had swelled since kick-off but was still looking a fair way off a full house at CommBank Stadium.

Redmayne was forced into a great reflex save when Ninkovic struck a powerful volley, but the Socceroo was up to the task, tipping his old teammate’s shot over bar.

Wanderers were well on top, and had a huge opportunity to open the scoring when Chris Beath pointed the spot after Alex Wilkinson handled in the penalty area.

The ball appeared to hit the Sky Blues captain closer to his chest but VAR upheld Beath’s decision.

Morgan Schniderlin stepped up and sent Redmayne the wrong way, giving his side a valuable advantage.

A huge mountain for Sydney FC to climb as Beath blew for half-time in the elimination Sydney Derby.

Steve Corica didn’t immediately go to his bench to start the second half, but it would only be a matter of time if his side continued to chase the game.

As Western Sydney tentatively held on to their slim lead Sydney started to gain the ascendancy, and Corica’s side were soon level through Robert Mak. Beating a man just inside the area, the Slovakian import then curled a delightful strike off the post and in past the hapless Lawrence Thomas.

Lolley entered the fray with under 20 minutes to go, ostensibly fit enough to potentially run for the balance of regular time and extra time, if necessary.

It was all the Sky Blues now, the momentum having completely shifted. Soon it was 2-1, with Wanderers coming undone from a set piece, Adam Le Fondre nodding in Mak’s corner.

Time was running out for the hosts, and they became desperate, giving away plenty of fouls which only served to run down the clock for Sydney.

Thomas joined his teammates in the Sydney penalty area for a corner, but it came to nothing for Western Sydney.

Redmayne flopped on a misguided long ball, and that would be all she wrote as Beath’s whistle signalled the end of Western Sydney’s season.

Key Takeaways

Has Corica done enough to save his job?

It has been an inconsistent campaign for Sydney, but with tonight’s win, it begs the question: will Corica be back in the dugout come Round 1? The Sky Blues will now face Melbourne City over two legs for a place in the Grand Final but will start as heavy underdogs to progress to the decider.

They started this match as underdogs, too, and managed to topple a resurgent Rudan-led Western Sydney side who had their measure over the course of three regular-season derbies. How much credit for that goes to Corica? Was the win because of him, or in spite of him?

All will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Silence deafening as Cove stick to their principles

Whichever side of the debate you may sit on, The Cove, responding to broken promises, are to be commended for sticking to their guns and going through with boycotting the first-ever Sydney Derby finals clash.

Sydney FC’s active supporters barely fit out a bay at Allianz Stadium, and while that number would have swelled for such a marquee fixture, the effect on the bottom line for the APL in terms of ticket sales would have been minimal. It seems that the league’s governing body have taken notice, however, with the announcement this week of new designated fan groups to liaise with the APL going forward.

And without pointing fingers or criticising them, it should be mentioned that the Red and Black Bloc were also signatories to a collective statement of demands from all supporter groups. Commentary describing them as “scabs” or “traitors” is obviously wide of the mark but it is somewhat disappointing they didn’t stand in solidarity with their Sky Blue counterparts.

Plenty of progress but a bitter finish for Wanderers

There’s lots of positives to take out of this campaign for Western Sydney: a settled playing squad, the clear and firm leadership of Rudan, and a return to the finals for the first time since 2016-17.

Of course, right now they will not be fully appreciative of those pluses after a heartbreaking defeat in their biggest game of the season. Their return to the finals has ended in a demoralising loss to their arch rivals, who they’d defeated two times out of three in the regular season.

Wanderers fans will hope this is just the start of their resurgence, but there’s no doubt their premature exit from the finals will sting for some time.

Final score:

Western Sydney Wanderers 1 (Schneiderlin (P) 39′)Sydney FC 2 (Mak 69′, Le Fondre 80′)

Image Credit: Brendan Thorne/Getty Images