Sapsford dazzles for Wanderers in epic derby draw
Jewish striker Zac Sapsford scored 2 goals and set up a third for the Wanderers in a 3-3 draw with Sydney FC
In a ‘Player of the Match’ performance, Jewish striker Zac Sapsford, 22, continued his knack for scoring goals in Sydney derby A-League Men matches, with a brace for the Western Sydney Wanderers in their eventful 3-3 draw against arch rivals Sydney FC last Saturday night.
In front of a pumping Allianz Stadium crowd of 32,000, the former Hakoah FC and Sydney FC U20s player was in scintillating form in his 76 minutes on the pitch.
Two minutes after the Sky Blues scored the opener in the seventh minute, Sapsford positioned himself perfectly to pounce on, and tap in, a loose ball.
The men in red and black snuck in front before half-time, in a move that Sapsford started, and helped finish off with a looping ball towards the back post, which resulted in an own goal.
Sapsford made it 3-1 in the 47th minute, by slotting a pass by Brandon Borrello diagonally into the bottom right corner of the goal.
He then had chances to score his first A-League hat-trick, but two of his shots were saved by the keeper and a third strike was mistimed.
A Sydney FC goal in the 88th minute and another in the seventh of eight minutes of added time produced a drawn result, leaving the Wanderers in eighth place and Sydney FC fourth.
Sapsford has now scored five goals in Sydney derby matches and in an on-field interview on Channel 10 at full-time, he said, “Maybe it’s the crowd that gets me going a little bit more, or it’s a bit of luck, or I just enjoy it more, I don’t know.”
He added that while the draw was disappointing, “I’m sure that if we just stick to our processes and make sure that in the little moments we’re a bit better, then we’ll see ourselves inside the top six”.
The Wanderers will host Macarthur at 5pm on Sunday, February 16 at CommBank Stadium, Parramatta.
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