The Wanderers overcame a player shortage and the road trip to grab a 1-1 draw against Hurstville FC at Valentine Sports Park.

In a successful day for the club, the Wanderers’ enjoyed wins in both the under 20s and under 18s.

Wanderers head coach Ross Morgan said it was a special day for the club.

“I think it was an important day for the club with all three grades putting in great performances,” Morgan said.

“It was a great day for the club. The last two seasons Hurstville have been quite strong, and they were again (on Saturday) so it was a great performance from all three grades.”

Hurstville took a 1-0 lead into half-time in the senior game, courtesy of a cracking goal from outside the box. While the Wanderers hit the post with one opportunity, they spent most of the opening defending.

The visitors went on the front foot after the break and soon had themselves with a golden opportunity when Caylum Barber was fouled inside the box after a great cross from Tyler Allen.

Bradley Fangas then stepped up and converted the penalty to equal the score at 1-1.

Both teams had their chances to win the match, particularly inside a frantic final 10 minutes, but neither could convert. The Wanderers hit crossbar in the dying seconds, while captain Rob Fry also managed a spectacular double save.

Morgan was incredibly proud of his men.

“It was a great result, but more importantly, it was a great performance,” he said.

“It was very hard to pick out anyone individually. It was one of those games where everyone had a job to do and they did it.

“Both teams would consider themselves unlucky not to win towards the end."

The only negative for the Wanderers was an injury to Allen.

The draw follows an opening round 3-1 loss to Western Condors away.

Wagga City will now look forward to consecutive home games, starting with their first of the year against Hurstville City Minotaurs at Gissing Oval this Saturday.