Stuttering Sydney FC work hard to beat ten-man Wellington Phoenix

If Western Sydney were watching Sydney FC at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday night they will be rubbing their hands in anticipation.

Sydney FC defender Rhyan Grant wins a header against Wellington at Leichhardt Oval. Picture: Brett Costello

If Western Sydney were watching Sydney FC at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday night they will be rubbing their hands in anticipation.

For while the defending champions ultimately ran out 2-1 winners over Wellington, they were forced to weather a trans-Tasman storm wild enough to suggest this weekend’s looming derby could go either way.

Still, the Sky Blues made it two wins from two games for the campaign — and that was before the video assistant referee caught Liberato Cacace ramming his studs into substitute Anthony Caceres’ shin and the talented teenager was dismissed in the dying minutes.

By that point Rhyan Grant had already deposited the most delicate of side-foot volleys to separate the sides, after his assister Brandon O’Neill’s early opener was negated by Ulises Davila’s equaliser.

Fresh from his three Socceroos assists and man-of-the-match display against Chinese Taipei, the man and his infamous mullet made the cut for The Cove’s ‘Legends of Sydney’ tifo alongside Steve Corica, Terry McFlynn and Alex Brosque.

Sydney’s longest-serving player capitalised on the occasion with the finest of matchwinning volleys, delivered in tandem with the finest of mid-air hair flicks.

Set pieces were Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay’s jurisdiction in his days as Sky Blues assistant coach, his dead-ball training playing a key role in his old club’s title win last season. That expertise came back to bite him when both Sydney’s goals came from, you guessed it, set pieces.

The hosts stole ahead in the 17th minute when the Nix failed to clear a Sydney corner and O’Neill tucked away a deflected strike. Then, with 13 minutes remaining, O’Neill whipped in a free-kick caught in the air by the inside of Grant’s boot and looped into the far corner.

For 69 minutes they couldn’t buy an equaliser through either their own profligacy, Andrew Redmayne’s reflexes or sheer bad luck, vis-a-vis David Ball’s nick off the inside of the post. Then, for the second week running, a Wellington penalty appeal was denied when Cacace went down in the box.

But 21 minutes from time, an attack finally bore fruit. Jaushua Sotirio cut back for Davila and the Mexican skipped past Luke Brattan to deposit neatly into the corner.

It’s been nearly three years since Western Sydney beat their cross-town rivals but Bankwest Stadium could yet play host to a reverse in fortunes based on round two. Where the Wanderers scored two clinical goals to beat Melbourne Victory away on Friday, Sydney’s star-studded attack squandered chance after chance against Wellington.

A packed Wayne Pearce Hill basked in the late-afternoon sun at Leichhardt, The Cove was in full flight and families took advantage of the 6pm kick-off. The truth is A-League games look miles better at boutique stadiums, and the 12,536 at the Inner West venue was an ideal example.