Sydney FC went eight unbeaten on Sunday, after playing out a 1-1 draw with Brisbane Roar at the Allianz Stadium despite being reduced to ten men.
Sydney FC 1 (Mak 64’) Brisbane Roar 1 (Hore 67’)
Moments That Mattered
26’ – GIRDWOOD-REICH SENT OFF – Originally shown a yellow card for a foul on Mileusnic, Girdwood-Reich is dismissed following a VAR review.
64’ – MAK GOAL – Courtney-Perkins finds Grant on the right side of the area, the full-back finding Mak who finishes clinically to break the deadlock.
67’ – HORE GOAL – Brown’s low cross from the left finds the late arrival of Hore, who turns it in to bring the visitors level.
What They Said: Ufuk Talay: “To be honest, I don’t think we started off well – they had a good game-plan and executed it – and I think we actually started to do better when we went down to 10 men.
“The boys worked hard and created the moment that we needed, and we got a goal from it. We’re disappointed to have conceded straight after scoring – we could have snatched the three points at home – but we walk away with the point and it was important we didn’t lose as well.
“By the letter of the law, it’s a red card. Jake’s intent was to win the ball and he was half a second late – the challenge was above the ankle, so unfortunately it is what it is.”
Match Report: Sydney FC ground out a point on Sunday evening against Brisbane Roar, claiming a 1-1 draw having spent most of the contest with 10 men at the Allianz Stadium.
Robert Mak netted his third goal in four to open the scoring for the Sky Blues after 64 minutes, before Henry Hore levelled the clash almost immediately.
A tough task had become a degree tougher at the quarter-point of the game, when Jake Girdwood-Reich was sent off.
Ufuk Talay opted for an unchanged XI from last weekend’s 4-1 derby success in Western Sydney, as Luke Brattan returned to the matchday squad as a substitute and 17-year-old Tiago Quintal was named on the bench for the first time.
Brisbane set a marker early in the game by carving a way in behind the Sky Blue defence, Nikola Mileusnic having the ball in the net after just seven minutes only to be correctly caught offside.
Andrew Redmayne was then forced into an impressive save, standing firm to deny Marco Rojas as the Roar man raced through on goal.
A key point in the game arrived midway through the half, as Mileusnic was caught late by Girdwood-Reich, the defender shown a yellow card by referee Adam Kersey. However, upon another look via the VAR screen, Kersey decided the challenge was worthy of further punishment, and brandished the red. Gabriel Lacerda filled the void from the bench, replacing Max Burgess.
Whilst Mileusnic and Rojas in particular continued to give Sydney more to think about defensively with a man fewer on the field, the Sky Blues did create a good opportunity when Fabio Gomes’ header came back off the frame of the goal.
This came shortly after Corey Hollman was inches away from meeting Joe Lolley’s inviting ball.
The second half began with two attempts just wide from Sydney, as Anthony Caceres received Lolley’s pass and flashed a shot just off target from 25 yards, before Lacerda headed the wrong side of the far post.
Redmayne was called into action again with an important save, holding the shot of Keegan Jelacic.
With the opener looking more and more likely as the half wore on – Lolley arrowing over with his right foot after bamboozling his marker – the opener did then arrive for the 10 men.
As the pressing game worked to excellent effect once again, Jordan Courtney-Perkins won the ball in Brisbane’s final third before finding Rhyan Grant. His ball in turn was pinpoint to Mak, and the finish gave Macklin Freke in the visitors’ net no chance.
Roar had to respond, and certainly did. After substitute Jez Lofthouse struck the outside of the post with a header in their next attack following Mak’s strike, they proved to be behind for just three minutes.
Corey Brown found space down the left flank and had men to cross to, with Rojas executing a neat dummy. Arriving late into the penalty area was Hore, who lashed in the equaliser.
The away side attempted to amp up the pressure with the numerical advantage and committed several players forward at all times, Redmayne twice called into action in the following 15 minutes – notably denying Jonas Markovski with a courageous close-range save.
With Brisbane heavily dominating possession, the task remained to maintain a tight unit for the point as the minutes ebbed away, Courtney-Perkins making a timely intervention to thwart Markovski in stoppage time.
It finished honours even, as the fifth-placed Sky Blues prepare to cross shores to New Zealand to take on Talay’s former side Wellington Phoenix next Saturday.
Sydney FC: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE (GK), 4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS, 8. Jake GIRDWOOD-REICH, 9. Fabio GOMES (26. Luke BRATTAN 46’), 10. Joe LOLLEY (16. Joel KING 90’), 11. Robert MAK (19. Mitch GLASSON 82’), 12. Corey HOLLMAN, 17. Anthony CACERES, 22. Max BURGESS (15. Gabriel LACERDA 27’), 23. Rhyan GRANT ©, 27. Hayden MATTHEWS.
Unused Subs: 20. Adam PAVLESIC (GK), 25. Jaiden KUCHARSKI, 31. Tiago QUINTAL.
Yellow Cards: Courtney-Perkins (73’), Redmayne (90’)
Red Cards: Girdwood-Reich (26’)
Brisbane Roar: 1. Macklin FREKE (GK), 3. Corey BROWN, 5. Tom ALDRED ©, 7. Florin BELENGUER (11. Jez LOFTHOUSE 60’), 10. Nikola MILEUSNIC (8. Jonas MARKOVSKI 78’), 13. Henry HORE, 19. Jack HINGERT, 20. Marco ROJAS (99. Ayom MAYOK 78’), 23. Keegan JELACIC (12. Taras GOMULKA 89’), 26. Jay O’SHEA, 27. Kai TREWIN.
Unused Subs: 29. Matthew ACTON (GK), 32. James NIKOLOVSKI, 35. Louis ZABALA.
Yellow Cards: Brown (74’)
Red Cards: None
Venue: Allianz Stadium
Referee: Adam Kersey
Attendance:
