Sydney FC have almost produced a remarkable comeback from 3-0 down with two late goals not enough to save them against ladder leaders Melbourne City.
The Sky Blues lost 3-2 in their fourth game of the Liberty A-League season in front of a crowd of nearly 4,000 people at Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre.
Sydney FC 2 (Thompson 73’, McLean 80’) defeated by. Melbourne City 3 (Grosso 22’, Ekic 30’, Galic 45’).
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
22’ – GROSSO GIVES THE VISITORS THE LEAD – the American Melbourne City winger shoots past Jada Whyman in goal, giving the visitors an early lead.
30’ – EKIC OLYMPICO GOAL – the striker curls one in from the right wing direct from the corner kick.
43’ – WORTS VOLLEY FLIES OVER THE BAR – Dos Santos clips the ball into Worts who hits it side footed over the bar.
45’ – GALIC GOAL – Pollicina gets clear on goal and shoots. Whyman gets a hand to the ball allowing Tumeth to clear off the line, however it only falls to Galic who is able to curl the ball into the net and make it 3-0.
48’ – CONNORS CHANCE – the American sprints clear and shoots from an almost impossible angle producing a fantastic save form Proulx.
71’ – KEANE CHANCE – Keane bursts into the box and shoots but Proulx is out quickly and low to save it.
73’ – THOMPSON GOAL – Saveska’s free-kick is cleared as far as Taylor Ray who puts the ball back into the box and American Thompson deflects the shot past the keeper for a debut goal.
80’ – MCLEAN GOAL – A left wing corner is cleared out to Mclean who shoots from the edge of the box straight into the corner of the net to set up a grand stand finish.
75’ – LIGHTNING STORM DELAYS GAME – The match is delayed by approximately 45 minutes due to a lightning storm.
What Sydney FC Head Coach Ante Juric said: “We came up against a good side but saying that I think we gave away three cheap goals which isn’t something we do very often.
“We showed great character in the second half and dominated that. The energy wasn’t there first half and that’s what we said at half time and I was pleased with the second half performance.
“Jordan Thompson is a solid defender and dynamic going forward and we’ll see if she can get a centre back spot.
“We had some momentum at the lightning break but that’s life, you have to deal with it and accept the safety precautions, we had two chances anyway after that.”
Match Report : A fantastic Sydney FC fightback wasn’t enough for the Sky Blues who went down 3-2 to table toppers Melbourne City, roared on by an amazing crowd of nearly 4,000.
City took the lead through their American winger Julia Grosso in the 22nd minute before striker Emina Ekic scored directly from a corner to make it 2-0.
The visitors consolidated on their lead by scoring a third goal through Daniela Galic on the stroke of half time.
Sydney FC were better in the second half pressuring the visitors from the opening minutes before new recruit American Jordan Thompson scored a debut goal to reduce the deficit.
A lightning storm paused the match for 45 minutes after which the Sky Blues pulled another back through Charlotte McLean, however despite a lot more pressure in the final ten 15 minutes, the visitors held on for the three points.
Sydney FC: 1. Jada Whyman, 4. Tori Tumeth, 3. Charlotte McLean, 25. Jessica Seaman, 14. Abbey Lemon (16. Jordan Thompson 46’), 18. Taylor Ray, 22. Indiana Dos Santos (10. Sienna Saveska 46’), 21. Shay Hollman (19. Zara Kruger 55’), 9. Shea Connors (13. Aideen Keane 67’), 23. Fiona Worts, 20. Princess Ibini-Sei
Unused subs: 30. Tahlia Franco.
Yellow Cards: Ibini 70’,
Red Cards: None
Melbourne City: 44. Lysiamme Proulx, 8. Kaitlyn Tropey 3. Noami Thomas-Chinnama, 5. Taylor Otto, 7. Julia Grosso, 14. Laura Hughes, 6. Leticia McKenna (18. Leah Davidson 67’), 24. Daniela Galic (17. Hannah Wilkinson 55’), 10. Rhianna Pollicina, 11. Emina Ekic (19. Tijan Mckenna 75’)
Unused subs: 23. Melissa Barbieri, 2. Leia Varley
Yellow Cards: Hughes 73’, Pollicina 90’+4′.
Red Cards: None
Venue: Sydney Olympic Stadium Athletic Centre
Referee: Rebecca Durcau
Attendance: 3,937.
