SYDNEY FC secured a point in the deadlock season opener against cross city rivals Western Sydney Wanderers at the weekend ahead of taking on Adelaide United FC this Sunday at Allianz Stadium, kicking off 3pm.
The Sky Blues faced off against the Western Sydney Wanderers searching for a fast start to their 2026/27 A-League season in the 45th Sydney Derby to date.
Both sides looked strong entering the match with Sydney FC ready to use the firepower of new additions to the squad Jake Hollman, Oriola Sunday and Takahiro Sekine who join the starting 11 for their first A-League match wearing Sky Blue.
The game opened fiercely and fast with both teams using their width to create quick chances and their physicality to battle for possession in the midfield.
But it descended into a game of aerial ping pong which largely left fans unimpressed.
Among those to walk away from Allianz Stadium disappointed was local football identity, author and West Ryde Rovers stalwart, Taxi Smith.
“Over-policed, under-entertained, the long-awaited opening match of the A League Men’s 2026/27 season didn’t deliver,” he posted on social media.
“As stale as a stalemate could be, it wasn’t down to the lack of effort.
It was the lack of quality. Not the A-League we know and love.”
He went on to pen a length critique of his Round One experience which you can read at: texismith.com
Back to the match and Sydney FC showed their dominance in the first third of the game with Takahiro Sekine and Al Hassan Toure standing out early with big chances created in the 9th and 21st minutes, both of which end with Quintal facing goal, however the Wanderers defenders do well to minimise the chance and keep the score level.
The second half opened the same as the first with frequent tackles and challenges as both teams compete to find the opener to their season and put pressure on their rivals.
The first major chance of the second half came in the 65th minute when Sunday found himself persevering forward towards goal despite facing defenders.
Sunday slows his pace to cut around his defender, however some strong defensive work from the Western Sydney Wanderers denied the opportunity.
The 90th minute saw one last chance for the Sky Blues as Akol Akon sent a well delivered ball, this time to the feet of James Overy who got a shot off, ultimately to the hands of the keeper, resulting in the nil-nil result.
Sydney FC Coach Patrick Kisnorbo said he was happy with the way his team competed, putting in effort and winning duels.
“Something I can say is our effort was 100 per cent, our mentality of not getting beat, our mentality of running to the final whistle,” he said.
“I think at the start of the game there was a couple chances that we could have capitalised on … but in terms of what they did, they did everything I asked them to do.”
In the end, it wasn’t the kind of spectacle you’d be happy to brave the elements to attend.
Let’s hope the Sky Blues – and the Wanderers for that matter – can dial up the entertainment in their next matches so that fans who may still be slightly interested in the A-League, keep coming through the turnstiles.
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