Sydney FC outclassed Wellington Phoenix 3-1 at the Sydney Football Stadium on Wednesday night, thanks to striker Mark Bridge who stole the show with two assists and his first goal of the season.
Sydney FC outclassed Wellington Phoenix 3-1 at the Sydney Football Stadium on Wednesday night, thanks to striker Mark Bridge who stole the show with two assists and his first goal of the season.
For the Sky Blues it was a game of firsts, with young gun Brendan Gan also getting his name on the scoresheet for the first time this year on a wet and slippery evening at the SFS.
Gan, a former Sydney FC Youth member, opened the scoring in the 13th minute, heading the ball past keeper Mark Paston after Bridge outpaced Phoenix captain Andrew Durante to lob in an enticing cross.
Despite the impressive scoreline, the Blues lagged a little in terms of possession and shots on goal, but what they lacked in quantity they made up in quality.
The win, the teams- fourth of the season, lifts the Sky Blues to just one point outside of the top six Sydney FC now must quickly put the victory behind them and prepare for Saturday night-s clash with the Central Coast Mariners.
Bridge, who played a dominant role in all of Sydney’s goals, admitted that Wellington was tough in defensce but persistence paved the way for Sydney’s fourth win of the season.
The talismanic striker was also more than a little relieved to finally see his name on the scoresheet, courtesy of a lay-off from youngster Terry Antonis in the 74th minute.
“How crap would I have looked if I’ve gone throughout the whole year without a goal?” he joked.
“It was good to get one in the match and the Phoenix has a solid backline in Durante [Andrew] and Muscat [Emmanuel] who played extremely tough.”
Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka praised the performance of youngsters Gan, Antonis and Dimitri Petratos, who stepped up to fill the void left by the likes of Bruno Cazarine, Sung-Hwan Byun and Nicky Carle.
Antonis in particular, who replaced Hirofumi Moriyasu in the 64th minute, was instrumental in attack from the word go. His first crack at goal came in the 71st minute, missing from outside the box. He quickly atoned for the miss by assisting Bridge in the following minute, laying the ball off for Bridge to bang home Sydney’s second in the 74th minute. Veteran forward Alex Brosque scored his sixth goal for the season, largely ending the contest at 3-0 in the 78th minute.
Brosque, who is currently sharing top scorer honours with Bruno Cazarine, had several shots on goal throughout the night, particularly in the 53rd minute, narrowly missing from the left-handside.
Sydney keeper Ivan Necevski put in a superb performance, cleaning up cross after cross with confidence despite the slippery conditions. His reflexes saved what looked like a sure-fire Wellington goal in the 59th minute.
After Bridge, Necevski was the standout performer in a solid Sydney defence marshalled by Hayden Foxe and supported superbly by Shannon Cole, Stuart Musialik and Scott Jamieson.
The quartet cleared away a swag of Wellington crosses and surges down the flanks and were instrumental in ensuring victory.
The only blemish for the Blues’ backline came in the 82nd minute when Vince Lia cut Sydney’s defence in half with a delightful through-ball that Dylan Macallister easily slotted home.
Match Details:
Sydney FC: 1 (GAN 14′, BRIDGE 73′, BROSQUE 76′)
Wellington Phoenix FC: 1 (MacALLISTER 82′)
Sydney FC line-up: 20. Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 2. Sebastian RYALL, 5. Hayden FOXE, 6. Hirofumi MORIYASU (16. Terry ANTONIS 64′), 7. Brendan GAN, 8. Stuart MUSIALIK, 12. Shannon COLE, 14. Alex BROSQUE (24. Dimitri PETRATOS 79′), 15. Terry McFLYNN (c), 19. Mark BRIDGE, 21. Scott JAMIESON (3. Stephan KELLER 75′).
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Liam REDDY (gk).
Yellow Cards: Nil.
Red Cards: Nil.
Goals: 7. Brendan GAN 14′, 19. Mark BRIDGE 73′, 14. Alex BROSQUE 76′.
Wellington Phoenix FC line-up: 1. Mark PASTON (gk), 2. Emmanuel MUSCAT, 4. Nick WARD (23. Dylan MacALLISTER 78′), 6. Tim BROWN, 8. Paul IFILL, 11. DANIEL (21. Marco ROJAS 56′), 13. Troy HEARFIELD (9. Chris GREENACRE 56′), 15. Jade NORTH, 17. Vince LIA, 18. Ben SIGMUND, 22. Andrew DURANTE (c).
Substitutes Not Used: 19. Danny VUKOVIC (gk).
Yellow Cards: 18. Ben SIGMUND 78′.
Red Cards: Nil.
Goals: 23. Dylan MacCALLISTER 82′.
Referee: Gerard PARSONS
Crowd: 4 012 at the Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
