Sydney FC have made it three wins on the bounce with a patient and hard fought 2-0 win over Macarthur FC at Leichhardt Oval.
The match was won by the aerial brilliance of Marcel Tisserand and a clinical finish from by Joe Lolley.
It moves Sydney FC up to 2nd place on the Isuzu-UTE 2025/26 A-League table and a point behind the top placed Auckland FC.
Talay’s side will recoup during the international break and aim to continue their streak when they take on Melbourne Victory in the Big Blue at home on Saturday, November 22nd.
Sydney FC 2 (Tisserand 76’, Lolley 90+3’) def. Macarthur FC 0
Moments That Mattered:
3’ | LOLLEY CHANCE – Campuzano receives the ball on the left-wing and when the defender moves up to press, Campuzano gets it away to Toure who drives the ball between the gap, drawing in the opposing central defender and releasing a ball to Lolley on the right-wing. The Englishman shoots hitting it high over the bar.
16’ | GRANT CLEARANCE – Duran drives towards the right corner, King presses, but Duran gets the cut back pass, skimming into the 18-yard box for Talbot who runs forward, Grant slides in to get there first and clear it away.
17’ | CAMPUZANO CHANCE – A Youlley one two with Lolley makes for a beautiful chance, threading a ball through to the Englishman who floats a ball into the head of Campuzano, but the Spaniard can only put it wide of the near post.
24’ | DEVENISH-MEARES SAVE – Macarthur FC initiate a counterattack breaking up the field, Duran touches quickly to turn and shoot, curling a ball to the bottom right corner, but Devenish-Meares tips the ball around the corner.
58’ | OKON CHANCE – A mistake by Rose is picked up by Toure outside the centre of the 18-yard box. Toure waits for the run of Okon who gets himself within shooting distance, hitting it directly at Kurto who palms it away.
76’ | TISSERAND GOAL – Okon finds himself on the left wing and dinks a perfect cross into the box for Tisserand to get up high to nurse a header into the corner of the net, and Sydney FC lead 1-0.
90+3 | LOLLEY GOAL – Quintal controls and lays the ball to the feet of Wood who drives to the 18-yard box, squaring the ball to Lolley who hits it low and hard, proving too much for Kurto, confirming a 2-0 win for Sydney FC.
Match Report: Sydney FC has moved into second place on the A-League Men’s ladder thanks to a third win in a row defeating Macarthur 2-0 at Leichhardt Oval.
Sydney FC began the game with momentum, and within the initial ten minutes had a good chance with Talay’s front three testing the Macarthur FC defensive line.
The first came in the 3rd minute from a Sydney FC counter-attack, with Campuzano getting a quick touch of the ball to Toure. The new Socceroo drove forward and released to Lolley who hits a shot of power, but it proves too high in the end.
The action continues as the Sky Blues continue pressuring Macarthur FC on all thirds of the pitch and maintaining their own integral defensive line.
This was showcased on 16 minutes when by a last ditched slide tackle on Talbot by Grant keeps scores level.
Talay’s side pick-up possession moments later, spreading it wide to Youlley who’s link up play with Lolley created some lovely ball movement. Lolley floats it up into the 18-yard box for Campuzano to meet it but can only head wide.
The Sky Blues continue into the final 15 minutes of play in the first half with ball retention, pressure and a hunger to win the ball. They don’t find any moments of brilliance and go into the break at a stalemate.
The second half begins with a slow-paced feel to the game, Sydney FC maintain possession, keeping the ball within Macarthur’s FC half, cutting out passing lanes and spreading the ball at all widths to breakdown the opposing defensive line.
Toure jumps on a mistake by Rose with 30 minutes to go holding the ball up and waiting for the run of Okon who gets ahead of Rose, making for an easy pass to rocket a shot at Kurto who gets down low to hit the ball away.
With just over ten minutes to go, Okon holds the ball up on the left-wing of the 18-yard box, lofting it into the centre and meeting Tisserand’s head for a glancing header to give Sydney FC a 1-0 lead.
The game was put to bed in the last minute of play when Quintal controls the ball down from a header, laying it to Wood who drives just inside the 18-yard box.
He squares it across goal to Lolley who fires a shot of venom past Kurto to cap off the afternoon, and give Sydney FC and unassailable 2-0 lead.
The Sky Blues go into the international break and aim to take all three points against Melbourne Victory for the Big Blue at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday November 22nd.
Post-Match Interviews: Ufuk Talay (Coach) and Marcel Tisserand
What they said: Ufuk Talay: “We tried to force the issue a little in the first half, second half we were more patient, better areas in their half and happy for Marcel to get his first goal at the club and Joe to finish it off.
“I don’t think we are at our best yet but to win games when we aren’t is very important.
“We tried to penetrate as much as we could, we got it late on in the game but I’m happy we got a good result.
“There’s always pressure, I put pressure on myself and at a club like Sydney FC we want to win trophies.
Marcel Tisserand: “Yes I am very happy today, very happy for the team, everyone deserved man of the match the way we all played, big point and a good fight and keeping the clean sheet was amazing.
“Scoring the goal was something special, we have to try and find balance, our first half was not so good, but we keep going forward.”
Sydney FC (Home) | Formation: 4-4-2: 12. Harrison DEVENISH-MEARES (GK), 5. Alex GRANT, 32. Marcel TISSERAND, 16. Joel KING, 23. Rhyan GRANT (C), 24. Paul OKON-ENGSTLER, 36. Rhys YOULLEY (20. Tiago QUINTAL 69’) 35. Al Hassan TOURE (11. Abel WALATEE 69’), 10. Joesph LOLLEY, 7. Piero Quispe CORDOVA (Patrick WOOD 78’), 9. Victor CAMPUZANO (8. Wataru KAMIJO 88’)
Head Coach: Ufuk TALAY
Unused Substitutions: 1. Gus HOESFLOOT (GK), 4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 41 Alexander POPOVIC
Yellow Cards: 36. Rhys YOULLEY 39’, 9. Victor CAMPUZANO 86’, 24. Paul OKON-ENGSTLER 90+3
Red Cards: None
Macarthur FC (Away) | Formation: 3-4-3 12. Filip KURTO (GK), 5. Matthew JURMAN, 6. Tomislav USKOK, 25. Callum TALBOT, 22. Liam ROSE (17. Oliver RANDAZZO 83’), 26. Luke BRATTAN (C), 19. Harry POLITIDIS (18. Walter SCOTT 83’), 7. Sime GRZAN (35. Henrique OLIVIEIRA 83’), 10. Anthony CACERES, 13. Rafael Duran MARTINEZ (8. Luke VICKERY 73’), 28. Harrison SAWYER (33. Dong-Won JI 63’)
Head Coach: Mile STERJOVSKI
Unused Substitutions: 1. Alexander ROBINSON (GK), 3. Damien Da SILVA
Yellow Cards: 6. Tomislav USKOK 31’, 26. Luke BRATTAN 80’
Red Cards: None
Venue: Leichhardt Oval, Sydney, NSW
Attendance: 10,817
Referee: Daniel ELDER
