Sydney FC dominated possession and kept Brisbane Roar to barely any chances in a crucial 1-0 win to secure the three points thanks to a Tiago Quintal solo goal.
Sydney FC 1 (Quintal 55’) def. Brisbane Roar FC 0
Moments That Mattered:
18’ | STAMATELOPOULOS SHOT – A well-placed shot into the bottom right corner is stopped by Bouzanis at a narrow angle to prevent a Sydney FC opener.
24’ | ARSLAN SHOT – A fierce long-range effort shies just wide of the post from the Turk.
55’ | QUINTAL GOAL – Quintal rifles it into the top right corner from just inside the 18-yard box to fire Sydney FC into the lead after a great solo run.
90’+3 | DEVENISH-MEARES SAVE – A free kick from distance threatens to go into the top corner before a full-stretch Devenish-Meares heroically rises to tip the ball safely over the bar at the last second.
Match Report: Sydney FC returned victorious to Allianz Stadium to defeat Brisbane Roar 1-0 and close the gap on the Newcastle Jets at the top of the A-League ladder to four points.
The game opens with Sydney FC dominating and creating two major opportunities throughout the half.
The first of these came on 18 minutes with Stamatelopoulos shooting into the bottom right-hand corner but is denied by a fine save from Bouzanis.
The second was an incredible strike from outside the 18-yard box from Arslan going just wide to again prevent a Sky Blues opener after 24 minutes.
As the half-time whistle blew, Sydney FC reflected on a positive first half but were hoping to capitalise on their chance creation in the second half.
They came out of the gates at the start of the second half and resumed their dominance.
That came to a crescendo with a brilliant Tiago Quintal run and strike from just inside the 18-yard box into the top right-hand corner to give Sydney FC a much deserved lead.
The sides exchanged tackles and runs throughout the rest of the half, but one final hope for Brisbane came with a late free kick.
The ball threatened to dip into the top left corner before a full-stretch Devenish-Meares tipped it over to deny any hope of a late equaliser.
What They Said: Ufuk Talay
“These are young players that we introduce at the right time. Quintal has grown with every game he’s played. The more he plays, the more confidence he builds.”
“I thought we controlled the game from start to finish. It’s our third game in seven days, so the boys put in an immense effort on Tuesday and to back it up again today, they gave a lot of energy.
“We played a side that set up not to lose rather than to win, so we had to be careful in transition moments to keep them pinned in.
“I thought the boys did that well at times. We had a lot of control of the ball, we had to be the protagonist and find ways to break them down.
“We found one moment with Tiago — he shoots, we score, we win 1-0, we collect the three points and move on.
“They worked extremely hard on Tuesday against a very good Auckland side — probably deserved all three points. Today they worked hard again in tough conditions with the pitch and the humidity. I’m very proud of what they produced.”
Lineups: Sydney FC | 12. Harrison DEVENISH-MEARES, 23. Rhyan GRANT (c), 41. Alexander POPOVIC, 5. Alex GRANT, 17. Ben GARRUCIO, 24. Paul OKON-ENGSTLER, 70. Ahmet ARSLAN (36. Rhys YOULLEY (86’), 10. Joe LOLLEY (9. Victor CAMPUZANO (64’), 20. Tiago QUINTAL (11. Abel WALATEE (86’), 7. Piero QUISPE, 80. Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS (35. Al-Hassan TOURE (79’)
Unused Substitutes | 30. Alexander ZAVERDINOS, 4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 22. Mathias MACALLISTER
Yellow Cards | 5. Alex GRANT (77’)
Red Cards | N/A
Manager | Ufuk TALAY
Brisbane Roar FC | 1. Dean BOUZANIS (c), 2. Youstin SALAS, 3. Dimitrios VALKANIS, 5. Mauris LODE, 16. Matt DENCH, 31. Noah MAIERONI, 8. Samuel KLEIN, 47. James DURRINGTON (19. Michael RUHS (61’), 9. Christopher LONG (17. Justin VIDIC (61’), 10. Georgios VRAKAS (7. Jacob BRAZETE (73’), 25. Nicholas D’AGNOSTINO (41. Emmet SHAW (80’)
Unused Substitutes | 11. Macklin FREKE, 6. Austin LUDWIK, 44. Jordan LAUTON
Yellow Cards | 3. Dimitrios VALKANIS (59’), 31. Noah MAIERONI (65’), 25. Nicholas D’AGNOSTINO (69’)
Red Cards | N/A
Manager | Michael VALKANIS
Referee | Alex KING
Venue | Allianz Stadium
Attendance | 10,087
