The Sky Blues come away victorious at Leichhardt Oval as Ufuk Talay’s men defeated Central Coast Mariners 2-0 in sensational fashion, with second half goals from Victor Campuzano and Pat Wood to secure a first three points of the season.
Sydney FC will aim to replicate their performance next Saturday away at Newcastle Jets at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Sydney FC 2 (Campuzano 58’, Wood 88’) def. Central Coast Mariners 0
Moments That Mattered:
8’ | TOURE CHANCE – Quispe receives a loose ball just outside the 18-yard box, looks up to see the overlapping run of Toure, who takes a quick touch forward to fire the shot, but is unfortunate to hit the side netting.
16’ | TOURE CHANCE – Deft curled pass by Lolley finds the run of Toure who takes on Roux. He does well to get away and hit the ball towards goal, but Redmayne is able to deflect it to the foot of Lolley who is blocked on the follow up.
58’ | CAMPAZUNO GOAL – Okon Junior whips a ball towards the right corner of the 18-yard box, Grant passes it across goal towards Toure, slicing it onto his ankle and out of his possession. Campuzuno overcomes it with a moment of magic, backheeling it in, Sydney FC lead 1-0
78’ | REDMAYNE DOUBLE SAVE – Wood receives the ball outside the box, firing it towards Redmayne who hits it away, falling for Lolley who strikes it quickly but Redmayne palms it out of danger.
88’ | WOOD GOAL – Quispe releases the ball up and above the opposing defensive line to the right-wing of Lolley who does well to keep composure, squaring the ball to Wood who strikes it low and hard, Sydney FC lead 2-0.
Match Report: Sydney FC has taken their first three points of the season defeating Central Coast Mariners 2-0 in a dominant display at Leichhardt Oval tonight.
The Sky Blues fired forward from minute one of their opening home game of the 2025/26 Isuzu-UTE A-League campaign, with constant pressure in the initial ten minutes of play, causing lots of trouble for the away side’s defensive line.
Toure had a chance early on thanks to a pass from Quispe who was unable to hit the mark, slashing the side netting.
Ufuk Talay’s men continue to apply the pressure, Lolley’s playmaking made for an array of chances, showcased by a beautiful, curled pass to Toure who wins the head-to-head foot race with Roux, before looking up and shooting.
Redmayne deflected it to Lolley who tried to follow up but it is blocked and Central Coast Mariners regain possession.
The Sky Blues pry their way through the away team, cutting out passing lanes and keeping the bulk of possession, leaving no room for Central Coast Mariners to pose an attacking threat.
However after an intense first-half display Sydney FC’s were unable to hit the mark and head into half-time level at 0-0.
Sydney FC come into the second-half guns blazing, continuous pressure allows for an abundance of passing lanes and threaded balls which the Sky Blues do well to inflict danger.
A chance is created five minutes in, coming from a lofted ball from Youlley finding Toure who takes the shot, it deflects to Campuzano who hits it wide.
Moments later Okon-Junior finds himself with space behind the 18-yard box, whipping a ball of promise towards the back post.
Grant passes across the goal to Toure who mis-controls it, but the Spaniard Campuzano, in his first home match in Sky Blue colours, gets a moment of magic following up and backheeling it home, Talay’s men lead 1-0.
With just over ten minutes remaining the Sky Blues maintain possession in the final third, Wood is able to touch and turn to fire the shot off at Redmayne who gets down low to save, and is quickly back on his feet to save the follow up from Lolley to keep the 1-0 margin.
Sydney FC’s hunger continues just before the final whistle, Quispe lofts the ball towards the right wing of Lolley who drives to the byline, cutting it back and squaring it to Wood whose positional play makes for an easy finish, low and hard and beyond the path of Redmayne, sealing the three points.
Ufuk Talay’s men are victorious at home with goals from Campuzano and Wood securing their first win of the 2025/26 Isuzu-UTE A-League season, the Sky Blues will hope to replicate their performance next week when they verse the Newcastle Jets away on Saturday the 1st of November.
Post-Match Interviews: Ufuk Talay (Coach), Joe Lolley and Victor Campuzano
What they said: Ufuk Talay: “Second half we had good moments in transition, and we deserved the three points, it’s a step forward for us.”
“Slowly we are starting to get cohesion and connection, we need to play games and we will build.”
Joe Lolley said: “We had lots of transition moments, we knew the game was there for the taking, we just had to relax in the final third and thankfully we did that, got the goals and deserved the win.
“Last week was frustrating, but we knew we had a good performance coming, it’s a great win and great atmosphere, we need to get a run going now.
Victor Campuzano said: “We are happy because we got the first win at home, we need to take the most points we can, we just need to continue pushing.
“We have time to adapt, and we are progressing and improving every day, the best form of this team is yet to arrive.”
Sydney FC (Away) | Formation: 4-4-2: 12. Harrison DEVENISH-MEARES (GK), 5. Alex GRANT, 32. Marcel TISSERAND (41. Alexander POPOVIC 75’), 16. Joel KING, 23. Rhyan GRANT (C), 24. Paul OKON-ENGSTLER, 36. Rhys YOULLEY (8. Wataru KAMIJO 88’), 35. Al Hassan TOURE (11. Abel WALATEE 69’), 10. Joesph LOLLEY, 7. Piero Quispe CORDOVA, 9. Victor CAMPUZANO (13. Patrick WOOD 75’)
Head Coach: Ufuk TALAY
Unused Substitutions: 1. Gus HOESFLOOT (GK), 4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 20. Tiago QUINTAL.
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Central Coast Mariners (Away) | Formation: 4-4-2: 30. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 3. Nathan PAULL (C), 26. Bradley TAPP, 5. Lucas MAURAGIS, 15. Storm ROUX, 16. Harrison STEELE (7. Christian THEOHAROUS 88’), 8. Alfie MCCALMONT, 37. Bailey BRANDTMAN (21. Abdul FAISAL 74’), 11. Sebit NGOR (22. Arthur DE LIMA 65’), 10. Miguel DI PIZIO (6. Haine EAMES 65’), 9. Ryan EDMONDSON (14. Nicholas DUARTE 74’)
Head Coach: Warren MOON
Unused Substitutions: 40. Dylan PERAIC-CULLEN (GK), 41. Shumba MUTOKOYI
Yellow Cards: 15. Storm ROUX 70’, 26. Bradley TAPP 83’
Red Cards: None
Venue: Leichhardt Oval, Sydney, NSW
Attendance: 10,700
Referee: Ben ABRAHAM
