Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Sydney: Asia's reigning club champions Western Sydney Wanderers were beaten 4-3 by Sydney FC in a gripping A-League derby at Pirtek Stadium on Saturday ahead of their second AFC Champions League Group Stage outing next week.
Substitute Terry Antonis fired the winner for 10-man Sydney FC ten minutes from time after Western Sydney had fought back from three goals down.
Sydney FC looked on course for a big win after an own goal by Wanderers goalkeeper Ante Covic (pictured) and a brace by Mark Janko inside 25 minutes.
But Tony Popovic's side, who began their AFC Champions League title defence with an impressive 3-1 win away win at Kashima Antlers on Wednesday, produced a stirring fightback thanks to Iacopo La Rocca’s contribution on 33 minutes and Kerem Bulut’s 42nd minute goal which put them back in the contest before the break.
Bulut notched an equaliser nine minutes into the second half but Antonis fired home the winner to deny Wanderers what would have been only their second win from 17 A-League games.
"It's very devastating, we worked hard. We started off slow, 3-0 down and to get back to 3-3 and lose, it's a hard loss," said Bulut.
Western Sydney will continue their AFC Champions League Group H campaign when they tackle 2013 competition winners Guangzhou Evergrande of China on Wednesday.
Photo: AFP