Just four days after Joe Lolley scored his first-hat-trick for the Sky Blues, Adrian Segecic bagged his own milestone to steer his side to a 4-1 victory over visitors Central Coast.
The young midfielder’s 22-minute hat-trick off the bench propelled Sydney FC from 7th to 5th place, avenging last month’s defeat to the reigning A-League champions in the process.
Sydney FC 4 (Klimala 11′, Segecic 72′, 82′, 90+4′) def. Central Coast Mariners 1 (Steele 37′)
Moments That Mattered
8’ | DEVENISH-MEARES SAVE – Mariners’ De Lima manages to find space on the turn from the edge of the box, forcing the Sky Blues’ custodian into a smothering save.
12’ | KLIMALA GOAL – Given time to pick out a pass from the wing, Lolley curls a 35-metre crossfield ball perfectly into the stride of King, who squares it first-time across the face of the goal for a Klimala tap-in.
20’ | KLIMALA IMPROVISES – Lolley turns an under-weighted pass on the wing into a delightful chipped ball to Klimala, who chests it down and instinctively tries his luck from the top of the box, only for Peraic-Cullen to deny him a spectacular goal with an outstretched hand.
24’ | CACERES CHANCE – Delightful interplay between Lolley and Caceres on the edge of the Mariners’ box releases the Sydney FC midfielder, but his shot from a tight angle is parried.
28’ | DEVENISH-MEARES STRETCHES – The Sky Blues ‘keeper has to fly acrobatically to tip away a shot from Central Coast’s Theoharous headed for the top corner.
38’ | MARINERS EQUALISER – Goalscorer Klimala is desperately unlucky as he sees his attempted headed clearance from a Steele shot loop up and over Devenish-Meares into the net.
72’ | SEGECIC GOAL – Having entered the fray in the 55th minute, Segecic puts Sydney FC back in front after being fed by Caceres, his right-footed shot on the angle squeezing in at the far post.
82′ | SEGECIC GOAL – Central Coast defender Kaltak gets in a. muddle under pressure from Segecic and when the ball spills to Wood his clever back heel frees Segecic to clip the ball over Peraic-Cullen.
90+4’ | SEGECIC GOAL –The young Sky Blues midfielder caps a remarkable evening when he receives a pass from Kucharski, shares off a defender and blast a sizzling shot into the roof of the net from 25 metres.
Match Report
A rapid-fire second half hat-trick from substitute Adrian Segecic has catapulted Sydney FC to a 4-1 win over reigning A-League champions Central Coast and put the Sky Blues firmly back into finals calculations as the league’s top scorers.
Entering the match in 7th place, Sydney FC treated the Allianz Stadium crowd to a dominant second 45 minutes that lifts them two spots and eases memories of last month’s frustrating loss to the same opponent.
There was room for early optimism when striker Patryk Klimala notched his fifth goal for the club after a great combination between Joe Lolley and Joel King – the Englishman’s delightful cross field pass picking out King’s far post run – left him with a simple tap-in.
The Mariners did not roll over, however, and eventually found an equaliser in the 37th minute when Klimala was desperately unlucky to see a speculative shot from Harrison Steele loop off his head and over ‘keeper Harrison Devenish-Meares.
Enter Segecic – in the 55th minute, to be precise.
With the game on a knife edge, Segecic was released in the box by a trademark Anthony Caceres outside-of-the-foot pass, rifling the ball into the far corner from a tight angle.
He was at it again 10 minutes later, closing down Mariners defender Brian Kaltak and then gleefully receiving a clever back heel from fellow sub Pat Wood to clip the ball over the on-rushing Central Coast ‘keeper.
The icing on the cake came in the fourth minute of added time, when Jaiden Kucharski fed a ball to Segecic at the top of the box and he claimed the match ball – and quite possibly the attention of in-attendance Socceroos manager Tony Popovic – with a scorching shot in front of the Cove.
What They Said: Ufuk Talay: “I thought the first half we had some good moments. We scored a very good goal with a switch of play, getting in behind and laying it across to Patrick. But I was disappointed in the goal we conceded—we couldn’t clear our lines, and it ended up coming back with a deflection that went over Harrison.
“The second-half performance, though, was very good. Once we tweaked a few things with the pressing, we got a lot of joy. We could have capitalized on a few more moments, but overall, I’m pleased, especially with the short turnaround we had. I think we finished the stronger team and had more legs as well.
“Adrian’s been fantastic since day one. His mentality and attitude have been sensational. For me as a coach, having players like him in the squad is a privilege. There were times when he could have been frustrated about not playing, but he’s handled those moments well.
“We made the decision not to start him today, but when he came on, he made an impact—scoring three goals isn’t something we specifically ask for, but he played in the right areas and did exactly what we needed. He’s been excellent this season, adapting well to his role and using his attributes to influence games.”
Adrian Segecic: “Obviously it feels amazing. To come on and, as a 20-year-old, score a hat-trick—it doesn’t get much better than that.
“Going overseas and getting a lot of games—every three or four days—really helped build my confidence and experience.
“I feel confident and free when stepping onto the field now, and that’s been massive for me in these recent games.”
Sydney FC: 12. Harrison DEVENISH-MEARES (GK), 5. Hayden MATTHEWS, 6. Corey HOLLMAN, 8. Anas OUAHIM (7. Adrian SEGECIC 55′), 9. Patryk KLIMALA (13. Pat WOOD 80′), 10. Joe LOLLEY (20. Tiago QUINTAL 90′), 15. Leo SENA (25. Jaiden KUCHARSKI 90′), 16. Joel KING, 17. Anthony CACERES, 21. Zac DE JESUS, 23. Rhyan GRANT (C).
Unused Subs: 1. ANDREW REDMAYNE (GK), 3. AARON GURD, 4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS.
Yellow Cards: Ouahim 36’, Talay 69′, Segecic 90+5′.
Red Cards: None
Central Coast Mariners: 40. Dylan PERAIC-CULLEN (GK), 3. Brian KALTAK, 4. Trent SAINSBURY. 7. Christian THEOHAROUS (37. Bailey BRANDTMAN 65′), 8. Alfie McCALMONT, 9. Alou KUOL (36. Haine EAMES 90′), 10. Mikael DOKA, 11. Vitor FEIJAO (28. Will WILSON 71′), 15. Storm ROUX, 16. Harrison STEELE, 35. Arthur DE LIMA (17. Sabit NGOR 71′).
Unused Subs: 1. Adam PAVLESIC (GK), 24. Diesel HERRINGTON. 27. Sasha KUZEVSKI.
Yellow Cards: Sainsbury 75′, Kuol 80′.
Red Cards: None
Venue: Allianz Stadium
Referee: Daniel Elder
Attendance: 11,111
