Sydney FC 1 (Barbarouses 5’) Central Coast Mariners 0
Sydney FC have extended their lead at the top of the Hyundai A-League ladder following a 1-0 win against Central Coast Mariners.
Moments That Mattered:
- Barbarouses Goal – 5’ – Grant is played in behind the Mariners defence to square the ball to Kosta for the easiest of tap-ins.
- Redmayne Save – 7’ – Central Coast look to hit back immediately through De Silva, only to be denied by a brilliant diving save from Redders.
- Jair Chance – 43’ – The Central Coast front man misses the goal by whiskers on the edge of half-time.
- Redmayne Save – 89’ – Redmayne with another brilliant save as he denies Mariners of a certain late equaliser following a firm save.
It was the Sky Blues that got off to a dream start as Barbarouses netted in the fifth minute after being tee’d up by Grant.
Sydney FC continued to press and try to build on this first half lead but couldn’t find their way through a tight Central Coast defence.
It was much of the same in the second half as a resolute away side looked to capitalise on the counter, allowing little space for the Sky Blues to play in between.
Corica’s men maintained control of the game throughout and gained a well-earned and valuable three points to increase their lead at the top of the table.
The side now turns their attention to next Saturday’s contest against Wellington Phoenix away at Westpac Stadium
What they said: Steve Corica: “We’re not going to win every game 5-1 or 5-0, sometimes a 1-0 win is even more important.
“A clean sheet is something I’m extremely happy about.
“Sometimes you’ve got to win those games 1-0 and put on an extremely good defensive performance.
“Redders [Andrew Redmayne] made a couple of saves but other than that a lot of their shots were off target.
“We looked dangerous when we did have the ball especially first half in transition.
“We just wanted more final third actions really but I’m really pleased with the three points.”
Sydney FC: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 4. Alex WILKINSON, 5. Alexander BAUMJOHANN (21. Harry Van der SAAG 84’), 6. Ryan McGOWAN, 8. Paulo RETRE, 9. Adam Le FONDRE (12. Trent BUHAGIAR 75’), 10. Milos NINKOVIC (17. Anthony CACERES 60’), 11. Kosta BARBAROUSES, Joel KING, 23. Rhyan GRANT, 26. Luke BRATTAN
Subs Not Used: 20. Thomas HEWARD-BELLE (GK), 2. Patrick FLOTTMANN, 17. Anthony CACERES, 18. Luke IVANOVIC, 24. Marco TILIO.
Yellow Cards: 26. Luke BRATTAN 53’
Red Cards: None.
Central Coast Mariners: 1. Mark BIRIGHITTI (GK), 2. Ziggy GORDON, 3. Jack CLISBY, 4. Eun-Seon Kim, 6. Giancarlo GALLIFUOCO, 7. Milan DURIC (30. Dylan DIAZ 72’), 11. Daniel De SILVA, 15. Kye ROWLES, 17. Samuel SILVERA (27. Lewis MILLER 66’), 18. Gianni STENSNESS, 29. JAIR (19. Matt SIMON 72’)
Subs Not Used: 12. Adam PEARSE (GK), 21. Ruon TONGYIK, 23. Mario SHABOW, 26. Josh NISBET.
Yellow Cards: 6. Giancarlo GALLIFUOCO 19’,
Red Cards: None.
Ground: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Crowd: 10,256
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
