Sydney FC 3 Western Sydney Wanderers 3
At 3-1 down at home to their fiercest rivals and playing like Steve Corica was back in town, a remarkable comeback had Allianz Stadium rocking as Sydney FC almost snatched a dramatic late win after eight minutes of added time. It had all looked so good when Patryk Klimala had rifled Sydney into the lead but the game looked well and truly beyond the hosts just after the break when Zac Sapford had his second and the Wanderers’ third. Cue Adrian Segecic with a superb shot from the edge of the area with time running out, and a last gasp poacher’s finish from Anthony Caceres had the Sydney fans in raptures. What a finish, and what was going to be a dreadful defeat in the Sydney derby turned into a glorious evening in front of an adoring crowd for the Sky Blues.
Rails was keen to drive for this one, once it was established that buses replaced trains in our area, and there were memories of epic bus rides following mammoth wait times en route whenever we’d taken those buses in the past. Choosing our favourite parking spot in deepest Paddington, it was a brisk uphill walk to civilisation, and we stopped in for a bite at an old haunt, scene of birthday parties when we’d take a big group of kids to the games ten or so years ago. It was hellish warm, that sort of sticky, murky heat that gets you sweating even while sitting still. The players would surely feel it tonight.
Leaving Michelle to pop in to the pub for a swift half before the game, we took in the activations outside our gate before heading inside. There were a lot of people. This was not your everyday Sydney FC Allianz Stadium experience. The Cove was being policed outside – no wristband, no entry – and we were happy to see the same happening at the other end as we did a lap of the stadium concourse. It was good to see no segregation other than that, and everyday Wanderers fans walked freely amongst Sydney FC fans, some couples and families sporting shirts of opposing sides, much like when Everton play Liverpool in the EPL.
All the food and drink outlets were open, and refreshingly there were more on top, with pop-up stores for mid-strength Stone and Wood, face-paiting inside the stadium and even additional merchandise stores. The Cove were already in place, whereas the RBB hadn’t yet appeared, but there was a feeling of busy-ness and we headed up to our seats in Cove Heights, above the throng of Bay 23 below.
Walking past some screens on the way, we saw Newcastle Jets v Melbourne Victory still going with some ridiculous amount of added time, and this would soon turn into a delay in our game. The RBB arrived to a chorus of “F*ck you Western Sydney scum”, Anthony Caceres received an award for his 200 games, the fire shooters added unwanted heat to an already sweaty atmosphere, and some irresponsibly provocative footage of biff in previous Sydney derbies, including fans on the pitch, amped up the atmosphere even more. There were already shirts off down in the active section, the players emerged, and to be honest, the music could have been cut right there and then to allow us everyone to experience the raw atmosphere, the animation and the passion from both sets of fans. But no, boom boom boom as usual.
Kick off was amazing, Klimala went straight in on a Wanderers player, wrestling him to the floor in an off-the-ball moment and was then remonstrating with another. This was what we wanted to see. Sydney weathered some pressure before striking early, an exquisite and unexpected pass from Caceres finding Klimala in an advanced position at the other end of the stadium, and his finish was instant. As we celebrated in shock, he had jumped the advertising hoardings and was lording it up in front of the RBB; this man knows what a derby is all about, and what a glorious goal!
The baiting of the West Sydney fans done, and the Cove trying to get an SFC chant going again, the unthinkable happened. Wanderers broke upfield and the impish Jack Clisby fired in a dangerous cross. Our maligned goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares opted to get down to push the ball away, but only succeeded in pushing the ball straight to Zac Sapsford, who finished into the empty net and gave some Klimala back to the Cove. It was a horror mistake by our goalkeeper though, echoing some of the challenging moments we’ve seen in the A-League Women this season. In retrospect, he could have easily left the ball and the danger would have gone.
The game was set up now, early goals and everything to play for. Wanderers looked lively, and were quick to cut out any pass that wasn’t precise. There was a farcical moment when Nicolas Milanovic was about five yards offside, but play was allowed to continue, the RBB getting their moment to celebrate before the inevitable VAR intervention. That was one of the stupider ones – it was clearly offside for all to see, why not call it straight away?
Something was going on in the Cove with about ten minutes to go of the half, everyone was turned around watching, but we couldn’t tell what it was. Sydney FC were struggling going forward, it felt like the Sydney FC of two years ago, passing the ball around to no effect and then losing it when they tried to find the final pass, and it was no surprise when the visitors did take the lead, and what a bizarre goal again. We’d already seen Devenish-Meares almost caught off his line, we’d seen moments where the Sky Blue defence were two defenders against three attackers in the penalty area, but this time they were caught out on the left side of defence, young Kyle Shaw up against the tricky Milanovic, who brought in Sapsford to play in another teasing cross, Milanovic almost fluffing his lines as he finished at the far post. The sight of the assistant referee’s flag being raised was something to cling on to, but it couldn’t have been for the final touch. Turns out it was, and there was no offside, and what’s more, it wasn’t even Milanovic that got the final touch, it was our captain Rhyan Grant. What a fizzer.
