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08Feb21
Barbarouses Double Downs Former Club
by Jeremy Ruane
Former Wellington Phoenix striker Costa Barbarouses bagged a brace of goals as his Sydney FC side downed the Kiwi combination 2-1 in front of 5,220 fans at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on 8 February.
Wellington started like a house on fire, and a lovely move just 72 seconds into the contest epitomised their initial approach. Alex Rufer, Cameron Devlin, Tim Payne on the overlap, and David Ball, inside him, all combined before play was switched to James McGarry, who set up Clayton Lewis with a shot which Andrew Redmayne shovelled round the post, the first Sydney player to touch the ball in the contest.
Sixty seconds later, Ulises Davila forged his way to the by-line on the right before looking to pick out Tomer Hemed at the near post. He was crowded out by Alex Wilkinson, but Rhyan Grant directed the ball straight back to the Israeli, who set up Ball for a third minute shot which Redmayne blocked well at point-blank range.
Two minutes later, Sydney's 'keeper was to the fore again, dashing out to clear the danger after Davila had concluded his charging run with a through ball intended for Hemed to latch onto.
Still Wellington pressed, Lewis and Ball working a one-two from a corner which allowed the former Auckland City player to pick out Davila. The Mexican sent a twenty-yarder sizzling past the near post, to the dismay of the many members of the local Mexican community who turned out in good numbers to support their countryman.
Sydney weathered Wellington's initial barrage, and finally mustered an opening of their own in the tenth minute. Alex Baumjohann's beautifully weighted pass found Barbarouses on the charge, and his deft touch invited Patrick Wood to bear down on goal. Stefan Marinovic was always going to win that particular race, however.
Two minutes later, Devlin caught Calem Nieuwenhof in possession on half-way, allowing Hemed to assume possession. He played the ball early to Ball, who returned the favour, to which Hemed responded by firing wide of the mark with Davila in a far better position to open the scoring through the inside left channel.
In the fourteenth minute, Nieuwenhof weaved his way through four challenges before presenting Wood with a pass which allowed him to evade another defender and line up a shot on goal. He duly let fly, but sent the ball skidding past Marinovic's right-hand post with the 'keeper beaten all ends up had the youngster opted for placement rather than power. A great chance spurned!
Four minutes later, fullback Joel King surged down the left before linking with Barbarouses, who switched play to Baumjohann. He looked to work a one-two with Milos Ninkovic in the penalty area, which would have come off but for the timely intervention of Joshua Laws.
After this lively opening, the game settled down into something of an arm wrestle. Soon enough, the rugged challenges started flying in. Devlin, who was trying to run off an early injury to which he ultimately succumbed, was fortunate to avoid a yellow card for the airborne challenge on Ninkovic he executed on half-way, while three Sydney players were booked before the interval as referee Chris Beath made his mark on proceedings.
The one he made on the half-hour was completely baffling, however. He blew the whistle as Wellington brought the ball out of defence, and with play halted booked Rufer for an earlier challenge on Barbarouses.
The official then decided to restart play by awarding Sydney a free-kick for Lord alone knows what! Thankfully it came to nothing, but a foul by Nieuwenhof on Devlin just outside Sydney's penalty two minutes later went completely unchecked by Mr Beath, and resulted in the opening goal of the game being scored at the other end of the park.
Having taken Devlin out from behind, Nieuwenhof proceeded to link up with Baumjohann, who sent Wood steaming down the right before charging up inside him in support.
Wood duly returned the ball to the playmaker, who spotted Barbarouses' angled run in between Wellington's central defenders and slipped a pass into the striker's stride which was inch-perfect - he couldn't have placed it any better had he put the ball on the ground with his hands!
Barbarouses swivelled and fired a first-time shot in between and across Luke DeVere and Marinovic, whose dive was in vain as the ball sped past him before hitting the inside of the far post and ricocheting just over the line - 1-0 Sydney after 32 minutes, but should the goal have stood? The Video Assistant Referee was conspicuous by its failure to intervene on this occasion.
