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23Feb19
Sydney Sink Wellington In Dour Duel
by Jeremy Ruane
Perennial Hyundai A-League premiership phase winners Sydney FC bounced back to winning ways in front of a meagre 5,115 fans at Campbelltown Stadium on 23 February, seeing off Wellington Phoenix 1-0 in a dour encounter between two of the competition's top six teams.
Wellington were on the front foot from the outset, Mandi Sosa's raking pass from half-way being toe-poked past the far post by Roy Krishna, whose first-time attempt to convert the dropping ball from twenty yards out caught out the Sydney rearguard, who were soon opened up again by Sosa's passing.
Krishna was again the beneficiary in the sixth minute, but his wayward shot on the turn turned into a great pass for Liberato Cacace to stride onto and sweep a low cross into the near post area. Andrew Redmayne fumbled the ball, but recovered in time to prevent Sarpreet Singh from swooping onto the rebound.
The goalkeeper's clearance was poorly controlled by Andrew Durante, allowing Adam Le Fondre to pick his pocket and play in front-running partner, Iranian striker Reza Ghoochannejhan.
He had just Filip Kurto to beat as he bore down on goal, but the 'keeper pulled off a superb one-handed save low to his right to deny the geographic home team, with nominated home side Wellington having opted to play this game on West Island soil due to the unavailability of their home venue at Westpac Stadium.
That opening encouraged Sydney, who went desperately close to opening the scoring when Brandon O'Neill whipped in a thirteenth minute free-kick which only needed a touch to direct it on target.
After Singh had fired a tame shot at Redmayne following David Williams pouncing on a stray Milos Ninkovic pass - his radar was well off in this match, Sydney went close again in the eighteenth minute, Le Fondre volleying over from fifteen yards after O'Neill and Ghoochannejhan - with a sumptuous ball over the defence - had combined to play in the league's leading marksman.
The Iranian was the beneficiary of a Josh Brillante pass in the 21st minute, which invited Ghoochannejhan to cut inside and curl a shot around Kurto, only to see it strike the far post.
Wellington's goalkeeper anticipated the situation well when Ghoochannejhan looked to get on the end of a Rhyan Grant cross moments later, the overlapping fullback having been released down the right by Anthony Caceres' precise pass.
A superb offside call by referee's assistant Owen Goldrick denied Wellington the opening goal of the game in the 26th minute. Singh's free-kick wasn't cleared, and with Redmayne having been taken out of play by his own defender, Michal Kopczynski was Johnny on the spot to swivel and slam the ball home from close range.
But unbeknown to him, he did so from a position in between the last two Sydney defenders nearest the goal-line. Had he been one step further back when he hit the ball, it would have counted - it was that close!
From this moment, Sydney dominated the rest of the half, but encountered a Wellington defence which was resolute in its execution of its duties, despite the injury-enforced absence of Steven Taylor, a late victim of a calf problem.
His replacement, Dylan Fox, had been playing as if he hadn't been away to this point in the match, but in the 28th minute his night - and possibly his season - was ended by Durante, who inadvertently took out his team-mate with a crunching ankle-high tackle as both combined to block a Caceres shot following a fine move which culminated in Grant heading Michael Zullo's cross-field ball inside for the midfielder to let fly.
Fox's replacement, Ryan Lowry, also didn't miss a beat, and for all Sydney's pressure it was Wellington who engineered the last chance of the first half and the first two of the second.
Singh, Krishna and Kopczynski combined to present Louis Fenton with a shooting chance which he dragged past the near post ten minutes before half-time, while after Williams' twenty yard snapshot had curled just wide in the 52nd minute,
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only a superbly timed Alex Wilkinson block prevented Krishna from breaking the deadlock after substitute Cillian Sheridan - with his first touch - had combined with Williams.
After Ghoochannejhan had blazed an acute-angled shot over the bar upon receipt of a raking Brillante pass - the tackle which Le Fondre executed to win possession for his side at Sosa's expense was questionable, to put it mildly, Wellington had another goal ruled out by the offside flag, Sheridan having strayed in the approach work for Williams' disallowed effort.
Sydney stepped up the pace, Caceres just failing to meet a teasing cross from Zullo after Ninkovic's rare charge forward, before shooting straight at Kurto after Grant's pass to Le Fondre had been cleverly dummied by the striker for his team-mate's benefit.
Another through ball in the 65th minute saw substitute Alex Brosque gallop into the Wellington penalty area, where Kurto mistimed his dive at the front-runner's feet to send him sprawling.
Referee Shaun Evans had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot, from where Le Fondre fair hammered the ball into the roof of the net, the speed of the shot beating Kurto all ends up, despite the 'keeper not even diving in the usual practice which goalkeepers employ when facing penalties - someone had clearly been doing his homework on the penalty taker, but there was no stopping this one.
Following the goal, the pattern of the last twenty minutes of the first half resumed, with Sydney unable to penetrate the defence of a Wellington side which kept probing for openings.
Cacace's teasing cross gave Redmayne cause for concern in the 69th minute, while eight minutes later Sheridan directed a header straight at Sydney's 'keeper upon being picked out by Max Burgess' well-flighted free-kick.
Sydney responded with an instant counter-attack which culminated in a Zullo free-kick finding its way to Grant, who was cleaned out by the well-performed Kopczynski, the defender having to clear off the line in stoppage time after Cacace's well-timed covering run cut out a Zullo cross intended for Daniel De Silva, the substitute racing in behind him to meet it.
Before that incident, Redmayne saved well from Burgess, while Durante blocked a shot on the run from Zullo before Wilkinson and Grant combined to thwart Krishna, as he led a Wellington counter-attack into the Sydney penalty area.
After it, both teams had chances to score, Alex Rufer curling the last shot of the game past the post after a bizarre piece of officiating by referee Evans prevented Le Fondre from doubling Sydney's advantage as he burst through unchallenged from half-way.
The striker had just entered the penalty area, with two Wellington defenders dashing across in cover, when the official blew his whistle and brought play to a halt to administer a yellow card to Rufer, who had taken Brosque out of play off the ball half-way inside Wellington's half. Whatever happened to playing advantage?
Thankfully, particularly from Sydney's perspective, it didn't affect the outcome, a 1-0 win for the locals which propelled them into second place on the table, with their beaten opponents treading water in the last play-off spot, having just won one of their last seven fixtures, three of them defeats.
By the time Wellington plays again, in a fortnight at bottom-placed Central Coast Mariners, they may have been overhauled by a Newcastle Jets side which is building up a head of steam in its pursuit of play-offs football, and lies six points behind Mark Rudan's side with a game in hand.
Sydney: Redmayne; Grant, Wilkinson, Warland, Zullo; Caceres (De Silva, 86), Brillante, O'Neill, Ninkovic; Ghoochannejhad (Brosque, 62 (booked, 86)), Le Fondre (booked, 79)
Wellington: Kurto; Fox (Lowry, 32 (booked, 78)), Durante (booked, 14), Kopczynski; Fenton, Rufer (booked, 90), Sosa (Burgess, 73), Cacace; Krishna, Singh (Sheridan, 55), Williams
Referee: Shaun Evans
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