Baccus bullet inspires Wanderers to vital win over Mariners

Western Sydney Wanderers have breathed new life into their Hyundai A-League campaign with a much-needed 2-0 win over the Central Coast Mariners on Friday night.

Young midfielder Keanu Baccus scored his first Hyundai A-League goal in first-half stoppage-time to put the Wanderers in front, before Jaushua Sotirio sealed the result after the break.

It’s just the Wanderer’ second win of the season and catapult’s them into the top six ahead of the remainder of Round 7 this weekend.

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And it’s just the tonic for Markus Babbel’s ahead of next weekend’s Sydney Derby against the Sky Blues at ANZ Stadium.

Both keepers were forced to make a couple of important saves in a fairly even first-half before Baccus swung the game in the home side’s favour right on the stroke of half-time.

The Mariners failed to adequately clear a corner, with the ball eventually falling to Baccus 25 yards from goal, with the 20-year-old’s low drive piercing into the bottom corner of the net.

The goal seemed to give the Wanderers confidence and it was no surprise when they eventually doubled their lead midway through the second half.

Bruce Kamau’s long-range effort was only parried by keeper Ben Kennedy, with Sotirio fastest to react to slam the ball home.

While the Mariners did their best to try and get back into the contest, they couldn’t carve out any good chances and have now lost their last five games on the trot.

See all the goals and relive the match in our LIVE BLOG below.