One wonders if that would have been the situation had the roles been reversed, and Wellington were celebrating a goal after illegally dispossessing a
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Sydney player at the other end of the park. Given the number of unfair decisions the Kiwi team seems to receive in general from those who administer the Laws of the Game across the Tasman, it's hard to believe a goal would have been awarded in those circumstances.
Barbarouses looked to turn provider for Wood five minutes later, but the intervention of Laws again ensured Sydney were unable to make progress. Next it was DeVere's turn to cut out the home team's front two from teaming up once more, after Grant and Baumjohann had combined in midfield to engineer the opening further forward.
Wellington had gone off the boil long before the half-time whistle, but were quickly back into their attacking stride soon after the second half resumed. Payne sent Davila darting through the inside right channel, and after evading a couple of challenges he unleashed a rising drive which crashed against the crossbar.
The rebound was cleared back to him, and the Mexican drew a smothering save from Redmayne, who was relieved to see DeVere's header flashing over the bar two minutes later, following a Lewis corner.
Nine minutes into the second spell, Wellington unleashed a fine counter-attack. Gathering the ball from a corner, Davila fed Lewis, who surged forward before picking out half-time substitute Rene Piscopo with a cross-field ball.
The newcomer invited fellow substitute Matthew Ridenton to continue his buccaneering run, but Devlin's replacement checked his run in order to set up Davila for a twenty-yarder which he sent careering past the post.
Three minutes later, Davila set off on an angled run towards goal before slipping a pass into the stride of McGarry, roaming forward down the left. Without breaking stride he sent a low cross skidding in towards the near post which Ball was just unable to get on the end of.
Wellington kept coming, Rufer and Ridenton combining with Piscopo on the hour. The newcomer evaded Grant's challenge before inviting Lewis to lash one past the post, the same upright which Davila's angled twenty-yard shot fizzed past in the 66th minute, with both Redmayne and Ball, sliding in beyond the 'keeper, beaten by the speed of the captain's attempt to halve the deficit.
For two minutes prior, Sydney had doubled their lead, somewhat against the run of second half play, it must be said. It was route one stuff from the reigning champions, with Redmayne's raking clearance being flicked on by substitute Jordan Swibel to Barbarouses
His deft touches allowed him to get the better of Wellington's defenders before he fair battered a fierce drive past Marinovic and into the bottom corner of the net to put the title-holders well on course for victory.
Stunned by this blow, the visitors rather lost their way in attack over the course of the next few minutes, and it wasn't until eleven minutes from time that substitute Mirza Muratovic gave Redmayne reason to get his gloves dirty.
Cue a slick Sydney counter-attack, sparked by Grant but continued by Baumjohann, whose measured pass, at the end of a charging run, invited Swibel to wrap up the points. But the youngster dragged his shot across the face of goal.
Sydney then made a double substitution, one of whom, Chris Zuvela, was left clutching his knee after his first contribution to the match. Having already suffered an ACL injury, his behaviour in response to this injury suggested a reoccurrence of this most cursed of football setbacks, and he was stretchered off to leave the champions down to ten men for the duration.
Wellington piled on the pressure, and duly halved the deficit in stoppage time. Receiving a pass from Piscopo, Davila duly let fly with a shot which took a wicked deflection to take it past Redmayne into the far corner of the net - 2-1, and still time for a late equaliser.
The visitors came desperately close to snaring it, too. Piscopo whipped in a 97th minute free-kick which fellow substitute Louis Fenton, who had earned the set-piece, met with a header while falling backwards. The ball looped up and over all-comers, only to bounce off the top of the crossbar to safety - a real let-off for Sydney, who were relieved to hear the sound of the final whistle seconds later.
Sydney: Redmayne; Grant (booked, 60), McGowan, Wilkinson, King; Baumjohann (Caceres, 81), Brattan (booked, 27), Nieuwenhof (booked, 34) (Retre, 63), Ninkovic (Zuvela, 81); Barbarouses (booked, 41), Wood (Swibel, 60)
Wellington: Marinovic; Payne, DeVere, Laws, McGarry (Fenton, 81); Davila, Rufer (booked, 29), Devlin (Ridenton, 43), Lewis (Muratovic, 60); Ball (booked, 90), Hemed (Piscopo, 46)
Referee: Chris Beath
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