Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar played out one of the most fascinating, entertaining, controversial, passionate and enthralling matches in Hyundai A-League history tonight as two goals inside the last 60 seconds of injury time gave Brisbane a 2-1 win over the Sky Blues at Suncorp Stadium.
Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar played out one of the most fascinating, entertaining, controversial, passionate and enthralling matches in Hyundai A-League history tonight as two goals inside the last 60 seconds of injury time gave Brisbane a 2-1 win over the Sky Blues at Suncorp Stadium.
Football can be a very cruel game and never has it been more evident than tonight as Sydney FC looked to have pulled off a deserved 1-0 victory before two goals in the 94th and 95th minutes gave the Roar all three points.
It was pure theatre as both teams played some great football and were separated by a clinical Mark Bridge goal in the 39th minute before Mohamed Adnan and then Besart Berisha scored dramatic goals in the dying seconds.
The match even had a sense of controversy and passion as both teams had to be separated near the Sydney FC tunnel as emotion threatened to boil over.
It was thrilling viewing from the opening whistle to the 95th minute – and even beyond.
Vitezslav Lavicka reacted to the 1-0 loss to the Central Coast Mariners by making two changes to the side with Bridge replacing Bruno Cazarine after a strong appearance off the bench last week while Scott Jamieson was recalled at the expense of Sebastian Ryall at left back.
Lavicka wanted the Sky Blues to play with a high tempo and put pressure on the Brisbane players when they had possession and the visitors started the game well.
As early as the 5th minute Nick Carle had a chance after smart interplay from Bridge, Terry Antonis and Brett Emerton gave the playmaker a clear shot on goal but his right foot effort went straight to Brisbane ‘keeper Michael Theoklitos.
Brisbane also played its usual high tempo match and it made for a high class clash early on as Massimo Murdocca (Brisbane), Antonis and Bridge all had a clear sight of the goal inside the first 25 minutes.
The explosive pace of the opening exchanges could never be sustained by both teams and the game settled into a pattern where Sydney and Brisbane enjoy comfortable possession without really threatening the goals.
That changed in the 39th minute when Sydney FC took the lead through Bridge.
Michael Beauchamp was the creator, carrying the ball from defence into the Brisbane half where he slipped a neat inside ball to Carle who in turn drew Matt Smith on the edge of the penalty area and played in Bridge, whose fierce drive had too much power for the advancing Theoklitos.
Sydney FC maintained its lead until half time and the game followed a similar pattern after the break before Brisbane made a double change in the 57th minute bringing on attacking weapons Henrique and Thomas Broich.
The changes gave Brisbane added impetus and they attacked in waves but the Sydney defence held strong, allowing Brisbane possession outside the penalty area and Brisbane was unable to fashion any real chances although Liam Reddy did have to come off his line twice in quick succession with 15 minutes remaining.
Sydney meanwhile was happy to soak up the pressure and hit Brisbane on the break and it looked to have worked a treat until the final minute dramas.
Adnan gave Reddy no chance with a curling 25m free kick before Berisha was on the end of a Shane Stefanutto cross to steal all three points.
Sydney FC will take great heart from the performance when it plays a rescheduled midweek game against Perth Glory at Campbelltown Stadium on Wednesday (5.30pm kick off) followed by the visit of Gold Coast United to the Sydney Football Stadium on Sunday 22 January (5pm kick off).
Brisbane Roar 2 (Mohamed Adnan 94, Besart Berisha 95) d Sydney FC 1 (Mark Bridge 39)
Suncorp Stadium
Crowd: 14,545
Referee: Ryan Shepheard
Sydney FC: 1. Liam Reddy, 4. Pascal Bosschaart, 5. Michael Beauchamp, 7. Brett Emerton, 8. Karol Kisel (9. Bruno Cazarine ‘88), 10 Nick Carle (11. Dimi Petratos ‘78), 15. Terry McFlynn (c), 17. Terry Antonis (2. Sebastian Ryall ‘85), 19. Mark Bridge, 21. Scott Jamieson, 23. Rhyan Grant.
Sub not used: 20. Ivan Necevski (gk).
Yellow cards: Brett Emerton 29, Pascal Bosschaart 95, Liam Reddy 95.
Red cards: –
Brisbane Roar: 1. Michael Theoklitos, 2. Matthew Smith (4. Matthew Jurman ‘46), 3. Shane Stefanutto, 5. Ivan Franjic, 6. Erik Paartalu, 7. Besart Berisha, 8. Massimo Murdocca, 11. Issey Nakajima-Farran (22. Thomas Broich 57), 14. Rocco Visconte (10. Henrique ‘57), 16. Mohamed Adnan, 17. Mitch Nichols.
Sub not used: 20. Andrew Redmayne (gk).
Yellow cards: Matthew Smith 39, Matthew Jurman 91, Besart Berisha 95.
Red cards: –
