Western Sydney Wanderers 0 Sydney FC 2 (Women)
Western Sydney Wanderers 1 Sydney FC 4 (Men)
If you ever wanted to experience what is good and what is bad about football in Australia, Saturday’s double-header at Commbank Stadium was the place to be. The unbelievably poor treatment of football fans, the assumption of guilt, the expectation of the worst, the provoking of ordinary people coming to enjoy the atmosphere of a big game was still not enough to dampen the spirits of the Sydney FC fans as they roared their way through two fantastic victories. For the women, who overcame the loss of a host of young stars to the Young Matildas to turn the screw on their deadliest rivals, this was especially satisfying. For the men, a performance straight from the top drawer saw the fans and staff celebrating like never before in front of a hot and sweaty Cove corner. If you had never been to a football game in Australia and you chanced on this one, you’d be thinking that it was the biggest sport in the country.
The Saturday double-header is often a tricky one, but this one fell perfectly, and we jagged a rockstar car park at Parra Leagues Club before enjoying a drink and a bite to eat surrounded by friendly Western Sydney Wanderers fans in the Leagues Club’s member’s lounge. The day was getting off to a lovely start, and we gave ourselves plenty of time to make the shortest of walks to the stadium. We were met with a most bizarre scene though, lots of people milling around outside the main gate, with the gates slow to open at the outrageously late time of 4.45pm. So, 15 minutes to get in and a load of people to shift through the slow moving turnstiles. We wandered down to the away end, where the queues were ridiculous. Having just watched Newcastle United’s win at Blackburn in the FA Cup during the week, delayed by 15 minutes to let everyone in, this was exactly the same scenario. We knew there was no chance of the game being delayed; all the poor people standing in the snaking queue would simply have to miss the start.
Luckily our gate right around the back was quick, and we arrived in the stadium as the players were walking out onto the field for kick off. How disrespectful. They would have warmed up with no one at all in the stadium, and would have walked out with barely a ripple of applause from the handful of people in the stadium at the time.
This is when the fun started. The usual scenario of the women’s Cove congregating at the front of what would be the men’s active section was denied, the officious security guards making sure that we were all in our allocated sections. “I don’t care what it’s like every other time, this is the rule today.” Even a tiny amount of common sense and good old Aussie laissez-faire would have seen the security guards agree, but no, non-negotiable. What we had then was a nonsensical scene of our women’s Cove capo Michelle in one bay, surrounded by empty seats, and all of the willing women’s active Cove members in the adjacent bay. No one would listen, it was totally fucking stupid. It was antagonising and unnecessary, and the mood was certainly not what you’d want coming into the opening stages of such a big game.
Even the appearance of CEO Mark Aubrey didn’t help quell the immediate disquiet – there was nothing he could do, it wasn’t our home game – but the helpless feeling of the indignant Sydney active fans lingered, even when Michelle started leading off the chants from her own cordonned-off section of the stadium. Surely this wasn’t a taste of things to come, but we couldn’t help feeling that it was everyone against the football fan already today.
On the field, Sydney FC were holding their own, and had the first chance when Abby Lemon played in Princess Ibini clean through, but she fluffed her lines, allowing the goalkeeper to get a touch, sending the ball agonisingly past the post as we stood waiting to celebrate. The generous Wanderers defence gifted another chance, Mackenzie Hawkesby playing a fabulous one-two with Ibini to strike a shot just past the far post, the Cove already celebrating but left with their hands on their heads. Wanderers were dangerous when they came up our end, but there was little to trouble Jada Whyman in the Sydney goal, a high looping ball nestling on the roof of the net the closest they came.
Lemon looked full of beans up front, as she has done whenever she has come on up front this season, and forced a good save to keep out a shot, then connected with Cortnee Vine’s cross, right in front of goal, but the ball somehow went past the post. I must admit I was already celebrating that one before it went in, it was like Paddy Wood all over again.
The attendance was slowly growing, people drifting in and the chants started to get a little more volume. I don’t know about anyone else, but I find the pitch of the women’s Cove chants just that little high for my vocal range, and it always makes me chuckle when some of the chants go down half an octave after the first line to accommodate the deeper voices in the crowd. To be honest, I just love the fact that we’re standing singing from a well-known hymn book of Sydney FC songs at the women’s games and we just don’t give a shit what anyone thinks.
An extended half time came and went, and the action was subdued at the start of the second half. It took a moment to work out who had been subbed, the impressively named Caley Tallon-Henniker on for the unfortunate Lemon, and lo and behold, midway through the half, she took on her player in the box and appeared to be tripped. The referee pointed straight to the spot. The Wanderers players couldn’t believe it, and from the replay it looked suspect, as though Tallon-Henniker had clipped her own heel. The protestations continued as Hawkesby squatted on the penalty spot with the ball, and eventually she rose to take the spot kick and dispatched it without an issue, showing her teammates how a penalty should be taken.
