The Western Sydney Wanderers have their fourth win in a row after defeating Wellington Phoenix at home on Saturday.
REPORT: WANDERERS EDGE PHOENIX 2-1
They found the first goal of the match through Federico Piovaccari in the ninth minute, but Wellington hit back in the 18th with a goal from Manny Muscat.
It was then something of a stalemate for much of the match, as the teams were locked on 1-1 and neither could find a winning goal.
Mark Bridge broke the tie with a goal in the 85th minute, giving the Wanderers victory.
Final score
Western Sydney Wanderers 2
Wellington Phoenix 1
The silky Western Sydney Wanderers come up against Wellington Phoenix at Pirtek Stadium tonight. Join The Roar from 5:00pm for live scores from the game.
Based on form and home ground advantage, Western Sydney will be hard to stop tonight, especially with the combinations of Mitch Nichols, Dario Vidosic and Spanish recruit Andreu paying dividends.
Both Nichols and Vidosic took some time to settle in at Wanderland, but now that they’re comfortable and finding form, they’re looking more and more dangerous each week.
Tony Popovic’s men started the season much the same as the last. Three matches in and they were on the bottom of the ladder with just one point to show from another dismal start to an A-League campaign.
And with the large scale recruitment in the off-season, Popovic was due for more criticism. However, time has shown that this Wanderers squad is much more slick than last season’s, with the focus on possession-minded midfielders the key to the Wanderers’ resurrection.
A narrow win in Perth was followed by two dominant performances against Newcastle Jets and Melbourne City, and they’ll be looking for another win to continue their surge toward the top of the ladder.
However, in their way tonight is an inconsistent Wellington side looking to build on last week’s success. They were lethal against Adelaide last week, slotting home four goals to seal a much-needed victory.
And with the return of key creative midfielder Michael McGlinchey, Wellington will make the Wanderers work for a win at home and put their defence to the test once again.
This is shaping to be a battle of the midfield three. Dimas, Andreu and Nichols are sharp and silky, much like the Wellington Phoneix of 2014-15 who are just starting to find their rhythm again. They’ll come up against the likely midfield trio of Albert Riera, Alex Rodriguez and Roly Bonevacia in a battle for possession dominance.
Prediction: Western Sydney to win this one, but not without conceding at least one goal.
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