Sydney FC star Anthony Caceres has scored in extra time to salvage a high-octane 3-3 derby draw and deny Western Sydney a top-six berth in the A-League Men.
Just as the Wanderers looked set to walk away with their first derby win since 2023, a never-say-die Sky Blues side flexed their muscles to deny their rivals at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
Down two goals after a Zach Sapsford brace, it was substitutes Douglas Costa and Adrian Segecic who breathed life into the home side.
Costa superbly set up Segecic’s 88th-minute goal to bring the Sky Blues within one goal of their cross-city rivals.
After eight minutes of additional time, Caceres – in his 200th game for Sydney FC – found the back of the net after a quick succession of corners.
The draw is a devastating blow to Alen Stajcic’s men, who have not won in five derby matches.
“It’s disappointing to throw away three points,” Stajcic said.
“We did enough to win the game.
“You’d have to say that the five (substitutes) that came on for Sydney had more impact than the five that came on for us.”
The Sky Blues can finish this round as high as third (25 points) in the league, while the Wanderers remain eighth (22).
“The resilience and character got us two more goals and got us a point out of the game,” Sydney coach Ufuk Talay.
“I thought we started the game off well, scored, and then the game flipped.
“They scored, and I thought their desire and hunger was much better than ours.
“It’s not that they weren’t hungry, the desire was there.
“It’s just that the opponent probably had a bit more.”
A beautiful through-ball by Caceres helped Patryk Klimala draw first blood for the hosts in the seventh minute.
The Polish sharpshooter made a beeline to the Wanderers’ boisterous active fans in his goal celebration, but Sydney’s lead did not last long.
Sapsford returned serve for Western Sydney less than two minutes later, pouncing on the crumbs after goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares spilled his save of Jack Clisby’s cross.
Western Sydney went ahead in the 39th minute, with Sapsford the source.
The 22-year-old started a game of “ping-pong” with Nicolas Milanovic, his teammate sprinting down the right wing and eventually finding the back of the net.
The score stood after a review for offside but was awarded as a Sydney own goal after the ball was found to have deflected off captain Rhyan Grant.
Sapsford hit the scoreboard again in the 49th minute after Joshua Brilliante sent Sydney’s Leo Sena to ground, allowing Brandon Borrello to thread the ball through to the penalty box.
In a near-replica of his first goal, Sapsford almost completed a hat-trick.
Devenish-Meares again spilled a save, this time Milanovic’s cross, and Sapsford was quickest to react in the 56th minute.
Luckily for Sydney, Caceres was on the line to clear the ball.
Grant also survived a VAR check for handball.
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