The defence seemed to be looking airtight and there was little to show for all of the Wanderers endeavour. The result appeared to be locked in when Vine crumbled to the floor when breaking away, the merest of touches enough to send her to the ground. The referee, very decisive and perhaps a little trigger-happy, produced the red card despite Amy Harrison being the last player still to beat, so it was hardly a case of the old DOGSO rule. There was utter confusion as the Wanderers players remonstrated, quite rightly, at ths massive injustice. The referee even talked with the assistant to make sure and still didn’t change her mind. Oddly enough she then showed a yellow card to the perpetrator, without rescinding the red, so lord knows what was happening. It was like a reverse Graham Poll. Was that a yellow on top of the red for not getting off the field? Harrison talked herself into a yellow too as the Cove lapped up the pantomime, and eventually Vicki Bruce was ordered from the field. What an odd moment!
Now up against ten, Sydney FC could relax and play football, but it was the home side that tested Whyman on more than one occasion, the one-goal lead not enough. There were seconds remaining, nerves frayed by now, when Vine chose Tallon-Henniker instead of the run of the offside Shea Connors. The young striker took the exquisite ball into her stride, steadied herself after a heavy first touch and bent a beautiful shot into the goal to finish off the game in style. The away end was bouncing, what a finish to the perfect derby performance, and even with our most talented young stars missing, those that remained did a fantastic job.
The celebrations were fun, the players enjoying the singing and more than happy to hang around for more. How things have changed, from our capo having to coax the team to come over at Kogarah, to now the team demanding to come over and totally enjoying the love.
Full time was a chance to have a look around and see what was happening out in the concourse, but with things starting to get busy, an oversized and very visible police presence, and the jobsworth security guards starting to get agitated, I quickly returned to the sanctuary of my seat in the section next to the Cove. Time to marvel at my new Sydney FC hat, very appropriate headgear for today’s game, a recycled Ninkovic shirt transformed into a bucket hat by the talented Lydia. I would never have worn that shirt again, and it was one of my favourites, but now I can wear the hat with pride! One of a kind!
The Cove started to arrive, and lo and behold every person passing into the Cove section was subject to a ticket check. People swapped phones to beat the system, and the active area ended up being totally oversubscribed, not enough seats for all and the gangway was full of people. There was no discrimination either with the ticket checks. Even people carrying trays of drinks had to negotiate their phones to satisfy the pointless check.
At this point people were pretty pissed off with the whole charade. Had the security guards not been there, and only the Sydney FC marshals in play, there would have been absolutely no problem. Instead, we had a mountain of a man with oversized headphones dictating who could be in or out of the active section, his underlings struggling to read wobbly mobile phones in the fading light, not realising that it was the same phone they had checked a few seconds earlier. The head security bloke then helped people find a seat in the adjacent section when there was no more space in active. So much for your rules. Absolutely insane logic and unpleasant for all.
The drum was passed to the front as the players completed their warm-ups and our friends from NES Security (contractors of Venues NSW) continued to hold everyone up at the top of the stairs. Some people got wise to it and simply walked around to the next entrance and walked along the front, but even that was a risk. Alex Brosque and Luke Wilkshire took in the surroundings down below, with the beautiful Tara Rushton the only one doing any work and the crowd began to build. The entrance of the players saw an enormous banner revealed around two sides of the stadium and the crowd erupted. It looked really good to be honest, the Cove fans roaring their own alternative verdict; the wording was a little cheesy, the usual mention of life and death and passion, the Wanderers fans trying to play up to their self-made medieval, morbidly evil and unhinged reputation.
The Cove burst to life, our capo showing proper passion, and the scene was set. The Sky Blues must have won the toss and turned the teams around, Andrew Redmayne’s unusual number zero on display as he headed up the other end. The atmosphere in the three-quarters full stadium was bouncing, and the opening whistle saw the stands full of noise. Sydney FC looked pumped, and it wasn’t long before they won their first corner. Joe Lolley went short and got the ball back, and his delivery invited Rhyan Grant to attack the ball, and he leapt high, almost turning his back on goal but smashing a brilliant header beyond the goalkeeper and into the top corner of the net. What a start! Beyond everyone’s expectations. “F*ck you Western Sydney scum olé” chanted the Cove once Grant had finished his crazed celebration in front of the Sydney fans.
Maxi Burgess, revelling in his first start for a while, almost picked his way through for a second soon after, his shot cleared, and in the scramble on the edge of the box, Corey Hollman smacked the ball into a defender’s arm and the referee had no hesitation, pointing straight to the spot with absolute certainty. It was definitely harsh, the ball whacked into his arm from point blank range, but by the rulebook it was a nailed-on penalty and the replays confirmed it. Fabio Gomes took responsibility and gave us his stuttering run up and a smooth finish down the middle for 2-0; only seven minutes on the clock and already we’d celebrated two goals and a penalty.
A big banner was confiscated by the big unit of a securiy guard, who seemed quite happy with himself as he skipped gleefully up the steps with his spoils. An unfortunate fan was then manhandled out of the active section by security and the Sydney marshals, who knows what the backstory was, but he seemed to have an entourage leaving in his wake, the marshals handing him over to the police at the top of the stairs and thanking each other for their swift intervention in whatever misdemenour was taking place. All of this was happening against the backdrop of a fast-emptying home section at the far end. Had the home fans cracked the shits, or was there something more sinister at play? Whatever was happening, it was serious, and the flags and banners were taken away along in front of the RBB as if the game had ended.
