Sydney FC have taken away a convincing and crucial 2-0 win over Macarthur FC at Campbelltown Stadium, moving up to 6th on the table and within three points of second place.
From the 15th minute Sydney FC shared the bulk of the possession and were able to find their rhythm with Costa able to dictate distribution, creating multiple chances at goal for Klimala and Lolley who were unfortunate not to capitalize.
A Klimala goal early in the second half allowed Ufuk Talay’s Sky Blues to gain the lead, with a super sub in the form of Adrian Segecic jumping on a mistake from the Bulls defence, cruising Sydney FC to a comfortable win.
Sydney FC (Klimala 58’, Segecic 72’) def. Macarthur FC 0
Moments That Mattered:
20’ | LOLLEY OUT OF PLAY GOAL – Caceres delivers a ball toward the left-hand corner, which Costa chases down before curling a cross onto Lolley’s head. Lolley times his run perfectly and finds the back of the net, but the goal is ruled out as Costa failed to keep the ball in play before it crossed the byline.
31’ | KLIMALA CHANCE – Costa dribbles past Vujica and drives toward goal, weaving through defenders before executing a no-look pass, lofting the ball toward Klimala. Klimala attempts a first-time shot but struggles to adjust his body in time, making for an awkward strike. Kurto reacts quickly, tipping the ball just wide of the right-hand post for a corner kick.
51’ | COSTA FREEKICK – Costa able to make an excellent curling shot towards the top right corner, Kurto can follow up with an even better save at full stretch who is just able to tip the ball wide
52’ | COSTA CHANCE – Costa receives the ball at the edge of the 18-yard box, dribbling through defenders to find the shot and just clipping the cross bar
58’ | KLIMALA GOAL – Lolley gains the ball in the attacking end turning beautifully, gets the perfect weight on the pass in which Klimala can pounce on it just in time to slip the ball pass Kurto for the opening goal of the contest.
64’ | LOLLEY CHANCE – King makes darting run on the right wing, nudging the ball just past the Bulls defender, enabling him to whip the ball into the path of Lolley who fires a shot on target. Kurto does enough to get the ball out of danger, tipping it wide.
72’ | SEGECIC GOAL – Segecic pressures the central defender Boli, who is unable to distribute in time allowing Segecic to get in the way of the pass and the ball ricochets into the back of the net.
80’ | KHAOUI OFFSIDE GOAL – A pass from Hollman towards Khaoui who controls it well and composes himself to fire the ball past Devenish-Meares, celebrations are cut short as it is ruled as offside.
87’ | DEVENISH-MEARES SAVE – Adamson receives the ball just outside the 18-yard box, puts his head down striking the ball towards goal, Devenish-Meares able to get a hand to it, maintaining the clean sheet.
Match Report: Sydney FC secured a dominant 2-0 victory, with goals from Klimala and Segecic propelling the Sky Blues to a well-earned win. The result sets a positive tone ahead of their upcoming clash in Asia in the coming weeks.
A passionate first half display saw an opening 10 minutes of end-to-end play from both teams, settling down in the 15th minute of play with Sydney FC being the driving force of possession onwards, but the excellence in central defending especially from Macarthur FC’s Boli made it difficult for Sydney FC’s attack to breakthrough their defensive line.
Klimala had the best chance of the first half with Costa weaving between defenders getting the no-look pass off to him but he could not get a convincing shot allowing Kurto to tip it wide.
A run of dominance by Costa flipped the second half on its head with multiple shots at goal. His freekick in the 51st minute was unfortunate in not finding the back of the net, with an extraordinary save from Kurto at full stretch.
A build-up of play between Sydney FC’s midfield allowed Lolley to turn beautifully, distributing a perfectly weighted ball towards Klimala who pounced on the opportunity, slipping the ball past Kurto for the opening goal of the contest.
Ufuk Talay’s 70th minute substitute proved crucial in the win, with Segecic pouncing on the opportunity to score when a mistake from Macarthur’s central defender Boli allowed him to block a pass and find the back of the net.
A few energetic minutes from Macarthur saw a few chances created and shots on target, keeping Devenish-Meares on his toes, but they could not break their own deadlock.
Sydney FC take the three points, increasing their position on the A-League table to 6th and creating a positive environment as they prepare for their ACL2 quarter final clash against Jeonbuk.
Post-Match Coach’s Interview: Ufuk Talay (Sydney FC Head Coach)
What They Said: Ufuk Talay: “We capitalized on the moments, and I thought defensively in transition moments we were very good against a team that likes to counterattack, so we are pleased with scoring two goals and keeping a clean sheet.
“Wataru, I thought that had a very good game, we tried to build him up, very pleased with him and he plays alongside Leo who is a fantastic player for him to learn off.
“Segecic, as a coach I look at it, he does score when he does come on, he wants to be involved, and I think about as a coach those players that come on and make an impact.
“It’s very important for our confidence to build as a team, it gives us a time to settle and we want to progress through and try to go all the way.
Sydney FC (Away) | Formation: 4-4-2: 12. Harrison DEVENISH-MEARES (GK), 5. Alex GRANT, 23. Rhyan GRANT (C), 4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 16. Joel KING, 17. Anthony CACERES, 11. Douglas COSTA (25. Jaiden KUCHARSKI 85’), 15. Leonardo De Souza SENA, 24. Wataru KAMIJO (6. Corey HOLLMAN 59’), 9. Patryk KLIMALA (7. Adrian SEGECIC 68’), 10. Joesph LOLLEY
Head Coach: Ufuk TALAY
Unused Substitutions: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 37. Will KENNEDY, 8. Anas OUAHIM, 31. Jaushua SOTIRIO.
Yellow Cards: Wataru KAMIJO 45+1’
Red Cards: None
Macarthur FC (Home) | Formation: 3-4-2-1: 12. Filip KURTO (GK), 13. Ivan VUJICA (5. Matthew JURMAN 72’), 39. Kevin BOLI, 6. Tomislav USKOK, 22. Liam ROSE (11. Peter Makrillios 72’), 26. Luke BRATTAN (C), 44. Marin JAKOLIS, 20. Kealey ADAMSON, 7. Daniel DE SILVA (8. Jake HOLLMAN 55’), 9. Chris IKONOMIDIS (33. Yianni NICOLAOU 72’), 28. Harrison SAWYER (95. Saif-Eddine KHAOUI 56’)
Head Coach: Mile STERJOVSKI
Unused Substitutions: 40. Franklin JAN (GK), 27. Joshua DAMEVSKI
Yellow Cards: Liam ROSE 5’, Ivan VUJICA 50’, Luke BRATTAN 70’
Red Cards: None
Venue: Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Adam KERSEY
