Sydney FC survived both a late scare and a long thunderstorm on Saturday night, to overcome Perth Glory 3-2 at the Allianz Stadium.
Sydney FC 3 (Lolley 33’, Mak 44’, Glasson 89’) def. Perth Glory 2 (Taggart 63’, Bozanic 90’)
Moments That Mattered
33’ – LOLLEY GOAL – Lolley is denied by Cook before Wood’s rebound is blocked – but it comes out to Lolley again to send a superb shot in off the far post.
44’ – MAK GOAL – Mak rides through three opponents and comes away with the ball, before turning inside another defender and sweeping into the bottom corner.
46’ – (FINALLY) BACK UNDERWAY – A thunderstorm stretches the half-time break to two hours, as the second half finally begins at 10:30pm.
63’ – TAGGART GOAL – The visitors reduce their deficit, as Taggart beats the offside line to finish.
89’ – GLASSON GOAL – The teenage substitute adds a third with a deflected shot inside the area.
90’ – BOZANIC GOAL – Bozanic pulls another back with a cross-shot free-kick, which finds its way straight in.
What They Said: Ufuk Talay: “It’s great for the group to win at home. We created enough opportunities and I think we should have killed the game off. I think we had 32 shots today.
“When we performed the press, we did it well, and you see the outcome when we don’t do it well – so that’s something we’re definitely going to get better at. We’re getting fitter and stronger.
“The delays at half-time are out of our control, out of everybody’s control, and it’s not ideal but it’s the same for both teams.”
Match Report:
Sydney FC got their maiden home win of 2023/24 under their belts on Saturday night, overcoming both the elements and a Perth Glory side that went down fighting to lock in a 3-2 success.
Joe Lolley, Robert Mak and Mitch Glasson all found the target to grab all three points, despite Perth proving a thorn in the side with second-half goals from Adam Taggart and Oliver Bozanic.
A two-hour half-time break due to adverse weather in Eastern Sydney meant the final whistle was not blown until after 11:20pm, the loud and proud Sky Blue fanbase seeing their team through to victory.
The Sky Blues adopted a darker shade for the contest, donning the navy blue ‘Harbour Splash’ alternate kit for the first time at the Allianz.
And what followed was a first half with wholesale opportunities at goal, two of which were duly taken for a healthy lead at the break.
Ufuk Talay’s side had to survive two early scares with the game goalless however, as Adam Taggart’s acutely angled shot clipped the post, before Luke Ivanovic found himself through against Andrew Redmayne, featuring for the 200th time in a Sydney FC shirt. The Socceroos stopper was, though, not required on this occasion as the Glory man blazed off target.
From then on, Sydney muscled into the ascendancy and created numerous chances, with Mak and Lolley both finding space but not yet the back of the net – and Perth ‘keeper Cameron Cook denying Pat Wood, and Mak once more.
Shortly after the half-hour mark, however, was when the pressure would pay off. Cook denied Lolley with his legs from inside the area, before Wood’s rebound was blocked by a defender. But Lolley was on hand to force it over the line, curling a tidy strike into the far corner off the post for the opener.
The forays forward came at a rapid rate for Talay’s men, as Wood slid a shot just wide after Mak found him with a beautiful nutmeg and through-ball, all originating from a superb defensive challenge from Luke Brattan.
But a minute from the break, the buffer was doubled as Mak was the beneficiary of both a moment of luck, and one of superb skill in quick succession.
The Slovakian rode a trio of challenges and hustled into the area with the ball, before cutting inside a further opponent and slotting in a smart finish to make it 2-0 at the interval.
The half-time break was when the game would take a backseat, replaced by the chaos of a thunderstorm which interrupted the start of the second half for two whole hours – for which The Cove remained in incredible voice throughout.
Come 10:30pm, the contest finally resumed, with Lolley denied by Cook twice early on, and Redmayne called into his first major action to reach a dangerous ball ahead of Perth substitute Daniel Bennie.
The Sydney number one would then take a knock to the head in coming for a cross into his box, which then saw Stefan Colakovski drag a close-range shot wide.
But shortly after the hour, the WA side did take their next chance, as Taggart beat the defensive line to slot into the bottom corner, surviving the subsequent review.
Susceptible to Sydney’s counter-attack, Perth sought an equaliser but the open nature of the game saw Mak and Fabio Gomes both go close as the final 20 approached.
Talay’s team continued to look likeliest to score again, as skipper Brattan wound up a powerful long-range shot which Cook palmed away, following a deflected Jake Girdwood-Reich shot minutes earlier.
And the third arrived in the late stages of the clash, as teenage substitute Glasson was played through by Gomes, his slotted shot deflecting over the line off Aleksandar Susnjar.
Glory were not, though, giving up the ghost and ensured a nervy finale just a minute later as Oliver Bozanic’s cross-shot looped straight into the net via both posts and halved the visitors’ deficit once more.
Sydney FC: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 8. Jake GIRDWOOD-REICH, 9. Fabio GOMES, 10. Joe LOLLEY, 11. Robert MAK (4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS 72’), 12. Corey HOLLMAN (21. Zac DE JESUS 90’), 13. Pat WOOD (19. Mitch GLASSON 72’), 15. Gabriel LACERDA, 16. Joel KING, 23. Rhyan GRANT, 26. Luke BRATTAN ©.
Unused Subs: 20. Adam PAVLESIC (GK), 3. Aaron GURD, 18. Matty SCARCELLA, 29. Joe LACEY.
Yellow Cards: Wood (50’)
Red Cards: None
Perth Glory: 13. Cameron COOK (GK), 2. John KOUTROUMBIS (19. Trent OSTLER 82’), 5. Mark BEEVERS ©, 10. Salim KHELIFI (7. Stefan COLAKOVSKI 46’), 12. Luke IVANOVIC (23. Daniel BENNIE 46’), 15. Aleksandar SUSNJAR, 17. Jarrod CARLUCCIO (77. Bruce KAMAU 67’), 20. Giordano COLLI (6. Aaron McENEFF 46’), 22. Adam TAGGART, 24. Oliver BOZANIC, 29. Darryl LACHMAN.
Unused Subs: 1. Oliver SAIL (GK), 28. Kaelan MAJEKODUNMI.
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Venue: Allianz Stadium
Referee: Alireza Faghani
