Wanderworld February 28

ISSUE 19 FEBRUARY 28

magazine

ADAM

PEACOCK EXCLUSIVE WEEKLY COLUMN INSIDE

JETS GAME IS A

BIG TEST

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WANDERERS FACE NEWCASTLE AT HOME THIS WEEKEND

ADAM PEACOCK

P R O U D LY B R O U G H T T O Y O U B Y Y O U R L O C A L M C D O N A L D ’ S S T O R E S

Cup arrival is overdue ADAM Peacock is a respected sports journalist who is currently part of the Fox Sports team covering the 2013/14 A-League season

F

INALLY, IT HAS HAPPENED. The FFA Cup is real, and about to hit suburbia very soon, and not a moment too soon. Monday’s announcement the FFA has meshed the professional A-League level with the lifeblood of the sport with the Cup is a welcome addition to the football landscape in Australia.

It had been brewing, with calls for the introduction around ever since the A-League came into being nearly a decade ago.

Finances and a general disconnect with the state federations were the two overriding factors, but enough with the why nots, finally to the how’s.

Like how does it work, and how will it benefit the clubs from the top down.

Hard to go into every detail in 400 words or less, but the premise is the 10 A-League clubs are with 22 State Federation clubs.

Each federation has a pro-rata allocation based on how many players are registered in that area.

Football NSW, who run amongst other things the NSW NPL competition with all clubs having such a rich history in the game, has seven spots.

Each federation uses their own method to get their qualifiers. Football NSW will use the four Semi Finals for their own Cup competition – the Waratah Cup – plus three of the four losing quarter finalists from the same comp (to be worked out through a repechage).

And the Waratah Cup, too, has park football teams involved.

Dare say my Pittwater RSL AL3’s side would be found out – never mind, Tuesday night when the games are to be played is knitting night for many of the guys – but it would be superb for one of the 22 teams from around Australia to be a bunch of amateurs.

The FFA Cup starts in July with the first round, and essentially, the FFA wants as many state federation teams contending as possible, so they’ve actually ‘fixed’ the draw to ensure one such team will make at least the Semi Finals.

The best bit for me – if an A-League club draws a State league side, the latter hosts.

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WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS VS NEWCASTLE JETS KICKOFF: SUNDAY 5.00PM @ PIRTEK STADIUM | TV: FOX SPORTS LIVE 5.00PM | RADIO: ABC LIVE 5.00PM

THE WANDERERS IN ACTION AGAINST BRISBANE EARLIER THIS MONTH

PREVIEW BY ELISHA PEARCE

As crucial as it gets T

HE REALITIES OF SUCCESS will be hitting home as the Wanderers ready themselves to host the Newcastle Jets this weekend.

A game at home on Sunday is the third in eight days after the win over Perth Glory last weekend then a sprint back to Parramatta to prepare for South Korean outfit Ulsan Hyundai to kick off the Asian Champions League group stage at Pirtek Park.

What will be buoying a weary squad is narrowing the gap to the Roar at the top of

A record like that should be exploited by the Wanderers at home in front of their RBB for the second time in four nights.

The fact that the Roar play the Glory in their round 21 encounter means anything less than three points for the Wanderers will likely see them relinquish last week’s gains.

The Wanderers have been rotating players all year and Tony Popovic has been ruthless in his preparation for this part of the season.

Now the time has come for results.

Mateo Poljak was a surprise omission from

the A-League team as the others will need to come in and out of the squad to be fit for mid-week matches.

Given the quick turnaround and his absence from the previous A-League match it would be expected that Ono will play a minimal role in this fixture, if any.

The constraints of the schedule lead Popovic to play a new variety of starting eleven.

The availabilities forced something like a four-two-two-two shape as their normal

legs the better he’ll be able to combine that large frame and his decent speed into a true all-round striker.

Another talking point will be whether Ante Covic is fit to start this week.

He was absent for the first time since taking over as Wanderers keeper, giving Jerrad Tyson his much awaited debut.

Cole has been a mainstay for the fledgling club and communication at the back is vital with a weary team, especially late in each half.

After being written off by some several weeks ago, the Wanderers are now just four points behind Brisbane on the A-League ladder the ladder last weekend. After the wellplayed draw on both sides between the Wanderers and Roar a few weeks ago the competition leaders have lost two matches on the trot.

On the back of the Wanderers’ 2-0 victory last Saturday they have closed the gap to four competition points.

It is imperative the Wanderers put away a weakening Jets team that has leaked eight goals in their last four matches.

the Wanderers’ ACL squad. He was left out after Shinji Ono, Jerome Polenz, Iacopa La Rocca and Youssouf Hersi were named as the four international players.

