By Jeremy Walker
29 October 2022
Sydney FC have claimed a thrilling 3-2 win in a feisty Campbelltown affair as the Sky Blues put three past Dwight Yorke’s Bulls in front of a record Macarthur crowd of 7,021.
Steve Corica’s men put on another ruthless attacking display against the Macarthur Bulls as young gun Adrian Segecic opened his A-League account at Campbelltown Stadium and added to first half goals from Pat Wood and Robert Mak.
Sydney FC 3 (Wood 14’, Mak 45+1’, Segecic 83’) def Macarthur FC 2 (Millar 16’, Carter 87’)
Moments That Mattered:
WOOD GOAL 14’ – Macarthur goalkeeper Filip Kurto gets down quickly to save Robert Mak’s penalty but Patrick Wood is alert to score on the follow-up.
MILLAR GOAL 16’ – Craig Noone lofts a free kick from the right wing for Matthew Millar to powerfully head past Andrew Redmayne at the back post.
ASPROPOTAMITIS RED 37’ – Referee Alex King shows the Macarthur defender the red card for bringing down Patrick Wood running through on goal.
MAK GOAL 45+1’ – Kurto sharply saves a venomous Joe Lolley volley but the keeper palms out to Mak who accurately finds the far left corner.
SEGECIC GOAL 83’ – Anthony Caceres neatly turns his defender and slips-in Jaiden Kucharski on the right wing who fizzes the ball across the six-yard box for Adrian Segecic to tap-in.
CARTER GOAL 87’ – Macarthur’s Al Hassan Toure finds the run of Anthony Carter and the striker makes no mistake as he calmy finishes off the far-right post.
What They Said – Steve Corica:
“I was very happy with our performance [and] the way we played, especially with the ball,” said Corica.
“We created a lot of chances and we could’ve punished them a little bit more and then we gave them a little bit of a sniff towards the end of the game which we need to learn from last week which we did that against Adelaide.
“So I’m very happy with the three points, some really good stuff going forward, defensively there’s still moments in the game’s where we need to tidy up.”
Match Report:
The Sky Blues opened the scoring in the 14th minute after a physical start to the match as youngster Patrick Wood reacted sharpest to Filip Kurto’s penalty save after the keeper palmed Robert Mak’s penalty into the striker’s path.
The hosts however responded quickly as the right-back nodded home at close range from a Craig Noone set-piece on the right wing in the 16th minute as the Australian Cup champions levelled the scoring.
READ MORE: A GOAL MADE IN THE SYDNEY FC ACADEMY
With the physicality of the game continuing into the closing stages of the first half, Macarthur found themselves down to ten men on the 37th minute after Jonathan Aspropotamitis fouled Sydney’s Wood running in on goal.
Corica’s men then began to take greater control of the game as Robert Mak deftly directed a half-volley to the bottom left corner of the net on the stroke of half time to give Sydney a 2-1 advantage at the break.
The visitors continued to dominate in the second term – enjoying 71% of the ball and peppering the Bulls goal with 24 shots and 12 on target.
WATCH MORE: JOE LOLLEY | POST-MATCH THOUGHTS
Eventually Sydney’s pressure paid-off as Adrian Segecic netted his first Isuzu UTE A-League goal in the 83rd minute after fellow-youngster and A-League debutant Jaiden Kucharski assisted with a low-drilled ball across the six-yard box.
Macarthur would pull one back late-on in the 87th minute as second half substitute Anthony Carter halved the two-goal deficit after finishing with the outside of his boot past Redmayne inside the area.
The Bulls striker almost equalised in the dying moments of the match as Carter struck the bar in the 95th minute – but Corica’s men kept the ball well in the closing stages to see out the result and take three points back home to Allianz Stadium.
Sydney FC: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 2. James DONACHIE, 10. Joseph LOLLEY, 11. Róbert MAK (25. Jaiden KUCHARSKI 77’), 12. Patrick WOOD (19. Adrian Segecic 66’), 16. Patrick YAZBEK (8. Paulo RETRE 46’), 17. Anthony CACERES (22. Max BURGESS 88’), 18. Diego CABALLO (28. Jake GIRDWOOD-REICH 88’), 23. Rhyan GRANT, 26. Luke BRATTAN, 29. Aaron GURD.
Unused Subs: 20. Thomas HEWARD-BELLE (GK), 21. Alexander PARSONS.
Yellow Cards: Patrick Yazbek 25’, Patrick Wood 57’, Paulo Retre 81’
Red Cards:
Macarthur FC: 12. Filip KURTO (GK), 5. Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS, 6. Tomislav USKOK, 7. Daniel DESILVA, 11. Kearyn BACCUS (2. Jake MCGING 46’), 13. Ivan VUJICA, 17. Craig NOONE (24. Charles M’MOMBWA 46’), 27. Jerry SKOTADIS (37. Jed DREW 46’), 31. Lachlan ROSE (94. Anthony CARTER 77’), 44. Matthew MILLAR, 99. Daniel ARZANI (35. Al Hassan TOURE 63’).
Unused Subs: 1. Nicholas SUMAN (GK), 52. Rhys YOULLEY.
Yellow Cards:
Red Cards: Jonathan Aspropotamitis 37’
Venue: Campbelltown Stadium
Referee: Alex King
