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02Jan21
Long-Range Rockets Fire Sydney Past Wellington
by Jeremy Ruane
Reigning A-League champions Sydney FC relied on a couple of long-range rockets to fend off Wellington Phoenix 2-1 at Wollongong's WIN Stadium on January 2, as both clubs kicked off their 2020-21 campaigns in front of 3,637 fans.
The title-holders began well, with Milos Ninkovic's driving run through the inside right channel in the third minute culminating in a pass to Trent Buhagiar, looming up in support outside him. The speedster's measured cross to the near post found Costa Barbarouses steaming in, but he directed his first-time effort into the side-netting.
Four minutes later, another driving run at Wellington's defence, this time by debutant Calem Nieuwenhof, saw the midfielder evade four challenges before drawing a save from Stefan Marinovic.
Wellington countered straight away, Alex Rufer picking out Jaushua Sotirio with a raking pass which allowed the striker to get in a lobbed effort, one he was unable to direct on target.
While that strike didn't test Andrew Redmayne, Clayton Lewis' rasping twenty-five yarder certainly gave him cause for concern, while a teasing corner from the former Auckland City FC man found Luke DeVere arriving on the far post, the defender somehow guiding his header past the upright when scoring appeared the easier option.
Sydney were getting on top, however, having gone close in between these efforts when Nieuwenhof, gliding forward from midfield, picked out Ninkovic with a pass which allowed the striker to weave his way through traffic before clipping a ball towards the head of Barbarouses, who was a couple of strides away from meeting it.
In the eighteenth minute, Ben Warland, who had already been booked - the first of five Sydney players to incur referee Alex King's wrath, got to the by-line and sought out Buhagiar with a cross.
James McGarry's intervention made life easy for Marinovic on this occasion, while the 'keeper was also well served by DeVere's dogged pursuit of Buhagiar, who had initially left him standing as he powered past the central defender, and Joshua Laws' vital headed clearances in the 27th minute, which prevented Joel King and Luke Brattan crosses from reaching their intended targets.
Marinovic hadn't a prayer, however, when a corner was cleared to Nieuwenhof in the 29th minute. Moving forward, the youngster unleashed an unstoppable twenty-five yard missile into the top far corner of the net with such ferocity that you just know it'll be right up there when the 'Goal of the Season' contenders are being discussed at a far from certain date later in the year. It was a snorter!
And a goal upon which Sydney swiftly sought to double their advantage, with only a brilliant reflex save by Marinovic preventing David Ball from putting through his own net as he inadvertently directed a Brattan free-kick towards the target two minutes later.
Wellington weathered the storm, and looked to get back on level terms before half-time, initially via Ball, who directed a challenging diving header over the bar upon receipt of a cross from Tim Payne, who had been released down the right by Sotirio's initial break inside off the opposite flank.
Seconds later, McGarry released Sotirio down the left, and he bided his time before picking out the well-performed Cameron Devlin, whose twenty-five yard bullet careered narrowly past the upright.
Sydney retorted via Barbarouses, who lashed a shot over the bar after working a one-two with Ninkovic following the initial break by Nieuwenhof - an impressive debut, and unquestionably a name to anticipate seeing in future senior and age-grade Australian squads.
Unperturbed, Wellington pressed again, Lewis - another to impress on debut at A-League level, although given his Auckland City pedigree, it came as no surprise - clipping a delightfully weighted ball onto the head of Ball, only for Redmayne to pluck it off the striker's head.
Into first half stoppage time, and bizarrely, just as Wellington were in the process of equalising, there was a mini-blackout at the venue, and all those watching on TV saw was a black screen as the commentary team heralded the news, totally unaware that sound was the only means of describing the goal, at least until the production team was able to recover the footage and show it during the second spell.
Wellington debutant Mirza Muratovic was the architect and executioner of the goal, starting the
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move with a pass to Sotirio, who held it up well before timing his pass into the stride of the overlapping Payne to perfection.