After Poljak scored first against the Glory last week it seems the squad management decision was the right one.

The Croatian is rounding into form after a rocky start to the season as injuries hampered his performance.

Poljak will, presumably, be a mainstay of

midfield was adjusted to leave out Ono. Forward Kwabena Appiah-Kubi shared the up-field duties with Labinot Haliti.

Tomi Juric was eased back into a larger role again last week, coming on at half time.

This – and the fact he scored the second goal – suggest he may at least play a role in both the ACL match and the Jets visit as his recent injuries fade further into the past.

His goal scoring threat is feared in the A-League and the more time he gets into his

Look for a similar display to last week from the Wanderers at home.

They’ll play it almost like an away match; compact, suffocating and attempting to keep a clean sheet first of all and then waiting for a Jets defensive frailty.

As it turns out, the Wanderers are indeed well and truly still in the A-League title race and it’s looking like the clash with Brisbane at Pirtek Stadium in the second last week could be incredibly crucial to deciding first place.

WANDERWORLD | 3

LAST WEEK’S ACTION

Wanderers do it easy WANDERERS 2 GLORY 0

T

REVIEW BY JUSTIN TODD

THE WANDERERS ARE GETTING CLOSER TO THE ROAR ON THE LADDER

HE WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS are now unbeaten in four matches after a solid 2-0 away win against Perth, whilst the Glory’s winless streak now extends to six matches.

The Glory have failed to score in the first half in their past six matches and their slow start was evident again as they failed to register a shot on target in the first 45 minutes. The host’s typical slow start led to the Wanderers taking an early lead through an unlikely source.

Not accustomed to being on the end of many attacks, Mateo Poljak’s goal was all too easy as he was allowed to turn in the box and score with a left-footed drive after receiving a ball from 21-year-old Kwabena Appiah, who dribbled the ball from the right hand wing.

Labinot Haliti and Appiah were constant threats for the Wanderers and tested Perth’s back four consisting of Gallas, Michael Thwaite, Rosh Risdon and Riley Woodcock on a number of occasions. Perth needed a change and that came at the half time

break as Jacob Burns and Darvydas Sernas replaced Steve McGarry and Chris Harold. The changes made the Glory more competitive however they continued to struggle to break down the Wanderers’ stern defence.

Perth’s best chance came in the 69th minute when a Rostyn Griffiths header was saved on the line by Jerrad Tyson in the Wanderers’ goal.

The Wanderers keeper became the 24th player used by the Wanderers in 2013-14 in a seemingly successful rotation plan.

Despite all their hard work, it all went to waste as Glory marquee-man William Gallas produced an absolute howler with 20 minutes left on the clock. Attempting to clear the ball from danger, the Glory’s international marquee player missed the ball entirely, allowing Juric to calmly dribble around Glory keeper Danny Vukovic and strike the ball into an empty net.

The result leaves the Wanderers in second spot whilst the Glory are now equal-bottom of the ladder after Melbourne Heart’s resurgence in recent weeks. Western Sydney are just four points behind the Roar.

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F E AT U R E S T O R Y

STORY BY NATHAN TAYLOR

THE WANDERCREW AT PIRTEK STADIUM

Dedicated to the Wanderers BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE WANDERERS, A HARD WORKING CREW KEEPS THINGS ON TRACK AND SHOWS THE SPIRIT AND DEDICATION THAT EXISTS AT THE FLOURISHING CLUB...

I

F YOU EVER VISIT a Wanderers game, be it an A-League, W-League or NYL fixture you may notice a bunch of hard working people wearing royal blue polo shirts. Those passionate men, women and children are all part of the Wanderers community group initiative known as the Wandercrew.

Put together during the Wanderers’ first season back in 2012, the Wandercrew has expanded over this short period to feature

close to 80 dedicated and passionate Western Sydney football fans who purely want to be part of the growing franchise in any way, shape or form.

Wandercrew members are volunteers of all ages ranging from kids to teenagers and retirees, and love to get stuck into anything the Wanderers club throws at them.

“Every sporting team needs people to help on game day and there’s a lot of people

out there that just want to be involved,” Wanderers Community, Pathway and Football Development Manager, Tim Thorne said.

“We have Wandercrew assisting at A-League, W-League, NYL and even Powerchair game days. We also have them present at more than 300 player appearances a year, 100 special events, 220 school programs, it’s quite incredible.”

But it isn’t just game day and player appearances that Wandercrew members help with, there’s also a few that work their butts off at Wanderers HQ and at weekly training.

