Sydney FC have fallen to Brisbane Roar 3-1 in an open game at Leichhardt Oval which saw a masterclass in finishing, amongst other things, from Brisbane’s Japanese midfielder Momo Hayashi who scored two.
Sydney FC 1 (Lowry 27’) def. by Brisbane Roar FC 3 (Brown 8’, Hayashi 45’+3, 74’)
It was the first match in charge for Interim Head Coach James Slaveski’s who’s side looked more positive going forward but succumbed to three well taken Roar goals.
Moments That Mattered:
8’ | BROWN GOAL – Pearson mis-controlled the ball in the back line and is dispossessed by Jansen, who squares the ball to Daisy Brown to tuck home past Hinz.
27’ | LEMON OFF THE LINE – A left-wing in-swinging corner evades all to the back post where Lemon heads it off the line.
33’ | TANNER GOAL OFFSIDE – Cassar plays a fantastic, sweeping, left footed ball beyond the Brisbane back four to Tanner who nudges it past the keeper but the flag is raised.
37’ | LOWRY GOAL – Hawkesby won the ball back in the midfield and fed Lowry who beats a couple of players before hitting a low left foot strike inside the keeper’s left hand post from 20 yards.
45’+3’ | HAYASHI GOAL – A right wing corner to the back post finds Hayashi who rises above everyone to across a crowded goal-mouth and into the net with the last kick before the break.
74’ | HAYASHI GOAL – The impressive Hayashi is fed unmarked in the centre of the park by substitute Stephenson and drills a shot from more than 25 yards into the corner.
Match Report: Sydney FC have lost to Brisbane Roar at Leichhardt Oval following a disrupted couple of days which saw the sacking of Head Coach Ante Juric.
The Sky Blues went down 3-1 to the Roar thanks to a double from Japanese midfielder Momo Hayashi and a Daisy Brown opener, which had been cancelled out by Hana Lowry.
New interim Head Coach James Slaveski changed the formation to play with three at the back, Lemon and Fenton operating as wing backs, and Cassar and Tanner supporting Luchtmeijer up front.
Despite a more positive and energetic opening from the Sky Blues going forward, they fell behind through an 8th minute mistake. Young centre half Willa Pearson mis-controlled the ball and was tackled by Jansen who had the task of squaring to Brown to finish from close range.
Sydney FC continued to look more threatening than in recent games, but had Abbey Lemon to thank for keeping the deficit to one when she headed off the line from a corner on 27th minutes.
Six minutes later Tanner thought she had equalised latching onto Cassar’s ball beyond the back four, but she had strayed marginally offside before knocking the ball past the keeper.
They weren’t to wait too much longer to draw level when Hawkesby picked up a loose ball in midfield to feed Lowry and the Perth-born midfielder skips past two defenders before drilling a low left foot shot into the bottom corner.
As half time drew in, the visitors pressured the Sky Blues penalty area and it paid dividends when Japanese midfielder Hayashi headed home a corner with the final touch of the half to give them a 2-1 advantage.
Sydney FC made two half time changes with Ulkekul coming on up front for Luchtmiejer while Tallon-Henniker replaced defender Ayson who had her hamstring in ice. The Wollongong flyer moved to left-wing back and Fenton dropped into the back three.
It took while before the first real chance of the half came and to the Sky Blues dismay it fell the way of the Roar. Substitute Stephenson received the ball and with her first touch drove inside the midfield to feed Hayashi who smashed it goalwards for her second of the game to make it 3-1.
What They Said: Sydney FC Head Coach James Slaveski: “We’re disappointed with the result, but in terms of the performance, there were some positives.
“The first half was a bit frantic, but we showed some nice glimpses and created opportunities.
“We had a goal disallowed for Riley after a good passage of play, and the goal we did score was a nice finish from Lowry, who I thought was excellent today.
“Without the ball, I thought we were quite aggressive. We tried to compete and never gave up. They’re a dominant side—strong in duels, powerful, particularly on set pieces—and I felt we dealt with that quite well.
“I was disappointed to concede just before half-time, but defensively I was really happy because that’s what we worked on predominantly yesterday.”
Sydney FC | 1. Heather HINZ, 2. Madison AYSON (24. Caley TALLON-HENNIKER 46’), 4. Tori TUMETH, 5. Kirsty FENTON, 7. Amelia CASSAR (17. Claire CORBETT 75’), 8. Hana LOWRY, 13. Riley TANNER, 14. Abbey LEMON (32. Bianca GALIC 66’), 15. Mackenzie HAWKESBY, 16. Willa PEARSON, 18. Amber LUCHTMEIJER (9. Jodi ULKEKUL 46’).
Unused Subs | 30. Tiahna ROBERTSON, 19. Skye HALMARICK.
Head Coach | James SLAVESKI
Yellow Cards | None
Red Cards | None
Brisbane Roar FC | 1.Chloe LINCOLN (GK), 3.Daisy BROWN, 5. Aimee MEDWIN 7. Momo HAYASHI, 8.Josie STUDER, 11.Marianna SEIDL, 15.Kiera MEYERS (18.Amali KINSELLA 87’), 17.Bente JANSEN (4. Kijah STEPHENSON 73’), 22.Ava PIAZZA, 27. Ashlyn MILLER, 32. Alicia WOODS,
Unused Subs | 12. Tahlia FRANCO (GK), 6.Ruby CUTHBERT, 23. Isabella HOYOS, 47. Kyla HANSON.
Head Coach | Alex Smith
Yellow Cards | None
Red Cards | None
Venue | Leichhardt Oval
Referee | Molly GODSELL
Attendance | 875
