Sydney FC have manufactured a statement 4-0 win against a ten-man Macarthur FC, after the side controlled their Elimination Final, setting them up with a date in the semi-finals, either with the Wellington Phoenix or Central Coast Mariners.
Sydney FC 4 (Mak 8’, Lolley 50’, Kucharski 67’, Mak 78’) def. Macarthur FC 0
Moments that Mattered:
8’ MAK GOAL – Anthony Caceres threads the ball through to Robert Mak, who sneaks past the Macarthur defence and releases into the left side of the net.
12’ HOLLMAN DISALLOWED GOAL – Anthony Caceres cuts the ball to Corey Hollman. He curls it along the ground, and it sneaks into the bottom left corner; however, Caceres is called offside.
25’ ADAMSON RED CARD – Luke Brattan lofts the ball to Jordan Courtney-Perkins, and Kealey Adamson’s arm disrupts Courtney-Perkins flight denying a goalscoring opportunity. He is shown red.
50’ LOLLEY GOAL– Joe Lolley dances around the Bulls’ defences and curls the ball from outside the box into the top left corner.
67’ KUCHARSKI GOAL – Robert Mak lays the ball off through a motionless Macarthur defence to Jaiden Kucharski, where he slickly releases it into the bottom left corner.
71’ RODWELL LINE CLEARANCE – Valere Germain strikes the ball, and it ricochets off Andrew Redmayne into the feet of Ivan Vujica. He touches it, and it beats Redmayne, but Jack Rodwell uses his head to belt it away from Sydney FC’s goal.
78’ MAK GOAL – Max Burgess crosses the ball and finds Robert Mak at the back post. He taps it into the back of the net.
What They Said: Ufuk Talay
“We were quite comfortable when it was 11 v 11 with the ball but I was disappointed of the attitude and mentality when they went a man down.
“[In the second half] the mentality and attitude was great and we scored some really nice goals tonight
“[With the red card] decisions are made on the park and one that sometimes goes for you and goes against you.
“We won’t know until the next 24 to 48 hours where [Luke Brattan and Joe Lolley] stand [after they walked of injured]”
Match Report:
Sydney FC have strided into the semi-finals after defeating the Macarthur Bulls 4-0 at Allianz Stadium.
Goals to Joe Lolley, Jaiden Kucharski, and a double to Robert Mak means that the side will face either the Wellington Phoenix or Central Coast Mariners depending on the result of the Melbourne derby tomorrow afternoon.
It was a cauldron of noise inside Allianz Stadium as rain began to tumble down, and Sydney FC started electric surging into the Macarthur box, sniffing at their goal.
Joe Lolley brought Filip Kurto into action five minutes in, smacking the ball towards the left side of the goal, but Kurto was there to palm it away.
Two minutes after Lolley’s chance, Anthony Caceres dispatched a ball to Robert Mak, and he danced his way through the Macarthur defence before curling it past Kurto.
The Sky Blues looked to take a bigger foothold in the game when Caceres cut the ball into the feet of Corey Hollman. Hollman skimmed it along the grass, and it crept into the net. However, Alireza Faghani called Caceres offside.
Sydney FC continued to dispossess of Macarthur’s counterattacks, weaving and inter-twining through the Bull’s midfield as they continued their onslaught into their opponent’s final third.
Conditions worsened for the Bulls when Kealey Adamson received a red as he nudged Jordan Courtney-Perkins in the air.
Adamson’s red card reignited the Bull’s spark as they began to muscle their way into the game after 30 minutes of the Sky Blue’s total dominance.
However, after a few short bursts from Macarthur, Sydney FC resumed control as the Bulls retreated into their compact defensive line which was reminiscent of two weeks prior.
The game travelled into the second half, with the Sky Blues hitting the ascendency as they huffed and puffed at Macarthur’s fatiguing back four.
And less than five minutes in, Joe Lolley did what he’s done all season, blowing down the Bull’s defence as he opened up space on the edge of the box and unleashed the ball into the top left corner.
With Sydney FC continuing to limit Macarthur’s attacking momentum to none, they kept manufacturing clear-cut chances.
As the clock ticked over the hour mark, the Sky Blues continued to pass the ball between each other, seeing the Bulls stay stagnant.
In the 67th minute, Robert Mak poked the ball through to a running Jaiden Kucharski, and he slotted it into the bottom left corner.
Immediately after, Macarthur almost broke through Sydney FC’s defence when they marched into Sydney’s final third when Ivan Vujica caused Jack Rodwell to make a goal-line clearance.
But Sydney FC quickly shook off the scare, with Max Burgess crossing the ball into the feet of Mak, who touched the ball past Kurto.
As full-time beckoned and the Cove bellowed, the Sky Blues continued to press relentlessly, and when Faghani blew the full-time whistle, Allianz Stadium rose to its feet as Sydney FC had secured semi-finals football.
The Sky Blues will face either the Wellington Phoenix or Central Coast Mariners next weekend in the first leg of the semi-final at Allianz Stadium.
Sydney FC: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 6. Jack RODWELL (8. Jake GIRDWOOD-REICH 75’), 10. Joe LOLLEY (25. Jaiden KUCHARSKI), 11. Robert MAK (9. Fabio GOMES 85’), 12. Corey HOLLMAN (22. Max BURGESS 46’), 16. Joel KING, 17. Anthony CACERES, 23. Rhyan GRANT, 26. Luke BRATTAN © (13. Pat WOOD 85’), 27. Hayden MATTHEWS.
Unused Subs: 20. Adam PAVLESIC (GK), 15. Gabriel LACERDA.
Yellow Cards: Lolley (29’)
Red Cards: None
Macarthur FC: 12. Filip KURTO (GK), 3. Tommy SMITH, 6. Uskok TOMISLAV, 10. Ulises DAVILA © (7. Daniel DE SILVA 57’), 13. Ivan VUJICA, 15. Kearyn BACCUS (31. Lachlan ROSE 68’), 17. Raphael BORGES RODRIGUES, 20. Kealey ADAMSON, 23. Clayton LEWIS (8. Jake HOLLMAN 57’), 37. Jed DREW (18. Walter SCOTT 46’), 98. Valere GERMAIN (75’).
Unused Subs: 1. Daniel NIZIC (GK), 24. Kokola MMOMBWA.
Yellow Cards: Hollman (83’)
Red Cards: Adamson (25’)
Venue: Allianz Stadium
Referee: Alireza Faghani
Attendance: 11,792
