A John Aloisi double has carried Sydney FC to an impressive win on Sunday afternoon in its Hyundai A-League trial against the Newcastle Jets in Port Macquarie.
A John Aloisi double has carried Sydney FC to an impressive win on Sunday afternoon in its Hyundai A-League trial against the Newcastle Jets in Port Macquarie.
The victory stretches the Sky Blues- pre-season record to ten wins and a draw from eleven friendly outings, with the side yet to concede a goal in three trials against (Hyundai) A-League opposition.
“This was another important game during pre-season,” said Coach, Vitezslav Lavicka. “We played against a very good opponent, especially in the first half. They tested us. I am happy.”
Sydney made a great start, with Aloisi first adding his name to the scoresheet in just the 5th minute of the match. Having been under pressure from the kick off, Newcastle attempted to work the ball out from the back but a wayward pass put the marquee man on the attack and he made no mistake when left one-on-one with Jet-s keeper, Ben Kennedy.
The Sky Blues kept the pressure on and four minutes later almost doubled the lead, with Stuart Musialik unleashing a drive just over the bar when the ball spilled out the back from a corner.
Newcastle had half a chance when it earned its first corner at the other end of the field but a timely interception from Mitchell Prentice cleared the danger, and in the 17th minute a pin point Alex Brosque cross almost gave Kofi Danning a goal on the far post, but the teenager-s header was blocked by the well positioned keeper.
The Jets should have drawn level on the half hour but were denied by a double save from Sydney custodian, Clint Bolton. Donny De Groot got in behind the defence but couldn-t find a way past Bolton from close range and the keeper was also up to the task with the follow up shot, denying Song Hyung Jin seconds later to keep the Sky Blues- advantage intact.
After that scare Sydney lifted its intensity but despite some good chances in the closing stages of the half, couldn-t extend the scoreline and went to the break with a one-nil lead.
Sydney picked up where it left off after the restart with Brosque almost scoring twice in the space of two minutes. First he got on the end of a Terry McFlynn cross but couldn-t get a clear shot away, then one minute later he was picked out in the box by Kofi Danning and denied only by good save.
While he failed to get on the scoresheet himself, the midfielder was instrumental in the Sky Blues-s second, eight minutes into the second half. After making a charging run up the left Brosque found Aloisi in the box, who then showed plenty of strength to complete his – and Sydney-s double under pressure from the defence.
Aloisi was again heavily involved in a 61st minute move that would have stretched the lead to three, but for a great stop by the Newcastle custodian. A lofted cross from Steve Corica found the striker on the far post – he headed back inside for an unmarked Stuart Musialik but his shot was denied by a diving save.
In the 78th minute it was Sydney-s keepers- turn to shine again, with Bolton sparring Adam Casey from having an unfortunate own-goal against his name. A Sasho Petrovski cross rebounded goal-ward off the unsuspecting defender, but Bolton-s reflexes were up to the task at close range, and the margin remained at two.
Both teams tried their luck from distance in the last ten minutes – Mark Bridge almost pulling off a blinder for the Sky Blues and Jason Hoffman missing the mark for the Jets, but there was no addition to the score – Sydney stretching its record to twelve undefeated trials with a 2-nil win.
“It is good to reinforce positive habits. We still have many things to improve but I think we are going the right way,” said Coach Lavicka.
After a successful and enjoyable four day camp in Port Macquarie Vitezslav Lavicka-s men will be back in action in Sydney next weekend when they play the last of their State League trials, against Sydney Olympic at Belmore Oval next Sunday.
Match Detail
Newcastle Jets 0
Sydney FC 2 (John Aloisi 5-/53-)
Newcastle Jets:1. Ben KENNEDY (gk), 3. Adam D-APUZZO, 7. Hyun Song JIN (16. Jason HOFFMAN 54-), 8. Matthew THOMPSON (c) (19. Jason NAIDOVSKI 79-), 9. Sasho PETROVSKI, 10. Donny DE GROOT (17. Sean ROONEY 71-), 11. Tarek ELRICH, 12. Jobe WHEELHOUSE, 13. Shaun ONTONG, 14. Angelo COSTANZO, 22. Kaz PATAFTA.
Substitutes Not Used: 40. Ben MCNAMARA (gk).
Yellow Cards: nil.
Red Cards: nil.
Goals: nil.
Sydney FC:1. Clint BOLTON (gk), 4. Simon COLOSIMO, 5. Mitchell PRENTICE, 8. Stuart MUSIALIK, 10. Steve CORICA (c) (19. Mark BRIDGE 65-), 14. Alex BROSQUE, 15. Terry MCFLYNN (27. Matthew JURMAN 65-), 18. Adam CASEY, 22. Sung Hwan BYUN, 23. John ALOISI, 35. Kofi DANNING (12. Shannon COLE 75-).
Substitutes Not Used: 20. Ivan NECEVSKI (gk).
Yellow Cards: nil.
Red Cards: nil.
Goals: John Aloisi 5-/53-.
Referee: Kurt Ams.
Crowd: 3,120 at Port Macquarie Regional Sports Stadium.