There was more cause for celebration for the Sydney fans when Brandon Borrello was released clean through. It looked miles offside even from our distant view, but the referees allowed him to score and set the home fans off before the flag went up and we had the satisfaction of seeing the goal chalked off. Everything was going right.
Sydney kept plugging away until the break, winning corners, getting into advanced positions, and the persistence of the home team in playing out from the back played into the visitors’ hands. One absolutely world class moment saw Anthony Caceres surrounded and he flicked the ball through two players to set his teammate away. The half-time whistle had Sydney FC 2-0 up and coasting.
Reports came in from the smokers, who are forced outside these days to enjoy their cancer sticks, that a group of Wanderers fans had congregated out the back and had been throwing missiles at the puffing Sydney fans. So, there must have been some ejections, or at least a mass walk out from the RBB, and they were looking for trouble.
There was a walkaround by OASIS (Old And Still Into Soccer), an over 60s movement that advocates for the most senior of seniors to keep playing into their later years. Won’t be long! The half time heroes played their mini games and the dejected Wanderers fans were interviewed, the pre-match bravado and scorelines having changed dramatically. Half-time was long. It was Sydney’s turn to be left waiting on the field for the home team to appear.
And we didn’t have to wait long for another goal. It was the season of goodwill as a terrible ball in midfield led to Sydney nicking the ball and Hollman was quick to play in Robbie Mak to finish sweetly past the advancing goalkeeper. The Sydney fans were back in full voice, the post-half-time lull having been snapped almost immediately. Three goals up and in full control.
There was more to come, when a shaky backpass saw goalkeeper Daniel Margush wrong-footed and then he casually jogged after the ball as the massive strides of the 6’3 Fabio crept up on his blindside. It was Central Coast away all over again, as our Brazilian striker nicked the ball off the hapless keeper and showed his injured teammate how to do it, flicking the ball into the empty net for 4-0. We were all thinking back to that game at Homebush when we demolished the Wanderers, and there were still 30 minutes to go.
Sydney were great to watch. The active section shoved the Poznan right in the home fans’ faces and a flare was let off, sending our big unit into the fray with his sand bucket. Personally I don’t have an issue with flares. Okay, they’re bastard hot, and must be handled with care, but they do add to an atmosphere at a night-time game. Now, if they’re thrown around, that’s where it gets dangerous, so I can understand why they’re completely outlawed. If only there was a safe version that gave the same effect. Smoke machines, disco lights, but definitely not safe smokies. They’re rubbish.
The remaining Sydney players not used were meant to be warming up, but they were glued to the action. Jack Clisby walked a thin line with a tackle that could easily have been brought back for an on-field VAR check, a horrible studs-up challenge on Rhyan Grant that sparked some pushing and shoving. Wanderers pulled one back with 20 minutes still to play, Jake Girdwood-Reich getting the final touch to a pretty poor cross that left Redders swatting thin air as the home team finally woke up. There were suggestions that we might see some gloss come off the win as Wanderers pushed for more, but in the end, 4-1 was a fair result for a fantastic performance from the Sky Blues. The sight of Fabio racing back 50 metres to make a tackle warmed the hearts of even his most ardent of critics, before he made way, Sydney choosing to replace the front line as the yellow card count increased.
The final whistle was joyous. The players were quick to come across to celebrate with the Cove. The Super Sydney FC chant which usually signals the end of the celebrations continued and the players weren’t going anywhere, even singing along to some of the more fruity chants. Maxi was on the mega for the call and response, and it was a fantastic end to the night.
The word was going round that the Wanderers fans were out and about looking for trouble and we were advised to join the heavy police presence for the walk to the station. However, we were heading back to the Leagues Club car park and we ran the gauntlet, with no sign of any trouble at all. The players were still signing autographs and taking selfies with the young fans as we walked through the concourse to the main gate, and after eventually working out which level we were on, we were out of there, heading back along Victoria Road, leaving Commbank Stadium in the rear-view mirror.
What a brilliant occasion. A six-point haul away at the Wanderers, two vital victories to help set us up for finals football, and bragging rights for a few weeks at least. Knowing how these games go, we’ll lose at Allianz when the teams meet before the end of the stadium, but for now, Sydney is well and truly Sky Blue. The aftermath of the events in the RBB were still not clear later that night, something obviously went down, but at 2-0 down in ten minutes, the timing was ideal.
Thanks for reading. If you’ve not been to an A-League game this season, men’s or women’s, you have definitely been missing out. The matchday experience is so much better than watching it on TV, there is so much to see and hear when you’re in a live crowd at a live game, and once you get to know the players intimately, the experience is second to none. Whether your a Mariner or a Glory fan, get your arse to a game and join the fun as the A-Leagues renaissance continues.