Sydney FC have buried their Adelaide United hoodoo in
emphatic fashion, holding off a late Reds surge to win 4-1 at Allianz Stadium
on Saturday night to book a Hyundai A-League grand final meeting with Premiers
Melbourne Victory.
An early Bernie Ibini goal and a brace from skipper Alex
Brosque either side of half-time had the Sky Blues in cruise control before the
Reds produced a late flurry of chances.
Craig Goodwin closed the gap 16 minutes from time and it
sparked a spirited fightback from the visitors.
Nigel Boogaard hit the post while Awer Mabil, Miguel Palanca
and Sergio Cirio all wasted glorious opportunities in a frentic few minutes
which would have set up a grandstand finish.
Instead it was the Sky Blues who finished with a bang, Chris
Naumoff capping a sublime performance with a late goal to send Sydney FC to
their first decider in five years.
GOALS
1-0 Ibini (19’) – A lofted pass forward by Nikola Petkovic
saw Naumoff get in behind the Reds defence down the left wing. The teenager
raced into the box, got around Dylan McGowan brilliantly before cutting the
ball back to Ibini, who finished powerfully into the roof of the net from the
edge of the box.
2-0 Brosque (45+1’) – Milos Dimitrijevic drove at the Reds
defence before finding Ibini on the right. Ibini sent in a perfect cross to the
near-post and Brosque did the rest, producing an audacious back-heeled flick
which snuck past Eugene Galekovic at the near post.
3-0 Brosque (47’) – Naumoff was again involved, slipping a
pass to Marc Janko – who was slightly offside – in the box. The Austrian was
disposed by Isaias but the loose ball fell to Brosque who finished clinically
into the far corner.
3-1 Goodwin (74’) – The Reds broke forward on a quick
counter-attack and had a three-on-three with Goodwin surging right through the
heart of the Sydney defence. He swerved past the challenge of Matt Jurman and
his shot squeezed under Vedran Janjetovic and trickled over the line.
4-1 Naumoff (90’) –
Naumoff found Antonis about 25 yards from goal and continued his run forward,
getting a return pass and smashing it high into Galekovic’s net.
TEAMS:
Sydney FC: Janjetovic, Ryall, Faty, Jurman, Petkovic,
Tavares, Dimitrijevic, Ibini (Grant 76’), Brosque (Smeltz 80’), Naumoff, Janko
(Antonis 61’)
Adelaide United: Galekovic, McGowan, Boogaard, Elrich, Malik
(Mabil 46’), Isaias, Jeggo, Carrusca, Cirio, Sanchez (Palanca 66’), Goodwin
Scorers: Ibini 19’, Brosque 45+1’, Brosque 47’, Goodwin 74’,
Naumoff 90’
Red cards: none
Yellow cards: Ryall 30’, Faty 33’, Mabil 75’, Isaias 76’,
Brosque 76’, Petkovic 77’
Conditions: 16C, Fine
Attendance: 26,783 @ Allianz Stadium
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