Reza Ghoochannejhad’s stint at Sydney FC was short, at times stop-start, but ultimately sweet.
Reza Ghoochannejhad’s stint at Sydney FC was short, at times stop-start, but ultimately sweet.
And after dispatching the winning spot-kick in Sydney’s Hyundai A-League 2019 Grand Final win the Iranian striker will remain a household name in the Harbour City.
Ghoochannejhad scored one goal in 550 minutes of action following his on-loan signing from Cypriot outfit APOEL in January – but on the Grand Final stage in WA, the 31-year-old forward was clinical when it mattered most.
“I can’t describe the feeling right now. I came in January and didn’t know what to expect,” Ghoochannejhad told FOX Sports.
“The guys welcomed me very well and to be honest I needed some time to adjust to everything, [to] the playing style.”
“We had only one goal – to be here and win the Grand Final – not only for me, but the whole club and the whole team.
“Everybody put their effort in today, and everyone has worked so hard to get where we are right now.”
Elation for Sydney custodian Redmayne
Pure elation.
That’s how Sydney FC shot stopper Andrew Redmayne described his feelings after his spot-kick heroics on Sunday evening.
Redmayne, 30, denied Glory strikers Andy Keogh and Brendon Santalab from 12 yards to help his team to their fourth Hyundai A-League Championship.
“We knew it was going to be tough, we knew it was going to be a tactical battle, and it was,” Redmayne told FOX Sports.
“Credit to the staff, they put a plan in place and all the boys executed it.
“I’m just so happy that we could do it for our captain, our leader, Alex Brosque in his last game. He’s Sydney through and through and I’m so glad that we could do it for him.”
I wasn’t nervous: Brosque
Heart rates were pulsing through the Optus Stadium roof when the Grand Final turned to penalties but Sydney FC captain Alex Brosque looked as though ice was running through his veins.
The retiring Sky Blues skipper left the pitch for the very last time in the 95th minute as the prospect of penalties loomed closer.
His replacement, Reza Ghoochannejhad, would ultimately score the winning penalty.
“It’s always hard to sit and watch, but the faith I’ve got in these boys is incredible. Once it comes down to penalties, anything can happen, it’s a lottery.
“I wasn’t nervous, I wasn’t anything. I just thought ‘whatever will be will be’. It’s a cruel way to lose, but an equally cruel way to win in a way.”
