Twin Sydney FC young guns Joel Chianese and Mitch Mallia shot Sydney FC back into the top six with a pair of goals in a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Adelaide United tonight.
Twin Sydney FC young guns Joel Chianese and Mitch Mallia shot Sydney FC back into the top six with a pair of goals in a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Adelaide United tonight.
Chianese and Mallia both scored their first goals in the Hyundai A-League but it was goalkeeper Ivan Necevski who was the star with a Man of the Match performance that saw him pull off four wonderful saves after Adelaide had levelled the scores midway through the second half.
After Necesvki kept the Sky Blues level, Mallia gave the visitors all three points with a late winner that sealed yet another comeback victory that typifies the never-day-die attitude of Sydney FC and the determination of everyone at the club to send Vitezslav Lavicka out on a high note.
Lavicka made just one change to the side that defeated Perth Glory 2-1 last weekend with Captain Terry McFlynn returning from injury in place of Karol Kisel, who missed the match with a groin strain.
Significantly, Lavicka also made the decision to keep Chianese in the starting side after he suffered a fracture to his elbow at training during the week. With the help of the Sydney FC medical staff, Chianese was able to play and scored his first A-League goal.
The first half was a very cagey and cautious match as both sides played with the trepidation that typified the importance of the occasion for both teams.
Sydney FC had an enormous advantage in terms of possession and they ran Adelaide around the pitch with a dominant first half performance, but it wasn-t until the 30st minute when Nick Carle flashed a shot wide of the post with the first real chance of the game.
The goal eventually came in the 45th minute when Chianese showed maturity beyond his years. A great inswinging corner from Scott Jamieson was headed goalbound by Rhyan Grant but Galekovic-s save saw the ball fall to Chianese near the penalty spot and instead of lashing at the ball he lobbed it into the back of the net.
The Sky Blues came out of the dressing sheds with a high tempo but it was Adelaide that levelled the scores in the 56th minute when Fabien Barbiero hooked the home after Sergio van Dijk met a corner with a firm header.
The goal saw Adelaide spring to life and Ivan Necevski was forced into a magnificent save in the 63rd minute when he denied van Dijk a go-ahead goal with his legs before claiming the rebound to avert the danger.
Necevski was called on again two minutes later and once again he covered himself in glory, this time coming off his line to make a fine save at the feet of Dario Vidosic.
Adelaide continued to throw everything at Sydney FC and Necevski made another great save when he got his hands to a point blank shot by Iain Ramsay in the 76th minute.
Lavicka reacted to Adelaide clawing their way back into the game by throwing speedster Mitch Mallia onto the pitch in the 77th, replacing Chianese.
It did little to give Necevski a rest and for the 4th time he saved the Sky Blues with a reflex save to deny Adelaide substitute Zenon Caravella in the 79th minute.
But, in the 80th minute the substitution paid dividends when Mallia made it a double for the youngsters with a typical goal from the speedster. Jamieson played a delightful through ball to Mallia, who got in behind the defence with pace, had one touch on the run and slotted the ball past a stranded Adelaide custodian Eugene Galekovic.
Sydney had an anxious moment in the 86th minute when Cassio struck the outside of the post with a 25m free kick but the Sky Blues hung on to win the game and move back into the top six.
Sydney FC, who now has a sniff of a top four finish, will now prepare for a clash with 4th-placed Wellington Phoenix at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday night (25 February). Kick off for the match is 5.30pm.
Sydney FC 2 (Joel Chianese 45, Mitch Mallia 81) d Adelaide United 1 (Fabien Barbiero 56)
Hindmarsh Stadium
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Sydney FC: 20. Ivan Necevski, 4. Pascal Bosschaart, 5. Michael Beauchamp, 6. Hirofumi Moriyasu (12. Shannon Cole ‘75), 7. Brett Emerton (3. Jamie Coyne ‘92+), 9. Bruno Cazarine, 10 Nick Carle, 15. Terry McFlynn (c), 16. Joel Chianese (24. Mitch Mallia ‘77), 21. Scott Jamieson, 23. Rhyan Grant.
Sub not used: 1. Liam Reddy.
Yellow cards: Shannon Cole 84.
Red cards: Nil
Adelaide: 1. Eugene Galekovic (c), 2. Osama Mailk, 3. Nigel Boogaard, 6. Cassio, 8. Evgeniy Levchenko, 9. Sergio van Dijk, 10. Dario Vidosic, 14. Cameron Watson (11. Bruce Djite ‘86), 17. Iain Ramsay, 18. Fabian Barbiero (7. Zenon Caravella ‘71), 21. Francisco Usucar.
Sub not used: Jacob Melling, J Hall (gk)
Yellow cards: Cassio 54.
Red cards: Nil
