Christian Montegan 
Nicolas Milanovic in action during the Sydney Derby in Round 1 of the 2024/25 A-League Men season. Photo: Joshua Davis/Round Ball Australia.
Questions surrounding Alen Stajcic’s coaching capabilities have been laid to rest for now after the Wanderers’ impressive 4-1 triumph over the Newcastle Jets at CommBank Stadium.
The win snapped the Wanderers’ six-match losing streak at home and ensured their first victory of the 2024/25 season after picking up one point from three fixtures.
“Obviously [it’s] good to get the monkey off the back [with] a little internal pressure building in terms of the start to the season we’ve had,” a relieved Stajcic said.
“It’s good that we’ve finally seen a bit of the form that I’ve seen in pre-season when it matters. Hopefully it’s the start of better things to come.”
From the first whistle, the Wanderers looked up for the fight as the midfield of Josh Brillante and Dylan Scicluna discovered a newfound intensity to win important duels and seemed more unified than in previous weeks.
A team not struggling to score goals this season, Nicolas Milanovic found the game’s opener with a deflected free-kick, before a superb strike from outside the box thanks to a darting run that started at the halfway line.
Zac Sapsford scored the pick of the bunch with a top-corner thunderbolt, but it was Milanovic who snatched the headlines by completing his first-ever hat-trick for the club when he slotted home a penalty in the 75th minute.
“I was like ‘far out, I’ve just scored three,’ so I can’t even tell you how I felt,” Milanovic said, holding the match ball.
“I feel good. It was probably the best moment of my career so far and I’ll never forget that.”
Although Milanovic attracted interest from overseas, the 22-year-old signed a one-year contract extension to keep him at the club until the end of 2025/26.
“It’s good for him, he deserves it,” said Stajcic.
“He works so hard on and off the ball. Some of his off the ball efforts were just as good as his threat on the ball.
“[It was a] fantastic all-round performance from him, but you can go through the whole team, to be honest.”
The Wanderers will have a week to recover from the upcoming international break before preparing for their second Sydney Derby in 35 days against the Sky Blues during Unite Round.