Sydney FC’s PlayStation 4 NPL NSW 2 Men’s side made it five wins on the trot as they accounted for St George 4-0 at St George Stadium on Saturday night.
The first half was a tight affair with St George deploying a compact 4-4-2 line up in an attempt to stifle the Sky Blues.
With Sydney dominating the possession stakes it was only a matter of time until an opportunity opened up and it was Max Burgess that created a chance in the 25th minute as he dribbled into the area before blazing his shot over the bar with only the keeper to beat.
The Saints continued to defend strongly but Sydney again created an opening as Daniel Araujo was slipped into the box only to see his effort go high and wide.
The breakthrough finally came in the 44th minute when Charles Lokolingoy unleashed a stinging drive which the keeper could only parry, and Burgess was on hand to pick up the crumbs and slot home for a 1-0 lead at half time.
The second period started well for Sydney FC and after only three minutes the ball was shifted to right which created space for Bai Antoniou to work his way into the area and unselfishly square the ball to Lokolingoy to tap in the second for 2-0.
Charles Lokolingoy was proving to be a handful for the St George defence and he was rewarded for his efforts with a brace when he outmuscled and outpaced the centre back, rounded the keeper and slammed home to make it 3-0 in the 63rd minute.
St George didn’t throw in the towel and continued to make it difficult for Sydney FC as they enjoyed a good period of possession as Sky Blue keeper Mitch Evans was called on in the 75th minute to make a sharp save to his right from close range to maintain a clean sheet on the night.
The Sydney FC backline again stood strong with Cristian Gonzalez, Patrick Flottmann, George Timotheou and Nicola Kuleski solid in defence winning the majority of the aerial and ground battles, while skipper Yianni Spyrakis also turned in a workman like display marshalling his troops.
Young forward Bai Antoniou reaped the benefits of his hard work on the night we he notched his fifth goal of the season with the last kick of the game to round off the 4-0 scoreline.
The win sees Sydney FC go top of the ladder after six rounds with a +5 goal difference over Bankstown City.
A clean sweep on the day with U18’s winning 5-1 and U20’s 5-3 ensured a full compliment of 21 Club Championship points which sees Sydney FC lead on that front by eight points.
Sydney FC 4 (Lokolingoy 2; Burgess 1; Antoniou 1) defeated St George 0
Line Up: Mitch Evans (GK); Nicola Kuleski; Patrick Flottmann; George Timotheou; Cristian Gonzalez (Brendan Curtis 65′); Yianni Spyrakis (C); Chris Zuvela; Daniel Araujo (Liam McGing 84′); Bai Antoniou; Charles Lokolingoy (Aaron Avery 76′); Max Burgess
Subs Not Used: Duro Dragicevic (GK); Tom Slater
Sydney FC play Macarthur Rams next Saturday, 16 April at Lambert Park (kick off 7.45pm)
