Sydney FC secured a 4-0 win over Newcastle Jets on Friday night to move up to fifth on the A-League ladder.
Sydney FC 4 (Wood 40’, Lolley 66’, Burgess 76’, 79’) def. Newcastle Utd Jets 0
Moments That Mattered
8’ – STAMATELOPOULOS GOAL RULED OUT – Jets’ frontman gets through to finish into the net, but is denied by the assistant’s flag for offside.
40’ – WOOD GOAL – Burgess threads it through smartly to Wood, who produces a deft chipped finish to open the scoring.
47’ – WOOD DISALLOWED GOAL – A superb move down the right results in Wood tapping in, but the offside flag denies the Sky Blues.
66’ – LOLLEY GOAL – Lolley receives Brattan’s long pass and beats his man, before rolling in a trademark goal.
76’ – BURGESS GOAL – Burgess gets on the scoresheet, heading in Fabio’s cross from the left-hand side of the area.
79’ – BURGESS GOAL – Burgess nets a second in quick succession, getting in behind to score from an acute angle.
What They Said: Ufuk Talay: “The second half performance was pleasing. We started off okay, but we gained some good momentum in the way that we played in the second half. Newcastle were direct and tried to play through, but they also know that we press and they tried to skip the press.
“We fixed after half-time what they threatened with, and it’s pleasing that we converted the chances that we created.”
“Pat and Max came in – Pat gave us work-rate and we wanted him to make those forward runs, and he did that for us. Max has come in and done well in the ‘10’ role, and got a couple of goals as well. Joe is an influential player, he creates and scores goals, and we’re really pleased that we’ve kept him for another couple of seasons.”
Match Report: Sydney FC returned to winning ways on Friday night, securing a convincing 4-0 success over Newcastle Jets at the Allianz Stadium.
Pat Wood opened the scoring with a neat finish to establish a half-time advantage, before Joe Lolley celebrated this week’s contract news with a second after the break.
Max Burgess then grabbed a brace in the final 15 minutes for Ufuk Talay’s side, who also register a maiden A-League clean sheet in 2023-24.
It was a dominant display throughout for the Sky Blues, who move up to a season-high ranking of fifth on the ladder following the victory.
The win wasn’t without an early scare, as Jets captain Apostolos Stamatelopoulos saw his goal chalked off via the offside flag.
Midway through the first half, Sydney began to convert possession into chances, as Luke Brattan fired over following Lolley’s corner routine, and Jordan Courtney-Perkins’ header was kept out by Ryan Scott.
With five minutes to play of the first period, Wood found the opener from a pinpoint threaded pass from Burgess, playing it through for the striker to tidily chip Scott.
And the hosts raised it in the second half, as Lolley capped off a week in which he remains Sky Blue until 2026 with a trademark goal, cutting in from the right flank to roll home a second Sydney strike.
At the other end, Andrew Redmayne was forced into action to deny Archie Goodwin and Stamatelopoulos in the second half – the latter also thwarted by the offside flag – before Burgess took centre stage.
The midfielder – selected to start by Talay on the night – repaid the Head Coach’s faith and netted twice in under four minutes.
His first arrived with 14 minutes to play with a well-directed header to convert a cross from substitute Fabio Gomes, before he then beat the offside line to dispatch a clinical finish from a tight angle.
A disciplined defensive performance earned a clean sheet, and then witnessed a debut for young Hayden Matthews, who alongside Matty Scarcella and Nathan Amanatidis was introduced late on.
With tails back up, it’s a trip south next week for a third Big Blue of the season against Melbourne Victory – a win would bring Sydney to within four points of their upcoming opponents.
Sydney FC: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 8. Jake GIRDWOOD-REICH (27. Hayden MATTHEWS 90’), 10. Joe LOLLEY, 12. Corey HOLLMAN (18. Matty SCARCELLA 85’), 13. Pat WOOD (9. Fabio GOMES 68’), 15. Gabriel LACERDA, 17. Anthony CACERES, 22. Max BURGESS (28. Nathan AMANATIDIS 90’), 23. Rhyan GRANT, 26. Luke BRATTAN ©.
Unused Subs: 20. Adam PAVLESIC (GK), 19. Mitch GLASSON, 21. Zac DE JESUS.
Yellow Cards: Girdwood-Reich (19’), Lacerda (33’), Brattan (62’)
Red Cards: None
Newcastle Utd Jets: 1. Ryan SCOTT (GK), 7. Trent BUHAGIAR (18. Daniel STYNES 57’), 8. Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS ©, 10. Reno PISCOPO (26. Archie GOODWIN 46’), 13. Clayton TAYLOR (5. Lucas MAURAGIS 46’), 14. Dane INGHAM, 17. Konstandinos GROZOS, 19. Callum TIMMINS, 22. Phillip CANCAR (27. Nathan GRIMALDI 82’), 23. Daniel WILMERING (25. Carl JENKINSON 82’), 33. Mark NATTA.
Unused Subs: 20. Michael WEIER (GK), 15. Jason BARTHOMIER.
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Venue: Allianz Stadium
Referee: Adam Bavcar
Attendance: 11,160
