They did not get the win in the end in front of home fans at Albert Butler but the Wolves ended their two match losing streak with a 0-0 draw against league powerhouses Sydney United.
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The clean sheet for the side was the most important aspect, with the team conceding a number of goals of late.
The Wolves were looking to bounce back from four losses in their past five matches including heartbreaking defeats in the final moments of their past two league games against NWS Spirit and Sydney FC.
David Carney's troops were also dealt another blow midweek after being bundled out of the Australia Cup on penalties against fellow NPL opposition in Manly.
Nonetheless, Carney was confident following the Cup exit and said his young team would be prepared for the fight against Sydney United.
Young goalkeeper Tomas Butkovic came back into the side from their last NPL NSW match with Nenad Vekic on the bench, whilst Alex Masciovecchio came into the starting lineup for Josh Macdonald.
The Wolves were under the pump straight away with United grabbing a number of attacking corners, however it was Masciovecchio with the best chance early on, with the winger forcing an early save from Danijel Nizic.
Takumi Ofuka then had a close deflected chance from a free kick, but the ball sailed just over the bar to the pleasure of Nizic.
Just before the half time break the Wolves were given a massive warning sign, with Taisei Kaneko hitting the post. The scores remained deadlocked however at the break.
Going into the second half and the Wolves were showing their attacking prowess once more. Jake Trew had a one-on-one chance but the ball was taken from him under his feet by Nizic.
Despite a late flurry from both sides, the score remained 0-0.
Wolves midfielder Chris McStay said that despite not picking up the win, there were positives to take from the performance.
"It was a big test against Sydney United, who have got a quality squad," he told the Mercury.
"Today was about going out there and keeping that clean sheet and when we do that we usually win because we score goals so it was disappointing not to score today but the boys put in a shift.
"We've been slack with the conceding goals but at the end of the day the way we have been playing is first class. So despite the results, we've been playing really well we link up well and the boys really get on on and off the pitch. It's a positive today keeping that clean sheet," McStay added.
The Wolves will be away from home next game against Manly next Saturday evening.
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Jordan Warren
Illawarra Mercury sports journalist. Feel free to get in touch jordan.warren@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Illawarra Mercury sports journalist. Feel free to get in touch jordan.warren@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
