Sydney FC has eased through to the Australia Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over local rivals Sydney United FC 58 thanks to maiden goals for forwards Al Hassan Toure and Rhys Youlley.
The win marks the Sky Blues 5th consecutive success in pre-season as they look forward to a clash with either Auckland or South Melbourne in the next round.
Sydney FC 2 (Toure 10’, Youlley 88’) def. Sydney United FC 58 0
Moments That Mattered:
10’ – TOURE GOAL – Lolley swings over a right wing inswinging cross with his left bott and Toure heads home from close range at the back post.
22’ – HOEFSLOOT SAVE – Zuvella drives forward and unleashes from outside the box and Hoefsloot is down well to his left and tip around the post.
31’ – PENALTY CLAIM DENIED – Toure’s speed takes him half the length of the field and into the Sydney United box where he is tripped but his penalty appeal is waved away.
38’ – COURTNEY-PERKINS BLOCKS SHOT – Shabow races into the box and strikes but Courtney-Perkins diving block stops the shot.
88’ – YOULLEY GOAL – Akon squares the ball back to Rhys Youlley inside the box who hits it first time just inside the upright to make it 2-0.
Match Report: Sydney FC has booked a place in the Australia Cup quarter finals after a 2-0 win over Sydney United FC 58 at the Sydney United Sports Centre.
The Sky Blues took the lead in the 10th minute with Toure heading home a Joe Lolley cross from the right from close range.
United were almost level midway through the half when Zuvela shot from distance but Hoefsloot made a good save to his left.
Toure was at it again on the half hour mark sprinting into the Sydney United penalty area when he appeared to be felled but no penalty was given and it remained 1-0 at the break.
Sydney United came out more strongly in the second half looking for the goal which would get them back into the game however they were restricted to half chances as the Sky Blues defence held firm.
The result was put beyond doubt in the final few minutes when youngster Akol Akon received the ball in the United box and squared it to Rhys Youlley to notch his first goal for the club and send the Sky Blues through.
Auckland FC or South Melbourne FC await the Sky Blues in the quarter-finals with a possible Sydney Derby scheduled for the semi-final.
What They Said: Ufuk Talay: “I thought we had some good moments in the game, some very positive moments. I thought we did very well in defending our box this afternoon, so overall pleased, we got the goal early.
“The boys dug deep and it’s not easy coming to United and playing on synthetic. So overall, they’ve done a job and we continue to the next round.
“So far preseason has been positive, the boys have been working hard and they’re trying to take the information on board, so now things are working well.”
Captain Rhyan Grant: “Obviously, it’s great getting the win and go through, but we made it a bit hard for ourselves in that second half. “They’re going to be up for it. They always are. They came at us, they tested us with a few things. They had a lot of step pieces. We could have made it a lot easier for ourselves, but we did enough.”
Sydney FC 1. Gus HOEFSLOOT, 4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 6. Corey HOLLMAN (8. Wataru KAMIJO 64’), 10. Joe LOLLEY, 13. Patrick WOOD (22. Mathias MACALLISTER 45’), 16. Joel KING (5. Alex GRANT 88’), 23. Rhyan GRANT ©, 24. Paul OKON JR, 35. Al Hassan TOURE (44. Akol AKON 64’), 36. Rhys YOULLEY (20. Tiago QUINTAL 89’), 41. Alex POPOVIC.
Subs: 30. Alex ZAVERDINOS (GK), 29. Joe LACEY.
Yellow Cards: Akon 71’, Hoefsloot 81’.
Red Cards: None
Head Coach: Ufuk TALAY
Sydney United 58 FC: 21. Vedran JANJETOVIC, 3. Bailey RULE, 4. Adrian VLASTELICA, 5. Anthony TOMELIC (9. Patrick ANTELMI 74’), 8. Mario SHABOW (43. Michael PRATEZINE 74’), 10. Carlos DE OLIVEIRA, 14. Liam MCGING, 17. Michael GLASSOCK, 19. Aidan MILICEVIC (28. Gabriel TILO 64’), 23. Mason WELLS, 37. Luke ZUVELA (27. Finn BALLARD-MCBRIDE 64’).
Subs: 31. Josip OROLOVIC (GK), 12. Richard DARKO, 29. Tomislav OZANIC.
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: 31. Josip OROLOVIC (GK) 84’,
Head Coach: Tom WHITESIDE
Referee: Thomas Dale
Ground: Sydney United Sports Centre.
Attendance:
