Goals from Robert Mak and Adam Le Fondre secured fifth spot and a place in the Finals for Sydney FC as they beat Brisbane Roar 2-0 on the road.
The Sky Blues struck in each half to defeat a Roar team that pushed hard for the points they needed to keep their top six hopes alive.
Brisbane Roar 0 Sydney FC 2 (Mak 34’, Le Fondre, 77’)
Moments That Mattered:
LOLLEY CHANCE – 5’ – Wideman Joe Lolley cuts inside from his position on the right and fires across the face of goal.
BURGESS BLAST – 21’ – Max Burgess is set up by some great link up play from Joe Lolley and Robert Mak but fires over from 15 yards out.
MAK GOAL – 34’ – Mak takes an angled return pass from Lolley and side foots home a finish through Scott Neville’s legs for a classy opener.
LOLLEY CHANCE – 39’ – Lolley sees his shot from the edge of the box palmed away by the keeper following great build up play from Mak and Adam Le Fondre.
REDMAYNE SAVES – 42’ – The Sydney FC keeper stands up well to save with his chest from Taras Gomulka’s powerful shot inside the box.
REDMAYNE DOUBLE STOP – 60’ – Two saves in a matter of seconds as Andrew Redmayne blocks Stefan Scepovic’s header on the line and recovers to get a strong hand to James O’Shea’s shot.
LE FONDRE GOAL – 77’ – Lolley powers down the right and cuts back for Le Fondre to take a touch and smash home the second from 12 yards out.
WHAT THEY SAID:
Joe Lolley, “It was good finishes from Robert Mak and Alfie and it was good to get the job done so now we can focus on the next game and then focus on the Finals.
“We are looking forward to Saturday at home against Newcastle and keeping our run going and continuing to build momentum ahead of the Finals.
“But it was nice to get the job tonight and get into the Finals.
“The last three or four performances have been very good. The last four weeks have been a bit of a turning point for us and we are feeling confident at the moment.
“We have changed a few things and it’s working. The lads have a lot of confidence and we feel we can cause an upset in the Finals. I say an upset because of our position in the league at the moment.”
Match Report:
Clinical front men Robert Mak and Adam Le Fondre were on target as Sydney FC locked in their Finals place with a strong performance in Brisbane.
The duo continued their recent purple patch in front of goal with two quality strikes in Queensland.
Mak struck for the fifth time in four games after playing a delightful one-two with Joe Lolley and nut-megging Scott Neville with his clever low 34th minute finish.
Whilst Le Fondre made it three-in-three with a low drive following Lolley’s cut back from the right hand flank.
Andrew Redmayne denied the home team with a incredible double save in the 60th minute on the night when Alex Wilkinson made his 600th club game.
Sydney FC now face Newcastle Jets at Allianz Stadium on Saturday looking to continue to build momentum ahead of their Finals Series campaign.
SYDNEY FC: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE, 3. Joel KING, 4. Alex WILKINSON ©, 6. Jack RODWELL, 9. Adam LE FONDRE, (12. Pat WOOD 80’) 10. Joe LOLLEY, (8. Paulo RETRE 80’) 11. Robert MAK, (19. Adrian SEGECIC ’45), 17. Anthony CACERES, , , 22. Max BURGESS, (Jaiden KUCHARSKI 88’) 23. Rhyan GRANT, 26. Luke BRATTAN. (28. Jake GIRDWOOD-REICH 88’)
Unused subs: 2. James DONACHIE, 20. Thomas HEWARD-BELLE (GK).
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None
Venue: Suncorp Stadium
Referee: Adam Kersey
Attendance: TBC
