A gallant Sydney FC held on for a valuable Hyundai A-League competition point after their match with the high flying Brisbane Roar at the Sydney Football Stadium finished 1-1 on Saturday night.
A gallant Sydney FC held on for a valuable Hyundai A-League competition point after their match with the high flying Brisbane Roar at the Sydney Football Stadium finished 1-1 on Saturday night.
After going behind in the eighth minute, the Sky Blues rallied and levelled the scores via striker Alex Brosque in 34th minute before holding out a barrage of Brisbane Roar attacking raids with goalkeeper Ivan Necevski making a series of brilliant saves.
In front of 10,746 fans, the Sky Blues were without midfielder Nicky Carle (ankle) and defender Sung-Hwan Byun (hamstring). The duo were replaced in the starting side by Mark Bridge and Scott Jamieson with both having strong games while Brosque was again a dominant figure for the home team.
The Sky Blues now host the Newcastle Jets at the SFS (5pm kick-off) on Sunday 7 November.
Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka praised his team for never giving in against the team he rates as the best in the A-League.
“Full credit has to go to Sydney FC for putting in a maximum effort. They worked really hard throughout the match to take a point,” Lavicka said.
“Brisbane and Adelaide are the best teams in this moment and we saw that tonight. They played well but we never gave up and defending well. We still need to focus on attack a bit more.”
Captain Terry McFlynn, who turned in another stellar performance, running, encouraging and hustling the Roar, said his team will stick to the job at hand to ensure the results come.
“Confidence and belief within the squad is not an issue. If we continue to hold our structure the results will come,” McFlynn said.
“Ivan-s (Necevksi) efforts throughout the match kept us in it and a late surge from Brisbane was handled by the keeper with confidence.
“Most of the games we have dominated this year and for us the performance is much more important than the result.”
Due to the absence of Sydney-s regular left back Sung-Hwan Byun, Brisbane Roar-s tactics were clear in the first half as a dominant attack was lodged down Sydney-s left hand side however Jamieson was up to the challenge.
The Roar took the lead early with Devere latching onto an in swinging corner but Brosque-s 36th A-League goal – which puts him third on the all time A-League goal scoring list – got Sydney level.
Sydney began the second half with a more energy in both attack and defence but Brisbane controlled the majority of the second half.
Their ball movement and possession play caused the Sky Blues a number of headaches however they dug deep and repelled everything that was thrown at them.
Match Details:
Sydney FC: 1 (BROSQUE 34′)
Brisbane Roar FC: 1 (DeVERE 8′)
Sydney FC Line-up: 20. Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 3. Stephan KELLER, 5. Hayden FOXE, 6. Hirofumi MORIYASU, 9. Bruno CAZARINE, 12. Shannon COLE, 14. Alex BROSQUE, 15. Terry McFLYNN (c) (2. Sebastian RYALL 90’+1′), 19. Mark BRIDGE (8. Stuart MUSIALIK 85′) 21. Scott JAMIESON, 23. Rhyan GRANT (11. Kofi DANNING 78′).
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Liam REDDY (gk).
Yellow Cards: 23. Rhyan GRANT 32′, 15. Terry McFLYNN 44′, 5. Hayden FOXE 49′.
Red Cards: Nil.
Goals: 14. Alex BROSQUE 34′.
Brisbane Roar FC Line-up:1. Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2. Matthew SMITH, 3. Luke DEVERE, 5. Ivan FRANJIC, 6. Erik PAARTALU, 8. Massimo MURDOCCA, 11. REINALDO (9. Jean Carlos SOLORZANO 69′), 12. Matthew MUNDY, 15. Matt McKAY (c), 17. Mitchell NICHOLS (7. Kosta BARBAROUSES 46′), 22. Thomas BROICH.
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 23. Milan SUSAK.
Yellow Cards: 12. Matthew MUNDY 23′.
Red Cards: Nil.
Goals: 3. Luke DeVERE 8′.
Referee: Peter GREEN
Crowd: 10 746 at the Sydney Football Stadium.
