A young Sydney FC team has sent shock waves through the Free Trade Port Tournament when they knocked over Chinese Super League side Changchun Yatai FC 1-0 in Haikou City last night.
The Sky Blues burst from the blocks at the start and were rewarded in the 7th minute when Cameron Devlin slammed home from just inside the penalty area.
A Sydney FC build down the right flank found Jerry Skotadis in space. He rifled a shot on goal which the opposition keeper could only parry into Devlin’s path, who found the back of the net.
Changchun FC relied on set pieces and long diagonal passes to try and break down the youngsters but solid defensive efforts across the ground led by Patrick Flottmann and Jackson Bandiera held them at bay.
In extremely hot and humid conditions the Sky Blues enthusiasm and fitness came through as they looked the more likely to score in the second stanza.
However, the lone goal was enough to get the result and set up a tantalizing match up against Shanghai Shenhua on Sunday night who went down to Newcastle Jets 2-0 in the earlier fixture.
Head Coach, Rob Stanton, was ecstatic with his young charges stating “the boys showed a lot of maturity in the way they played and showed they could step up to the next level.”
“I’m very proud of them and the result was a wonderful achievement for this young group of players. To play on the international stage against full time professionals is great experience for them,” he added.
Next match 8th July
Shanghai Shenhua vs SFC 8:30pm kick off
