Duke the solution to Wanderers’ scoring woes

They’ve scored two goals in their past four matches and are winless in seven; but could the answer to the Wanderers’ goalscoring woes be hiding right under their noses?

Western Sydney’s Mitchell Duke was scoring goals before moving to midfield

They’ve scored two goals in their past four matches and are winless in seven; but could the answer to the Wanderers’ goalscoring woes be hiding right under their noses?

The Wanderers have found the back of the net only 10 times in as many games this season and sit three points off the bottom of the ladder heading into tonight’s clash with Adelaide at Coopers Stadium.

Versatility, smart movement and a focal point in attack for quick transition is everything the Wanderers have lacked upfront with German marquee Alex Meier, who has scored just once in 10 games.

Skipper Mitchell Duke has put his hand up to return to centre-forward as the Wanderers look to turn things around in South Australia.

The 28-year old’s time as a left-sided midfielder could be over should the Wanderers continue to struggle upfront, with Duke potentially set to feature as a striker at some point in the away match.

“I have put the idea forward (to Markus Babbel) but I do miss playing upfront as a striker,” Duke told The Australian. “I haven’t played as a striker since round one against the Mariners. Hopefully I can get a few more opportunities upfront.

“I can either bide my time or manipulate my position (on the wing) to get in more goal scoring positions to try and get more goals from out wide.

“It’s quite hard because I have a bit of defensive work as well, that also helps the team.”

Wanderers coach Markus Babbel needs to find more goals

With his big engine, Duke can stretch defences with his slick movement and can spearhead attacking movements with much more dynamism than anyone else at the Wanderers.

Kwame Yeboah has struggled to find rhythm on the right-hand side while Nicolai Muller, who is also a natural right-sided player, isn’t finding much joy playing centrally behind Meier.

With young Daniel Wilmering occupying the left-back spot, Duke’s assistance in defence was a smart deployment.

German import Alex Meier, centre, has struggled to find the back of the net

But with the youngster ruled out indefinitely with an ACL injury, experienced defender Daniel Georgievski has taken his place, which can give Duke more freedom to affect their opponents.

A player who has as much A-League attacking experience as Duke needs to be used on the ball where he can hurt defences, rather than in build up in his own half.

The Wanderers captain played as a centre-forward for Central Coast in his formative A-League years, scoring 15 goals in 80 games.

With a win potentially catapulting the Wanderers into the top six, coach Babbel left no stone unturned holding a training session on Christmas Day.

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The German wants to ensure a result against wounded warriors Adelaide United who are without top scorer Riley McGree, Mirko Boland and striker Kristian Opseth. A shock loss away to Central Coast last week and patchy home results this season means this fixture is up for grabs.

Adelaide coach Gertjan Verbeek confirmed striker George Blackwood and keeper Paul Izzo would play on Friday night, while Jordan Elsey could be promoted back into the starting line-up to help combat the height of Meier.

Verbeek criticised his players’ poor mentality and lack of focus after last week’s shock defeat to lowly Central Coast, which saw the Reds slip to fifth on the ladder.

But the Dutch manager said the simple solution was for Adelaide to “switch on” against a Western Sydney side that will be desperate to register their first win since October.

The Daily Telegraph, AAP