Sydney FC Fight In Narrow Defeat To Newcastle Jets

Sydney FC lost a nail-biting defeat to Newcastle Jets which saw the Sky Blues succumb to a 92^nd minute winner.

Sydney FC 1 (Quintal 68’) defeated by Newcastle Jets 2 (Mizunuma 32’, Gibson 90+2’)

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

7’ | NEWCASTLE SHOT ON GOAL – A forward drive from Dobson is cut back to find Mizunuma in the box and the shot goes in, but the ball crossed the byline from Dobson and was not kept in, resulting in a goal kick for Sydney FC.

14’ | SYDNEY FC SHOOTS ON TARGET – A Rhyan Grant pass is threaded nicely through Newcastle’s backline, which results in two shots on goal from within the 18-yard box, however Delianov does well to keep the scoreline unchanged.

25’ | DEVENISH DOUBLE SAVE – Lachie Rose drives the ball towards Sydney FC’s goal and crosses to Dobson for a shot on target deflected by Devenish which falls to the feet of Mizunuma who hits the post and out for a Sydney FC goal kick.

32’ | MIZUNUMA GOAL – Mizunuma receives the ball from Burgess from outside the 18-yard box and with one touch a half volley is hit to the left of the keeper which opens the scoring despite a good effort from Devenish.

48’ | NEWCASTLE MISS – A run from Mizunuma is cut back to Bayliss in the box for a shot which is hit over the crossbar for a Sydney FC goal kick to set the stage for the second half.

57 | GRANT CROSS – Rhyan Grant receives the ball on the right with space and drives to the 18-yard box before crossing the ball to the back post, however it goes unfound and Sydney FC still waits for their first goal.

60’ | JETS FREE KICK – A foul from Popovic on Rose results in a free kick for the Jets outside the box which is hit by Dobson into the box and finds the head of Bertoncello which is ultimately headered over the bar.

68’ | QUINTAL GOAL – Piero Quispe receives the ball on the left and drives into space before releasing the ball on his right to Quintal, who hits the ball first time to slot it to the right of the keeper to bring Sydney FC the equaliser they were searching for.

85 | WOOD FOULED – Rhys Youlley puts the ball ahead of Pat Wood to place him one on one with the keeper. Wood takes a touch to get around but is fouled inside the box for a possible penalty, however Wood was offside and the penalty isn’t given.

90 + 2’ | GIBSON WINNER – Bertoncello quick break on the right-side catches Sydney FC outnumbered, and the ball is crossed back to Gibson who taps it in from 6 yards out to steal the game for Newcastle.

90 + 7’ | GRANT GOAL DISALLOWED – A free kick for Sydney FC results in a Rhyan Grant goal but a smart trick play from Newcastle caused the Sky Blues to sit offside. Nullifying Sydney FC’s hope for a last-minute equaliser.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 22: Víctor Campuzano of Sydney FC controls the ball during the round 22 A-League Men match between Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets at Allianz Stadium, on March 22, 2026, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

MATCH REPORT

Sydney FC are unable to take a point in a 2-1 loss to Newcastle Jets due to a last-minute Gibson goal.

Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets head to Allianz Stadium, searching for three points in a crucial match for both teams. Sydney FC enters the game with passion, looking to dethrone Newcastle Jets, who sit at the top of the table.

The game opens with high energy, with both teams hoping to capatilise with an early goal. The first half saw strong defensive play from both teams as Newcastle Jets high line put pressure on the Sky Blues. However, Sydney FC did well to keep Newcastle’s big chances to a minimum.

Sydney FC held possession of the ball and attempted to gain momentum with quick counter-attackers putting pressure on the hands of Delianov.

The 32^nd minute of the game saw Mizunuma open the scoring for Newcastle with a half volley which was hit out of the reach of Devenish-Meares. However, in the 68^th minute, Piero Quispe is able to find the space to drive forward, leaving Quintal open on the right who finds the back of the net to bring Sydney FC back to life and reset the scoreboard. However, a 92^nd minute counterattack from Newcastle Jets sees Ben Gibson tapping in the winner from 6 yards out after outnumbering Sydney FC’s defense.

A free kick for Sydney FC in the 97^th minute gives hope to Sky Blues fans after Rhyan Grant scored with his right foot from 10 yards out. However, Grant was offside and the game ended 2-1 despite a ferocious effort from Sydney FC.

WHAT THEY SAID: UFUK TALAY

“I think the way we set up definitely forced them to go long at time, and they found a couple of moments through transition.

“Because we were chasing the game, we changed the way we were playing and managed to get ourselves back into it. It was a very important game for us, we needed to win to close the gap – so we tried to be as attacking as possible and press on the front foot.

“We needed maximum points, one point wasn’t enough at this stage if we want to close the gap. Unfortunately, it worked against us in the end.”

“There were a couple of situations down the right-hand side where we could have put the ball across the face of goal. There’s one where Jordan Courtney-Perkins plays it across and Woody doesn’t quite connect. Another where Al takes the shot when he could roll it into Jordan Coutney Perkins, who then squares it for a tap in.”

LINEUPS: SYDNEY FC | 5. Alex GRANT, 7. Piero QUISPE, 9. Victor CAMPUZANO (35. Al HASSAN TOURE (61’)), 12. Harrison DEVENISH-MEARES (GK), 17. Ben GARUCCIO (4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS (65’)), 23. Rhyan GRANT (captain), 24. Paul OKON JNR, 32. Marcel TISSERAND (20. Tiago QUINTAL (45’)), 41. Alexandar POPOVIC, 70. Ahmet ARSLAN (36. Rhys YOULLEY (75’)), 80. Apostolos STAMATELOSPOULOUS 13. (Pat WOOD (75’)).

Unused Substitutions: 1. Gus HOEFSLOOT (GK), 22. Mathias MACALLISTER.

Yellow Cards| 7. Piero QUISPE (15’), 32. Marcel TISSERAND (26’), 70. Ahmet ARSLAN (54’), 24. Paul OKON JNR (71’)

Red Cards | N/A

Manager | Ufuk Talay

NEWCASTLE JETS: 1. James DELIANOV, 5. Joe SHAUGHNESSY, 8. Lachlan BAYLISS, 9. Lachlan ROSE 24. (Alexandro NUNES (90)), 14. Max BURGESS, 17. Kosta GROZOS (captain) (41. Lucas SCICLUNA (59’)), 18. Kota MIZUNUMA (43. Xavier BERTONCELLO (59’)), 22. Joel BERTOLISSIO, 28. Will DOBSON 11. (Ben GIBSON (75’)), 33. Mark NATTA, 39. Thomas AQUILINA.