The fullback's first-time cross picked out Muratovic, who deftly steered the ball home across Redmayne and via the inside of the far post - 1-1 with virtually the last kick of the first half.
The second half was just thirty seconds old when Marinovic was forced to parry another Nieuwenhof piledriver to safety, to which Wellington responded with a twenty-yarder from Sotirio which stung Redmayne's gloves, after neat approach play involving Rufer and Lewis.
Back came the title-holders, a jinking run by Buhagiar coming a cropper at the hands of Laws, whose clearance was latched onto by Brattan. He hit a thirty yard rocket straight at Redmayne, but sixty seconds later, an innocuous foul presented him with the chance to let fly from distance again, this time via a free-kick.
In the words made famous by Andy Gray, "What a hit, son! What. A. Hit!" Brattan sent a thirty yard free-kick storming into the top left-hand corner of Marinovic's net, with the diving 'keeper once more beaten all ends up by the sheer ferocity of the shot. 2-1 Sydney after 55 minutes, and how!
Lewis sought a swift riposte for a Wellington side which has relocated to Sydney and is calling Wollongong home for the season, but his twenty yarder, which Redmayne saved, was surprisingly his last contribution to the contest, the midfielder making way for his captain, Ulises Davila, although Rufer was wearing the armband with the Mexican unable to start this match.
The change sparked a flurry of substitutions, with both teams able to utilise five in each match this season - common sense in action, unlike those short-sighted voters who didn't consider the welfare of the players when this issue was debated by the English Premier League's clubs.
The substitutions Sydney made allowed them to change their approach to the match, although it was a risky one to take, as it invited Wellington to mount a series of sustained attacks in their pursuit of an equaliser.
The first materialised in the 69th minute, Rhyan Grant's vital headed clearance preventing Louis Fenton from getting on the end of Payne's cross. Then after DeVere had blocked Luke Ivanovic's route to goal after Brattan and Buhagiar had combined to release the substitute through the inside left channel, Devlin scooped an effort over the bar from the edge of the area after Ball had pounced on Brattan's blunder.
Davila then saw a twenty-yarder cannon to safety off Alex Wilkinson, while Rufer sent a rising twenty-five yarder over the bar following good work down the left by Fenton.
Rufer then saw another effort from distance smothered by Redmayne, who turned away a shot from Wellington's new Israeli striker, Tomer Hemed, after Matthew Ridenton and Davila had turned defence into attack with a swift raid downfield.
Into stoppage time now, and Wellington were piling on the pressure. Hemed headed a Fenton cross over the bar under pressure - was it legal? - from Michael Zullo, before a one-two between Sotirio and Ridenton opened up Sydney's left flank and ultimately presented Davila with the chance to level the scores.
"Not on my watch!" declared Brattan, who flung himself in the path of the goalbound drive to all but assure Sydney of the points. But they had to survive a last-gasp scare when a Davila shot flew into the net via Hemed, only for the Video Assistant Referee to rightly rule the goal out - the Israeli was in an offside position when the shot was struck.
Sydney emerged triumphant from a match which they just about deserved to win, although Wellington will certainly feel they were worth at least a point from a match which was ultimately decided by two of the best goals you'll see scored in the A-League this season.
Wellington: Marinovic; Payne (booked, 44), DeVere, Laws (booked, 67), McGarry (Fenton, 64); Muratovic (Hemed, 58), Rufer, Devlin (Ridenton, 82), Lewis (Davila, 58); Ball, Sotirio
Sydney FC: Redmayne; Grant, Wilkinson, Warland (booked, 5), King (Zullo, 82); Caceres (booked, 35) (Baumjohann, 64), Brattan (booked, 65), Nieuwenhof (booked, 24) (Zuvela, 73); Buhagiar (booked, 61) (Wood, 82), Ninkovic, Barbarouses (Ivanovic, 64)
Referee: Alex King
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