A-League: Western Sydney Wanderers v Sydney FC – as it happened

90+5 min: And that will be that. All over at Pirtek and the spoils are shared. What. A. Match. Thrilling stuff and a point apiece is probably fair.

90+4 min: Oooh! Janko off the bar! So close to stealing all three points at the death! The big Austrian fires the free-kick off the bar, although replays show Covic might have pulled out of making the save, in the knowledge is wasn’t going in. Either that, or it was nearly a catastrophic error of judgement.

90+3 min: Adeleke is rightly booked for cynically bringing down a marauding Naumoff. Clever foul that one.

90+2 min: Covic claims a poor Gersbach corner and as he tries to spark a quick break, he’s impeded by Janko, but just stands in front of him. The two big men collide, with the keeper coming out better, but his release doesn’t find its intended target.

90 min: Three minutes of added time to be played…

89 min: Is there late drama here? Rukavytsya bursts onto a through pass but his touch is heavy and he allows Janjetovic to hare off his line and smother his effort at his feet! So no, no late drama.

88 min: Gersbach has a chance to get forward now, after some neat play in the middle from Antonis, but the 17-year-old mis-hits his cross and the ball sails well over Covic.

87 min: Wanderers are threatening, and there’s really no point in trying to predict which way this one is going to go. But Sydney are holding firm at the back for now.

84 min: Ooof! Rukavytsya lets fly from distance and forces Janjetovic into tipping over the bar!

81 min: Ibini’s cramp forces him off the pitch, and the Socceroo is replaced by Christopher Naumoff for the final 10 or so.

79 min: Oh! So nearly a goal for Wanderers! But Shannon Cole loses his cool at the most crucial moment and instead of sending a volley goalwards from close range he rather scuffs his effort and the ball comes back away from goal instead.

77 min: Just over 10 minutes remaining and you have to say, if anyone is going to find a late winner, it’s going to be Sydney FC at the moment. They’ve done fantastically well to weather the storm, hang in there and slowly grow into the game, to the point where they now look the fresher (cramp-ridden Ibini aside) and more likely to score. (Cue a Wanderers goal... you just wait and see.)

75 min: Sydney have a corner. Covic fists behind for another. Gersbach takes it. There’s a foul in the box by Smeltz. Nothing happening.

73 min: Here comes another change for Wanderers as La Rooca is replaced by Baccus, who is rather too eager to get on and has to be held back by the fourth official until La Rocca actually gets off the pitch. Smiles all round.

72 min: Seb Ryall in the next to go into the ref’s little black book, for sliding in heavily on Saba.

71 min: Ooh! Smeltz pings a cracking volley goalwards but Covic is equal to it, tipping over the bar for a corner!

70 min: There’s a half-chance for Ibini, as the ball finds him all alone on the far side of the box, but it sits up too much for him to take it first time and by the time he gets the ball under control, it’s too late to get a shot off on goal.

69 min: Another change for the Wanderers as Hamill comes off and Shannon Cole enters the fray.

68 min: Bridge plays the ball inside and for a moment it looks like Rukavytsya might get there, take it in his stride, burst through on goal and finish into the top corner. He does none of the above. Just getting carried away with my imagination.

67 min: Interesting photo information coming in from our man at the ground.

65 min: Here comes a change for Wanderers – oh, it’s Castelen who’s pulled off, which is a surprise, considering he was looking pretty dangerous. Anyway, Vitor Saba comes on to fill his boots, so not a bad replacement, all things considered.

63 min: The clock hits 63, and the applause rings out around the ground. RIP Phillip Hughes, forever 63 not out, as the big screen shows.

62 min: Wanderers come again now, but Janko tracks the ball back and Janko puts in a challenge that sees the home side turn the ball over.

60 min: The second half of this plan is about to happen...

58 min: Dare I say there’s a little bit of a lull at the moment, in terms of the action? That’s probably because Sydney are managing to hold onto the ball for an extended period and playing it around the back.

