As it happened: Sky Blues too good for Wanderers again in 4-2 derby rout

A second-half Anas Ouahim masterclass has set up a 4-2 A-League Men win over Western Sydney to help Sydney FC remain the top team in the Harbour City.

German midfielder Ouahim notched a goal and two assists off the bench to help the Sky Blues conquer their rivals in a thrilling Unite Round clash in front of 30,777 fans at Allianz Stadium.

With scores level, Ouahim first set up Jordan Courtney-Perkins with a classy free kick in the 48th minute to help launch his side ahead on Saturday night.

Joe Lolley celebrates his goal with a golf swing.Credit: Getty Images

A poor tackle by Anthony Pantazopoulos on Sydney captain Rhyan Grant in the penalty area then opened the door for Ouahim to pile on the pain in the 54th.

Marcus Antonsson breathed some life into the Wanderers heading home a corner in the 78th but Sky Blues sharpshooter Patryk Klimala’s goal five minutes later crushed the comeback.

Sydney youngster Jaiden Kucharski found the back of the net in added time, but it was overturned after Tiago Quintal was found to have fouled Jack Glisby in the lead-up.

The Sky Blues can finish in the top six by the end of the round, with three wins and two draws. Meanwhile, the Wanderers (four points) remain tenth after suffering their fourth-straight derby defeat.

Joe Lolley announced his return from a groin injury by nabbing the opening goal in the 33rd minute.

Young midfielder Adrian Segecic had outpaced 194cm-tall Wanderers defender Jeong Tae-Wook to set up Klimala.

The Polish striker’s attempt was snuffed out but the rebound landed favourably for Lolley, who slotted easily.

Lolley celebrated with a golf swing, cheekily alluding to the shared golfing session with Wanderers rivals Juan Mata and Antonsson in the lead-up to the match.

Players involved in the golf catch-up, including Courtney-Perkins and former Sydney captain Luke Brattan, had been accused of not taking the derby seriously.

But the two sides proved their on-field passion late in the first half after Socceroos striker Brandon Borrello fouled Leo Sena.

Goaded on by Borrello, Douglas Costa responded by pushing his opponent to ground, sparking the skirmish, and both were shown yellow cards.

Wanderers marquee star Juan Mata.Credit: Getty Images

Costa was also returning from injury, playing in his second-ever ALM game after picking up a hamstring issue following round one.

Zach Sapsford, still sporting a protective mask, then levelled the scores three minutes into first-half added time courtesy of a classy pass from Nicolas Milanovic.

The Wanderers were determined to make the most of Sapsford’s goal but Ouahim, joining the fray in place of Costa at the start of the second half, had other plans.

Substitute Antonsson had fumbled what would’ve been a massive opportunity for the Wanderers after intercepting Borello’s pass meant for Mata.

The Spaniard, also a substitute, was in prime position to strike in the 65th minute but Antonsson misread the situation, handing off to Aydan Hammond - who failed to score.

For the last few minutes, the Wanderers players have been standing right in front of the RBB, and it appears they’ve been copping an absolute earful - a non-stop lecture from a couple of the main leaders of the group telling them what they thought of that performance and result. I’m looking forward to hearing more about that...

And that’s the final whistle. It’s another derby win for Sydney FC, their fourth in a row. They scored first, through Joe Lolley, and always looked like the better team - and on the two occasions the Wanderers were able to muster a response, they fired back almost immediately.

Lots of work to do for the Wanderers, who slump to 10th on the A-League ladder, and with only one win from their first five games. They looked fantastic on the counter-attack at times tonight but they need to build out the other facets of their play - and quickly. Does Juan Mata deserve to start in future?

Relentless. Goal number five for Sydney FC and it comes from the substitute, Jaden Kucharski, who came on just a few moments ago and smacked it home at the back post. The crowd here of 30,777 are mostly Sky Blues fans - despite this being Unite Round - and they’ve just gone off their nut.

...wait, the VAR is having a look at this. He’s spotted a potential foul earlier in the passage of play that led to the goal, it looks like Tiago Quintal - another substitute - might have been the offender here on Jack Clisby. And yep, that’s a foul. Here comes the announcement.

Indeed, that goal will not count. Back to 4-2.

Sydney FC 4-2 Western Sydney Wanderers, 90 minutes

The RBB have seen enough, they’ve just ripped a couple of flares at their end and now there’s a huge plume of smoke swirling around Allianz Stadium. So if you live nearby and you’re wondering what that smell is, mystery solved.

Sydney FC 4-2 Western Sydney Wanderers, 88 minutes

Well, that will be that, I reckon.

Sydney FC just produced a fairly emphatic response. They’ve got their fourth goal through Patryk Klimala, and that has got to be the win right there.

Ruthless stuff, too - a turnover in midfield, Anas Ouahim threads a ball through two Wanderers defenders, Klimala latches onto it and finishes brilliantly. Then he gives it the big ones in front of the Cove. Don’t blame him. That’d feel pretty good.

Sydney FC 4-2 Western Sydney Wanderers, 84 minutes

Well, well, well...

Things just got interesting. Even more interesting. And Juan Mata has an assist! The Wanderers have just scored from a corner kick, via Marcus Antonsson. That was way too easy from a Sydney FC perspective - Mata’s ball picked him up but he was largely unchallenged and the header was simple as a result.

Now there’s 12 minutes to go, Sydney FC look flat-footed and the Wanderers look hot...

Sydney FC 3-2 Western Sydney Wanderers, 78 minutes

The Wanderers are looking much better now with Mata, I reckon - for the first time tonight, they’re dictating play a little bit. Those dangerous fast breaks are still there, and Sydney still look vulnerable, but now the Wanderers have something else in their toolkit to deploy. Set pieces are in there, too, and they just came incredibly close to a second goal from a second phase from a corner kick… couldn’t tell who took the shot there, sorry, but whoever it was missed the target by a metre at best. Andrew Redmayne was beaten.

The Sky Blues need to smarten up here.

Sydney FC 3-1 Western Sydney Wanderers, 74 minutes

Fair to say the Wanderers have improved since the quadruple substitution and definitely look a lot better with the ball, too. But wow… Mata just had a chance to volley a shot at the goal, and who got in his way? His golfing partner Marcus Antonsson, who got his foot to the ball just as it was about to arrive in the Spaniard’s lap. He owes him one, there - in fact, he owes all of us one. We all wanted to see Mata have a crack there.

Anyway, one more sub now for the Wanderers - Pantazopoulos is off, Dean Pelekanos is on, and Alen Stajcic has emptied his bench. Almost 30 minutes still to play...

Sydney FC 3-1 Western Sydney Wanderers, 67 minutes

There’s a cheap yellow card for Nicolas Milanovic for crudely bringing down Jordan Courtney-Perkins, clearly in pure frustration. And one for a complaining Alen Stajcic, too.

Meanwhile… the Wanderers are preparing several substitutions. And one of them will be Juan Mata, by the looks... yep, so four changes overall: it’s the goalscorer Zac Sapsford off and Marcus Antonsson on, Gabriel Cleur off and Jack Clisby on, Milanovic off and Aydan Hammond on, and Oscar Priestman off and Mata on.

Sydney FC 3-1 Western Sydney Wanderers, 60 minutes