Wanderers beat the heat and Jets in scorching conditions | The Football Sack

Western Sydney Wanderers brought the heat in their match at the Wanderers Football Park, securing a 1-0 win against Newcastle Jets in sweltering conditions.

Kick-off time for the match had been moved two and a half hours later due to the warm weather forecasted for the day. But even in the late afternoon, it was still a scorching 32 degrees on the field.

This led to lots of drink breaks in the first half, but the Wanderers didn’t let the frequent delays slow their momentum.

In the 36th minute, Olivia Price met a pass from Sophie Harding and fired a strike towards the centre of the goal. The shot deflected off of Jets’ defender Taren King and landed in the back of the net, sealing the win for Western Sydney.

.@wswanderersfc hit the front! 💥

Olivia Price strikes late in the first half to put the hosts ahead at Wanderland 👊

Catch the second half LIVE on @Channel10AU PLAY  📺

— Liberty A-League (@aleaguewomen) January 28, 2023

Wanderers’ coach, Kat Smith, wasn’t surprised by her team’s great performance despite the hot and humid weather.

“We’ve got a fantastic team of sports scientists, doctors, physios, you name it. And they do a lot of work in preparing the girls,” said Smith.

“We educate them on the factors that influence their performance, week in and week out.”

It was a redeeming performance after their defeat to Melbourne City last week, and has helped to restore the club’s confidence.

“I think we needed to accept the performance that we had and move forward. We competed with a really strong team in Melbourne,” said head coach, Kat Smith.

“We knew what we needed to do better today and I think we were able to do that.”

The three points has launched Western Sydney from ninth place to sixth on the ladder.

With only seven points separating the Wanderers from Melbourne Victory who currently occupy fourth place, the club could reach the finals with just a few more quality performances.

Next week, the Wanderers have the chance to challenge Melbourne Victory directly and start closing the gap.

With Western Sydney having missed out on finals for the past two seasons, the club is determined to flip the script this time around.

“We want to get some points away down in Melbourne and stop their run to finals,” said Smith.

“We can catch them with the games we have in the back end of the season, too.”

The Red and Black will have to see if the Wanderers can keep up the momentum in their remaining games and end their finals drought.

Feature Image Credit: Western Sydney Wanderers

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