Sorry, but I just can’t agree with this tweet. The reason the atmosphere is so electric it because of the stadium, the size of it, and the fans who fill it to the rafters. Move this game to ANZ, and it’ll be lost completely.

55 min: The crowd want a penalty here as Rukavytsya hits the deck, but they’re disappointed as the ref fails to indulge them.

53 min: Here’s Castelen again who runs into trouble in the middle of the park again, having overdone his dribbling a bit. Indeed, he seems far more effective out wide, sending over those devilish crosses of his.

51 min: Anyway, enough of the dad jokes, back to the action. Castelen does his marker brilliantly before whipping over another great cross, but Rukavytsya doesn’t seem too interested in getting on the end of it.

49 min: Antonis is clipped by Bridge in the middle of the park and the former Sydney player is cautioned for his misdemenour. Which reminds me of a funny story from when I was a kid. At school, if you’d been naughty, you were sent to stand ‘under the clock’ as you waited to be reprimanded. One time, after one particular transgression, a teacher came along and asked me if I was there for a misdemenour. It wasn’t until years later that I realised there was no new teacher called Miss Demeanour.

48 min: Castelen again causes consternation in the Sydney backline as he wriggles towards the byline before winning a corner, the first of the half.

47 min: To their credit, Sydney showed great character in the face of adversity during that opening period to come out on level terms. Graham Arnold might have a little something to do with that.

They’re just showing the highlights of the first half on the telly and Bozza has come out with this, about Ibini’s equaliser:

One of the great counter-attacking goals in the history of the A-League.

If you haven’t seen the goal yet, that might sound like hyperbole. But trust me, once you see it, you’ll agree whole-heartedly. It was an absolute cracker.

45+2 min: La Rocca plays a superb ball through to put Bridge in on goal… he’s got Janjetovic to beat, but the big keeper stays big and repels the effort with a strong hand!

45 min: Castelen looks to dribble his way through the entire Sydney defence on his own, like some kind of Jesper Olsen in his prime, but he’s not as good as Jesper and Sydney muscle the ball off him before he can threaten Janjetovic.

44 min: Torpor-Stanley gets his noggin to a cross and his header is on target, but snapped up by Janjetovic on his line.

41 min: Oh dear, that’s silly by Gersbach. He throws the ball away in frustration at a decision going against him, sees yellow and now the young full-back will have to watch himself for just over half the game. He mustn’t be a fan of the Premier League. If he was, he would know what can happen when you do things like that.

39 min: Castelen is felled once more and the ref will have a word with his aggressor Alex Brosque. Chance from the resulting free-kick for Rukavytsya to send in a decent ball into the Sydney box. No, no it’s poor from him and Janjetovic claims easily enough.

37 min: Juric goes close! He’s slightly selfish in choosing to shoot from a narrow angle, when perhaps a centred ball might have been the better option, but as a striker, he’s entitled to have a pop, so the experts say. Anyway, it flies wide of the far post and Sydney FC can breathe again.

35 min: That’s Ibini’s first goal in his (not-so) new colours, and what a time to open his account. Scintillating stuff and a reminder of what the player who so often frustrates is actually capable of.

32 min: Off the post! Sydney FC are let off as Rukavytsya is played in on goal but his poked effort past Janjetovic with the outside of his left boot rolls agonisingly smack straight onto the upright!

26 min: Oooh! Great build-up play by Wanderers again, as Rukavytsya sends over another dangerous ball into the middle, but Juric can’t quite get onto the end of it. If I had a sixth sense – a goal sense – I’d reveal that a goal is on its way. But I haven’t and despite my desire to be some kind of soothsayer, can’t predict the future.

All this talk about the atmosphere, by the way, is not to say that Sydney FC fans are not contributing tonight. They are.

22 min: It does rather beg the question: why on earth would Wanderers want to move matches to the cavernous, soulless ANZ Stadium? They wouldn’t be able to fill it, even for the derby, and unless it’s full, it’s rubbish out there. Rubbish. I’ve been. Wanderers, as evidenced tonight – and on numerous previous occasions – thrive on the atmosphere at home; it would be madness to wave cheerio to that. Jus’ sayin’.

19 min: Wanderers have enjoyed much the better of the opening 20 minutes or so and the momentum is definitely with them. The crowd, look at and listen to the crowd! Sorry for another reference to the atmosphere, but any football club in the world would be delighted to have this to bank on at home.

18 min: What a chance for Wanderers! Half the stadium thinks Castelen’s weaving run into the box has been rewarded with a goal as the Dutchman prods goalwards! But Bojic somehow manages to get back and clear off the line after the shot took a deflection and spun towards the goal! The crowd turn up the volume once more, screaming for a goal to be awarded, but the right decision to play on is made.

13 min: The man on the telly is telling us Abbas has torn his ACL. Nightmare for the Iraqi - and Sydney.

12 min: Here is the first booking of the night, referee Peter Green brandishing a slice of American cheese to Torpor-Stanley, for pulling back Brosque.

11 min: Juric elicits excitement in the already excitable crowd as his effort flies over the bar, but the lino’s flag is up on the far side, signalling that Rukavytsya was offside before he centred and

9 min: Yep, Abbas off. Rhyan Grant comes on to replace him in the middle of the park.

7 min: There wasn’t a yellow card for that body check on Abbas, by the way. Abbas is still off – he was shaking his head as he came off. Doesn’t look good.

5 min: The rough and tumble has started already and it’s La Rocca who’s the aggressor, Abbas the victim. Twice the pair clash, the second time is a bit more naughty than the first and leaves the Iraqi on the floor, in quite some discomfort. He hobbles off to the sideline and we may not see him again.

3 min: Simon Hill, an excellent commentator, has already quoted a Frankie Goes To Hollywood song. You know the one.

2 min: Hamill sends over a teasing cross into the corridor of uncertainty behind the back line and in front of the keeper. Nothing doing this time though. Moments later Adeleke flashes as shot well wide of Janjetovic’s goal.

2 min: Do I need to mention the kits tonight? Red and black for Wanderers and sky blue for Sydney FC. Classic.

Now for a minute’s silence for Phillip Hughes, accompanied by visuals on the big screen of the batsman in action. Needless to say, it’s observed impeccably. What a sad week it’s been for sport in Australia.

Here come the teams, Sydney FC first into the tunnel, ready to enter the cauldron of noise (second reference). They head onto the pitch, to the expected boos and jeers from the home crowd. And now the hosts walk out, to a contrasting cacophony of cheers and applause.

Okay, here’s tonight’s first mention of the atmosphere in Parra tonight – already quite tasty. That won’t be the last mention either, mark my words.

Mike will be here shortly but in the meantime have a read of Pete Smith’s preview of tonight’s match in Parramatta:

Fibros v Silvertails

“Form doesn’t matter in a derby,” according to the Western Sydney Wanderers coach, Tony Popovic. If true, that is welcome news for Wanderers fans, because form suggests Sydney FC will win at a canter. But Popovic tends to be pretty much correct with his football observations.

The matches between the pair are almost always tight, disjointed affairs, last month’s see-sawing 3-2 win for Sydney FC aside.

The Wanderers are on their worst ever run in their short A-League history (six matches without a win). The Sky Blues, for their part, have gone the first seven games of an A-League season unbeaten for the first time.

This however is different. The Sydney derby creates an atmosphere arguably unique in Australian sport. The Fox Sports team last month, if you believe them, suggested the Sydney derby had surpassed its Melbourne counterpart for atmosphere, even if only marginally.

For all their poor form, the Wanderers go into the match having conceded just one goal in their past six home matches, including the AFC Champions League. One thing is for certain. Marc Janko, Sydney’s match-winner against Melbourne City, will not be allowed anywhere near as much as latitude by Nikolai Topor-Stanley and his Wanderers’ backline as he was last weekend.