Missing piece of Wanderers puzzle

Western Sydney’s newest recruit Simon Cox could be the missing piece to the team’s attack.

Wanderer Simon Cox, right, takes on Joshua Nisbet in the clash with the Mariners

Western Sydney’s newest recruit Simon Cox could be the missing piece to the team’s attack after making an impact in his first A-League game in red and black on Sunday night.

The Irish international was introduced into the match against the Central Coast in the 58th minute, lifting the tempo with his quality around the box. A goal in injury time polished off a dream debut for the 32-year-old, who could comp­lete the Wanderers puzzle in 2020.

“I’m really happy for him, he’s got real high quality that’s going to help us a lot and he’s been working hard since he’s arrived and got his just rewards,” said caretaker coach Jean-Paul de Marigny following the Wanderers’ 3-1 win in Gosford.

“He’s still got a bit to do, he’ll only get better and stronger and he’s going to really affect the way we play.”

Cox has spent just two weeks in Sydney since arriving the day of Markus Babbel’s final game in charge of the side. In that time he’s been adjusting to the weather conditions and working closely with former EPL conditioning coach Andy Davies to acclimatise to Australia’s summer.

De Marigny is hoping to increase Cox’s game time in the coming weeks. “He’s still settling down in Sydney and it’s a big city as we all know,” de Marigny said.

“It’s not easy for him and particularly the weather. Where he left was very cold and now it’s very hot so it’ll take a bit of an adjustment but he’s fitted in well with the group.”

The Wanderers’ renewed positivity will be tested at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Saturday night when they take on arch rivals Sydney FC, who are 13 points clear at the top of the A-League table.

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De Marigny said he needs to see consistency with their new tactics against the Sky Blue.

“We want to be playing proactive football,” he said. “We want to be possession based when we need to, we need to manage the game when we want to and obviously penetration is very important for us because that’s where you’re going to get your rewards from in terms of scoring goals.

“That’s the way we want to play and without the ball we want to be really aggressive.”

Sunday’s win moved the Wanderers into eighth position on the ladder, four points off the top six.

The Sydney derby is the second of three to be played in round 18 with Melbourne City to host Melbourne Victory on Friday night, and Newcastle to host the Mariners on Sunday.

Elsewhere in round 17, Sydney FC claimed an ugly win over Brisbane Roar on Friday night and are now undefeated from their last 12 games to extend their 13-point lead at the top of the ladder.

The Roar were brave in their battle against the A-League champions, only conceding with a contentious penalty despite having just 10 men on the field for the majority of the second half.

It was the first loss in six rounds for Robbie Fowler’s men. Adelaide United have now won their last two games after a 3-1 win over the second-placed Melbourne City.

Adelaide scored all three of their goals in the first half, including a brace for Ben Halloran.

Newcastle and Western United had a frustrating 0-0 draw at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday night, with the Jets taking a remarkable 27 shots to the visitors’ four, and still failing to score.

In the other game, a late header from Nick D’Agostino in his starting debut for Perth salvaged a 2-2 draw with Melbourne Victory.

AAP