So, 2-1 down at the break, and with it all to do in the second half. Sydney FC had looked jaded and uninventive, and were lacking in the basics too – Leo Sena made every junior coach’s blood boil by letting the ball run past him with no notion of what was behind him, and the subsequent rash challenge to try and win the ball was a justified yellow card.
We were off on another lap of the stadium as the half-time whistle sounded. So many people. So busy, but we could still walk through the Wanderers end unchallenged and it didn’t feel threatening at any stage. It took so long, due to the crowds, that the players were out by the time we got to our seats and play had just re-started.
A lot of people would have missed the next goal. It was almost exactly the same as Klimala’s goal, at the same end, but this time it was the Wanderers who celebrated in front of their fans, Sapsford with the Klimala run onto Brandon Borrello’s Caceres through ball, but the flag was quickly up. It would be close though, and the Wanderers players were celebrating before VAR could confirm the goal. It took about three minutes for the decision to be made. Terrible experience for the fans but ultimately the right dedision. Sydney were dead and buried.
And it looked to be getting worse when Milanovic tied the Sydney defence in knots, Devenish-Meares with another Brianna Edwards parry, and the home team had Rhyan Grant to thank for throwing himself in front of Sapsford’s shot, not once but twice, the second time a suspicion of handball before Shaw hacked he ball off the line. This was Sydney at their most desperate, and the exposed Zac De Jesus was sacrificed for the main man Douglas Costa as Sydney changed shape. And I’m not sure what kind of shape that was. Almost immediately Costa was ordered off the field for wearing an earring, at first trying to put it in his sock before being told to take it off the field, and then being denied re-entry. You couldn’t make this shit up.
The ineffectual Anas Ouahim – it just wasn’t his game tonight – made way for Adrian Segecic and we at last found some zest. Wanderers did their best to take the steam out of the game, plenty of subs, players on the ground and some low-quality game management that eventually saw goalkeeper Lawrence Thomas booked for switching the ball to the other side of the penalty area for a goal kick. The final roll of the dice was made by Ufuk Talay, and Joel King’s introduction brought puzzled groans, but Jaiden Kucharski was on now, and Sydney would go for broke. Some people around us were leaving, hoping to beat the rush and cut short the agony. Sydney had been building, though. Costa was getting the ball often from his teammates, as if they had been told to give it to him at any opportunity. The corner count was mounting. But still there was no final reward, Segecic going the closest as Thomas turned his shot around the post with a brilliant save.
There was maybe a minute left on the clock when Segecic picked up the ball from Costa and simply turned to fire into the corner of the net for the simplest of goals. Suddenly there was hope. Sydney piled forward, Caceres and Costa dictating the play, the whole of Cove Heights was on their feet. Grant blazed over, and with confusion over how long was being played in addd time, the nervous excitement created an incredible atmosphere in the stadium. Costa was brilliant, flicking an outrageous pass out to his left, before tormenting his defender on the Sydney right. And then came the moment that lifted the lid on the place. Costa was fortunate to win a second corner after they’d botched the first. Klimala picked up a water bottle thrown from the crowd, unscrewed he lid and drank it. Costa then fizzed in another of his wildly spinning corners, the unlikely sight of Grant out-jumping his defender to power in a bullet header saw time stand still. Thomas got across to make the save, but the ball popped into the path of the in-rushing Caceres, who lashed the ball, under heavy pressure, into the roof of the net.
Not since that late Kucharski winner to nick the derby in the last minute have we seen scenes like this at Allianz Stadium, in fact I don’t remember the whole of Cove Heights rising as one to suck the ball over the line. It was just spine-tingling. There was still time to win the game, and Sydney poured forward, but ultimately time ran out with the Wanderers players sinking to their knees in disbelief at the final whistle.
This felt like a win. The sight of the visiting players trudging to their fans added even more joy to the occasion, the Sydney players coming over to applaud the Cove, who serenaded them with This City Is Ours and F*ck You Western Sydney Scum. The scenes in the concourse were incredible. Hugs and smiles, chanting and singing, a swarm of people heading for the exits into the rain without a care in the world. To say that football can alter your mood is an understatement. This was as big an emotion swing as you could ever have, down and out and disgusted to re-energised and celebrating within ten minutes.
The rain was persistent as we made the walk back over the hill and into Paddington, and after dropping Carla home, we were back home just after 11pm, still pumped from what we had just experienced at Allianz Stadium. And driving probably saved us an hour on the bus.
This was peak A-League, for all the right reasons. It was the Brisbane Roar fightback in the Grand Final, it was Wellington’s last minute equaliser against Victory in the semi-final, it was everything you could ask for, with the good guys making a rousing comeback and sending the evil baddies packing to fight another day. Who’s up for some more A-Leagues action? See you at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday to see if Sydney FC women can begin their long-awaited revival. Forza Sydney FC!