SYDNEY FC SECURE SEMI FINALS WITH AWAY WIN IN THE BIG BLUE

SYDNEY FC WALK AWAY WITH A WIN IN THE BIG BLUE THANKS TO PAT WOOD ATTACKING PRESSURE

Sydney FC 1 (Pat Wood 80’) defeat Melbourne Victory 0.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

2’ | DEVENISH MEARES SAVE – Velupillay takes a touch to square himself in front of Sydney FCs goal before striking the ball with his left foot, but the shot is well controlled by Devenish Meares to open the game.

17’ | NDUKA SHOT ON TARGET – Mata takes a touch outside the box to send Nduka on a forward run through on goal, but Devenish Meares dives to his right to deny Victory the opportunity.

32’ | GRANT HEADER – A Sydney FC corner looks promising as it finds the head of Rhyan Grant at the back post but the ball is well collected by Warshawsky to keep the scoreline unchanged.

34’ | QUINTAL ON HIS LEFT – Quintal receives the ball outside the 18 yard box and takes a touch with his left to beat his defender for a shot at goal, however the ball falls just left of the posts for a Melbourne Victory goal kick.

37’ | DEVENISH MEARES DIVE – A misplaced pass from Popovic lands at the feet of Genreau who sends Mata on a run into the box for a shot on goal but Devenish Meares is there to stop the attack.

52’ | DEVENISH MEARES SAFE HANDS – A Genreau cross finds the head of Nduka but Devenish Meares does well to find his right hand to the ball to reject Melbourne Victory their goal.

63’ | VAR PENALTY CHECK – Santos and Okon JNR compete shoulder against shoulder for the ball inside Sydney FC’s box and a foul from the Sydney FC midfielder leads to a possible penalty for Melbourne Victory but the contact was minimal and the decision is overturned by VAR.

80’ | PAT WOOD GOAL – A mistime header from Lino finds the feet of Pat Wood one on one with the keeper who perfectly slices the ball past the body of Warshawsky to open the scoring for Sydney FC.

90 + 5’ | MELBOURNE FREE KICK – Kamijo is forced to give a foul on the outside of the 18 yard box which gives Melbourne one final chance to equalise but Jelacic leans too far back and the ball is sent over the crossbar, securing Sydney FC’s Semi Final position.

MATCH REPORT

Sydney FC secure a win away from home in the Big Blue Elimination Final.

Patrick Kisnorbo’s Sydney FC squad sees the return of Joe Lolley from injury onto the Sky Blues bench as well as adding young rising star Akol Akon to the starting lineup, making him the youngest player to ever start in a finals series at just 16 years old.

Sydney FC head to AAMI Park in the Big Blue Elimination Final seeking to defeat Melbourne Victory and claim a spot in the Semi Final.

Rhyan Grant putting his body on the line to win the ball.

Sydney FCs midfield strength was on display in the opening of the game as passes were strung together confidently to put pressure on Melbourne Victory’s defense. The 32^nd minute of the game looked promising for the Sky Blues as a corner kick float to the back post to the head of Rhyan Grant, however Warshawsky is there to keep Sydney FC searching for their opening goal.

Quintal receives the ball outside the box in the 34^th minute of the game and takes one touch to his left to beat his defender and another touch to send the ball towards the goal, however the shot is just off target keeping the scoreboard unchanged.

The second half saw Sydney FC Midfielder Okon JNR competing for the ball with Santos in the Sky Blues goal box and after contact from Okon JRN, referee Lachlan Keevers gives a penalty for Melbourne Victory, however after taking it to VAR, the decision is overturned and no penalty is awarded.

A mistimed header from Lino falls to the feet of Pat Wood who finds himself one on one with Warshawsky with 10 minutes left of regular time. Wood does well to take a touch and slot the ball past the Melbourne keeper to open the scoring and reward Sydney FC the goal they’ve been searching for. 5 minutes into injury time Melbourne Victory earns a free kick outside of the Sky Blues box, however the shot is sent high over the bar which secures Sydney FCs spot in the Semi Final where the Sky Blues will take on Minor Premiers Newcastle Jets.

LINEUPS: SYDNEY FC | 4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 7. Piero QUISPE, 8. Wataru KAMIJO, 12. Harrison DEVENISH-MEARES (GK), 17. Ben GARUCCIO, 20. Tiago QUINTAL (70. Ahmet ARSLAN (61’)), 23. Rhyan GRANT (captain), 24. Paul OKON JNR, 41. Alexandar POPOVIC, 44. Akol AKON (36. Rhys YOULLEY (81’)), 80. Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOUS (13. Pat WOOD (77’)).

Unused Substitutions: 1. Gus HOEFSLOOT (GK), 9. Victor CAMPUZANO, 10. Joe LOLLEY, 16. Joel KING.

Yellow Cards |24. Paul OKON JNR (68’), 8. Wataru KAMIJO (78’), 13. Pat WOOD (85’), 70. Ahmet ARSLAN (90+5’).

Red Cards | N/A

Manager | Patrick KISNORBO

Melbourne Victory: 2. Jason DAVIDSON, 8. Jordi VALADON, 10. Denis GENREAU (7. Reno PISCOPO (89’)), 11. Clerismario SANTOS RODRIGUES (23. Keegan JELACIC (71’)), 17. Nishan VELUPILLAY (14. Matthew GRIMALDI (84’)), 18. Franco LINO, 21. Roderick MIRANDA (captain), 22. Joshua RAWLINS, 40. Jack WARSHAWSKY (GK), 44. Charles NDUKA (9. Nikolaos VERGOS (84’)), 64. Juan MATA (27. Louis D’ARRIGO (84’)).