Sydney FC have claimed revenge in the Sydney Derby, levelling the season ledger at one win apiece after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Western Sydney in a fiery clash at CommBank Stadium.
Western Sydney winger Yeni Ngbakoto slapped his way into A-League folklore after getting sent off in the second derby of the season.
Ngbakoto was dismissed in the 65th minute after striking Sydney rightback Paulo Retre with an open palm.
His sending-off left Marko Rudan’s side with a mountain to climb after Max Burgess had netted the opener for the Sky Blues in the first half.
The victory was Sydney’s third on the spin and moves Steve Corica’s Sky Blues up to fifth on the A-League Men ladder, just one point behind city rivals the Wanderers.
Corica and Rudan were involved in a heated sideline spat at fulltime of the tense derby encounter.
Sydney were beaten in the last derby and they played with a point to prove, as they soaked up early pressure and stretched the Wanderers on the flanks.
It was down the left where they got the breakthrough, when Spanish fullback Diego Caballo crossed to Burgess on the edge of the box in the 16th minute.
The Sydney midfielder had work to do as he received the ball and slipped the attention of Wanderers skipper Marcelo.
As other defenders swarmed in on him, Burgess cooly curled a pinpoint effort past Western Sydney goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas for the game’s only goal.
The Wanderers’ woes were compounded when Marcelo went off soon after with a lower-leg injury.
It did not help, either, that Brandon Borrello and Oliver Bozanic had good chances to equalise but neither was able to trouble Sydney keeper Andrew Redmayne.
Former Sydney favourite Milos Ninkovic was brought on by Rudan with half-an-hour to go and was promptly met with a chorus of boos which turned the intensity up a notch.
That tension boiled over when Ngbakoto and Retre had a square-up off the ball.
While the incident originally went unpunished by referee Adam Kersey, the official was called to inspect the fracas on VAR after Retre called for treatment from the bench.
Kersey saw the slap on review and had no other option but to brandish a red card.
Ngbakoto looked incredulous and had to be ordered off by his teammates as Rudan paced the sidelines in anger.
The Wanderers thought they had nicked an equaliser through Tom Beadling, only for replays to show the defender had handled the ball in the build-up.
Sydney weathered a late onslaught from the home side to hang on for a vital three points.
© AAP
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