Sydney Derby preview: Socceroos collide as Duke faces Redmayne and Grant

Socceroos forward Mitchell Duke sent a diving header past international teammate Andrew Redmayne and, from that moment, two clubs’ seasons were transformed.

Captain Duke scored the only goal to lead his side to an unforgettable 1-0 win as the Sydney Derby returned to Western Sydney Wanderers’ spiritual home of Parramatta for the first time at the brand-new Bankwest Stadium on October 26, 2019.

That iconic, smash-and-grab, Round 3 triumph against gloveman Redmayne and flying right-back Rhyan Grant’s dominant Sky Blues proved to be a turning point in the Hyundai A-League 2019/20 campaign for both sides of the bitter, crosstown rivalry – but not in favour of team dancing with joy at the final whistle.

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Mitchell Duke leads the dancing at the final whistle at Bankwest Stadium as Western Sydney pull off the upset win.
Mitchell Duke leads the dancing at the final whistle at Bankwest Stadium as Western Sydney pull off the upset win.

After opening the campaign with three straight wins, Wanderers have not celebrated victory in the Harbour City since, are under new management with interim coach Jean-Paul de Marigny and have slipped to eighth place on the ladder with their Finals Series dreams hanging by a thread.

Meanwhile, Steve Corica’s Sydney FC have delivered an astonishingly consistent 12 wins and one draw in 13 matches, gathering a competition-record 43 points after 16 games, and hold a 13-point lead at the summit of the Hyundai A-League table.

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Rhyan Grant
Rhyan Grant bombs forward in Sydney FC's 1-0 reverse against Wanderers at Bankwest Stadium in October 2019

Another shock, upset victory for Duke and Western Sydney at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Friday, 240 days later, would ignite the Wanderers’ finals football hopes and the Red and Black faithful will forever have the claim of damaging their noisy neighbours’ historic season.

Three points for the defending Champions Sydney FC would somewhat avenge the only blemish on their almost-immaculate record and take them another step closer to painting Sydney sky blue during an era-defining campaign.

Hyundai A-League Round 18

Sydney FC v Western Sydney Wanderers
Friday, 28 February
Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Kick-off: 8pm AEDT

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Match Centre

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FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 second round qualifying 

Australia v Kuwait
Thursday, 26 March 2020
Venue: HBF Park, Perth
Kick-off: 6.00pm local, 9.00pm AEDT

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Nepal v Australia
Tuesday, 31 March 2020
Venue: TBC

Australia v Chinese Taipei
Thursday, 4 June 2020
Venue: TBC

Australia v Jordan
Tuesday, 9 June 2020 
Venue: TBC

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