Sydney FC moved to second on the ladder, temporarily, as they notched their eighth match unbeaten with a tight single goal victory against the Jets coming from record breaker Marc Janko.
Summary:
Sydney FC 1 (Janko 68’) def. Newcastle Jets 0.
Sydney FC moved to second on the Hyundai A-League ladder, temporarily, after earning a hard fought win against the Newcastle Jets at Hunter Stadium on Friday night.
A solitary goal to Marc Janko, scoring in his sixth consecutive match to equal the A-League record, clinched the three points for the Sky Blues in what was a tight and tense encounter.
There was little to split the teams in the first half, with Seb Ryall having the best chance of the first 45 as he smashed a header against the bar before Marc Janko saw his effort on the rebound deflected wide.
A reinvigorated Sky Blues outfit found renewed pace in the second half as they piled more pressure on the Newcastle Jets defence and the pressure told as Robert Stambolziev forced a turnover that fell to Marc Janko who slotted the ball past Ben Kennedy in goal at the second attempt.
The Sky Blues return to Allianz Stadium next weekend as they take on reigning Champions Brisbane Roar on Sunday 15 March (kick off 5pm) as they look to continue their unbeaten streak in 2015.
What they said:
Alex Brosque: “We knew coming in that it wasn’t going to be an easy game, I think they had a bit of trouble in the past couple of weeks but since then they’ve kick on and have been playing some very good football, at home especially.
“You’ve got to be tough, you can’t always score three or four goals per game, we today was going to be difficult, but as long as we kept a clean sheet which we haven’t done in a while we knew we always had a chance to score. We’re very delighted.
“We’re gaining a lot of momentum at the moment, playing well and the team is scoring goals and I think we’re slowly starting to kick into gear and it’s exactly the sort of momentum we need heading into the final stages of the competition.”
Goals:
68’ JANKO GOAL – Stambolziev dispossess Ki-Je deep in Newcastle territory and the loose ball falls to Janko who takes it forward before slotting past Kennedy from a tight angle at the second attempt.
Key Moments:
7’ NAUMOFF SHOT – Christopher Naumoff had the first effort of the game as he flashed a low long range effort just wide of Kennedy’s left upright.
12’ BROSQUE HEADER – A corner to the near post from Dimitrijevic finds Brosque free, but the Sky Blues captain can only head over the bar.
16’ MONTANO SHOT – Under pressure from Matt Jurman, Montano fires wide from the edge of the area after being found by a long sweeping ball from deep.
28’ RYALL SMASHES THE BAR – A variation on a free kick routine sees Milos whip a set piece towards the penalty spot. He picks out Seb Ryall but the Sky Blues number two smashes the cross bar with a powerful header with Marc Janko seeing his effort off the rebound deflected wide.
32’ COOPER EFFORT – A neat turn in the middle of the field sees Cooper break free but his effort from outside the box is weak and trickles wide.
50’ JANKO EFFORT SMOTHERED – A wayward back pass from the Jest falls to Marc Janko but his powerful first time effort is smothered by Kennedy.
58’ NAUMOFF SHOT – Christopher Naumoff forces a diving save from Ben Kennedy as his long range effort takes a bobble in front of the keeper forcing him to palm it wide.
64’ HOOLE HEADER – Andrew Hoole hits a point blank header straight at Vedran Janjetovic when well placed to score.
73’ JANKO INCHES WIDE – Marc Janko fires a volley inches wide at full stretch following a low whipped cross from Nikola Petkovic.
77’ JANKO FIRES PAST THE POST – A fantastic ball from Terry Antonis splits the defence and releases Janko however the Austrian fires just wide of the upright on the turn.
Team News:
Sydney FC Newcastle Jets
Sydney FC Head Coach Graham Arnold was forced into two changes to the team which clinched the Sydney Derby last Saturday, as Rhyan Grant and Terry Antonis re-claimed starting berths with Nikola Petkovic moving to left back to cover the suspended Alex Gersbach while Matt Jurman partnered Seb Ryall in the heart of defence. Terry Antonis resumed his holding role with Mickael Tavares also suspended as Peter Triantis returned to the bench.
Ground: Hunter Stadium
Referee: Matthew Conger
Attendance: 8,783
Sydney FC: 20. Vedran JANJETOVIC (GK), 2. Seb RYALL, 5. Matt JURMAN, 6. Nikola PETKOVIC, 8. Milos DIMITRIJEVIC, 11. Bernie IBINI (69’ Shane SMELTZ), 13. Christopher NAUMOFF (60’ Robert STAMBOLZIEV), 14. Alex BROSQUE, 17. Terry ANTONIS (90+3’ Aaron CALVER), 21. Marc JANKO, 23. Rhyan GRANT.
Subs Not Used: 1. Ivan NECEVSKI (GK), 18. Peter TRIANTIS.
Yellow cards: 61′ Terry ANTONIS, 82’ Seb RYALL.
Red cards: None.
Newcastle Jets: 20. Ben KENNEDY (GK), 2. Scott NEVILLE, 3. Taylor REGAN (41′ Sam GALLAGHER), 5. Ben KANTAROVSKI, 7. Enver ALIVODIC, 8. Zenon CARAVELLA, 11. Andrew HOOLE, 13. Edson MONTANO (75’ Radovan PAVICEVIC.), 19. Mitch COOPER (81’ Brandon LUNDY), 21. Daniel MULLEN, 22. Lee KI-JE.
Subs Not Used: 30. John SOLARI (GK), 16. Jacob PEPPER.
Yellow cards: 49’ Lee KI-JE.
Red cards: None.
Sydney FC’s next home game is against Brisbane Roar on Sunday 15th March at Allianz Stadium (kick off 5pm). Purchase tickets today or become a Member and ensure you don’t miss a moment of Hyundai A-League action by heading to www.ticketek.com.au/sydneyfc