“One member of the Wandercrew is in the absolute inner sanctum of the team and helps them on training days mid-week,” Regional Manager of Guardian Funerals Western Region and Wandercrew major sponsor, Mark Beach said.

“Wandercrew members, who are retirees, also work up in the offices during the week too.”

The Wanderers plan to expand the Wandercrew to 110 members by April and are looking for more volunteers.

“Passion and belief in the Wanderers brand is the first prerequisite to be part of the crew,” Mr Beach said.

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A-LEAGUE LADDER POS

CLUB

W

D

L

F

A

GD

Pts

1

Brisbane Roar

12

2

6

33

18

+15

38

2

Western Sydney Wanderers

9

7

4

25

19

+6

34

3

Melbourne Victory

8

6

6

30

32

-2

30

4

Sydney FC

9

1

10

27

28

-1

28

5

Adelaide United

7

6

7

33

28

+5

27

6

Central Coast Mariners

7

6

7

20

26

-6

27

7

Wellington Phoenix

7

5

8

30

29

+1

26

8

Newcastle Jets

6

5

9

20

27

-7

23

9

Perth Glory

5

6

9

19

24

-5

21

10

Melbourne Heart

5

6

9

24

30

-6

21

UPCOMING

MATCHES Wanderers vs Sydney FC

ALLIANZ STADIUM SATURDAY, MARCH 8, 7.45PM

Adelaide United

PIRTEK STADIUM SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 5.30PM

Perth Glory

PIRTEK STADIUM SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 5.00PM

Wanderworld Issue 19 Printed by:

LEGEND W Wins A Points Against

D Draws GD Goal Difference

L Losses Pts Ladder Points

F Points For

Spot Press Pty Ltd

Editor:

Troy Dodds

Contributors:

Nathan Taylor, Elisha Pearce, Adam Peacock, Melinda Jane, Justin Todd

Cover Photo:

Photo - Melinda Jane

Sales Manager: Simon Gould 4722 2998

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W A N D E R B I T S W I T H W A L LY T H E W A N D E R E R

Carle staying with Sydney FC WALLY the Wanderer has all the gossip on the Western Sydney Wanderers

I

T SEEMS ALL WE hear about of late is Wanderers players on the move, never really the other way around where players want to play with us. Recently rumours had been rife that Sydney FC attacking midfielder and Luddenham resident, Nicky Carle, wanted out of the Sky Blues and wanted in with the Red and Black. Unfortunately, Carle’s manager Tony Rallis finally put to rest those rumours saying his client is fully committed to Sydney FC until the end of next season.

Poor bugger!

This week’s Wanderers super fan is Jonathan Mitri! The five-year-old from Glenmore Park loves getting out to Wanderers games to cheer on his favourite players Tomi Juric and Ante Covic.

Six Western Sydney Wander Women took part in a four-day Westfield Matildas camp last week in Canberra. Servet Uzunlar, Heather Garriock, Emily van Egmond, Alanna Kennedy, Teigen Allen and Mackenzie Arnold were selected ahead of the Matildas’ departure for the Cyprus Cup and ongoing preparations for May’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup. While they didn’t have a W-League season to remember, we want to wish the girls all the best in their dreams of representing Australia.

Sad news for fans of SBS football show ‘Thursday FC’ after it was axed last week due to very poor ratings. The show only began in October but the ratings have been so bad that the last episode only pulled a

LUKE PRIDDIS

dreadful 4000 viewers. In a statement an SBS spokesperson said: “‘Thursday FC’ as a general entertainment football show was a new and innovative offering for Australian audiences and we are incredibly proud of what its hosts and production team have achieved. Unfortunately it didn’t attract a strong enough audience to sustain its continuation at this time”.

I was thrilled to hear last week that Wanderers striker and Mr Nice Guy, Mark Bridge, was currently undertaking a degree in exercise and sports science at UWS. Well done buddy, it’s always good to think of a ‘plan B’ early!

The Western Sydney Wanderers National Youth League team have been left embarrassed after they were pumped 4-1 in Perth by a red hot Glory. The Wanderers were only down 1-0 at the half before the home side kicked into gear and demolished the visitors. The lone Western Sydney goal came in the 80th minute after Joshua Baressi pounced on a rare defensive blunder to slot one into the net. The Wanderers have slipped to seventh and play the third placed Melbourne Victory on Saturday.

Well, it’s better to have been here and leave early than to have never been here at all! That riddle means that this is actually my last column. Some changes at the paper mean that Wanderworld won’t exist in its current form from next week. Thanks for reading and for all of your support.

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ANDERWORLD READERS HAVE LEARNED a lot more about goal keeper Ante Covic this year, thanks to his weekly column.

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