A dogged defensive display and a sharp attack from the Sky Blues ensured their unbeaten start to the Hyundai A-League 2016/17 season continued at ANZ Stadium on Friday night against City.
The Sky Blues were forced to work with 10 men for the final 20 minutes of the match, with Bobô’s penalty ensuring the points were shared and the Sky Blues’ six point lead at the top of the table was preserved.
In defence, the Sky Blues dominated their duels against City, winning 59.2% of their ground duels and 55.6% of their aerial duels to halt any City advances.
16 interceptions, 20 tackles and 22 clearances were also made by the Sky Blues defensive line to ensure goalkeeper Danny Vukovic only faced the one shot on target over the course of 90 minutes.
Ever industrious, Rhyan Grant stood out in the backline, with the right back making 5 tackles and winning nine of his 10 duels in another performance that drew the plaudits.
Going forward, the Sky Blues fired 17 shots at City’s goal, seeing five of those blocked, while having seven efforts from outside the area, with a will to shoot from any distance.
Goal scorer Bobô proved particularly lively in attack, with the Brazilian front man firing four shots at goal, three from inside the area and one from outside, while also getting his name on the scoresheet for his fourth goal of the season.
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