Sydney FC 2 (Le Fondre 14, Barbarouses 35’) def. Newcastle Jets 1 (Ugarkovic 21’)
Sydney FC has extended their lead to twelve points at the top of the ladder after a 2-1 win away to Newcastle on a barmy Friday evening.
Moments That Mattered:
- Le Fondre Goal – 14’ – Ninkovic drives at the Jets defence to slip Barbarouses in behind the defence, before the ball is squared to Le Fondre for a quality finish.
- Ugarkovic Goal – 21’ – Ugarkovic puts the ball onto his right at the edge of the box and finds the top right corner.
- Barbarouses Goal – 35’ – A no-look pass from Caceres puts in Ninkovic who stands up his opponent to slide in Kosta at the near post and the Kiwi striker lifts the ball gloriously over Moss.
- Redmayne Save – 39’ – The Sky Blue custodian makes two brilliant saves in quick succession to deny Jets the equaliser.
- Arroyo Chance – 53’ – Jets come close as the ball cannons off the bar from Jets’ striker.
Sydney FC absorbed some early pressure from the plucky home side before taking the lead through golden boot leader Le Fondre, bagging his 13th of the campaign after some great lead up play.
The initial advantage was short lived as Newcastle found their equaliser through Ugarkovic’s effort that found the top right of the net.
An action packed first half was capped off with the Sky Blues regaining the lead as Barbarouses added a goal to his earlier assist on the night.
In contrast to the first stanza, second half chances were at a premium with the home side coming the closest through marquee man Arroyo who hit the bar shortly after the restart.
Corica’s men saw out the game to move twelve clear at the summit of the A-League ladder and make it ten games unbeaten.
What they said: Kosta Barbarouses:-
“To come up with the goal, it’s my job at the end of the day, but it turns out to be an important one.
“We’re twelve points clear with City still to play and we just need to keep putting the pressure on teams trying to catch us”
Adam Le Fondre:- “Happy with the fact we got the victory tonight.
“We were better defensively than we were going forward tonight. When we do get chances, we usually put them away and me and Kosta managed to do that tonight.
“I’m getting more chances. The boys that have come in have fit in brilliantly and we have a great bond. It’s fantastic for us.
“We take one game at a time. We have a culture of winning at the club and we just need to keep knocking them [opposition] off.”
Sydney FC: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 4. Alex WILKINSON, 5. Alexander BAUMJOHANN (2. Patrick FLOTTMANN 90+1’), 6. Ryan McGOWAN, 8. Paulo RETRE, 9. Adam Le FONDRE (27. Jordan SWIBEL 85’), 10. Milos NINKOVIC (7. Michael ZULLO 81’) 11. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 16. Joel KING, 17. Anthony CACERES, 21. Harry Van Der SAAG
Subs Not Used: 30. Adam PAVLESIC (GK), 24. Marco TILIO, 25. Ryan TEAGUE, 28. Calem NIEUWENHOF.
Yellow Cards: None.
Red Cards: None.
Newcastle Jets: 1. Glen MOSS (GK) (20. Lewis ITALIANO (GK) 66’), 2. Bobby BURNS, 3. Jason HOFFMAN, 5. Ben KANTAROVSKI (14. Kaine SHEPPARD 79’), 6. Stefan UGARKOVIC, 9. Abdiel ARROYO (32. Angus THURGATE 57’), 10. Dimitri PETRATOS, 16. Matthew MILLAR, 22. Lachlan JACKSON, 44. Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY.
Subs Not Used: 18. Johnny KOUTROUMBIS, 19. Kosta PETRATOS, 25. Jack SIMMONS, 28. Patrick LANGLOIS.
Yellow Cards: 10. Dimitri PETRATOS 27’, 44. Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY 56’, 5. Ben KANTAROVSKI 62’, 6. Stefan UGARKOVIC 79’
Red Cards: None.
Ground: McDonald Jones Stadium
Referee: Stephen Lucas
