A
below-par Sydney FC have escaped a first A-League defeat but dropped
another two points in an uninspiring goalless draw with Adelaide
United.
The
Sky Blues spurned the chance to go nine points clear at the top of
the table on Saturday night at Allianz Stadium, in a performance as
anaemic as the scoreline.
They
equalled their record nine-game undefeated streak of 2006-07 but were
fortunate, given last-placed United played with a confidence that
belied their winless season, in a sign a victory is close.
Suspended
coach Guillermo Amor needn't have worried how his defending champions
would fare without him on the sidelines, as the Reds attacked with
venom in and end-to-end start barely resembling its top-versus-bottom
billing.
Ryan
Kitto found joy on the left flank as he and Ben Garrucio targeted the
in-form Rhyan Grant.
But
the frenetic opening exchanges soon dissolved into scrappy play rife
with turnovers that yielded few chances for either side.
Isaias
and an under-performing David Carney went into the book while tough
defender Matt Jurman suffered a horrible head clash during an aerial
challenge with James Holland that left him bleeding heavily.
A
bandaged Jurman eventually returned and earned enthusiastic cheers
from the 13,179 crowd for each of his three headers in quick
succession.
That
was the main first-half entertainment apart from a sole opportunity
apiece.
The
first belonged to Adelaide defender Tarek Elrich, who fired off a
20-metre left-footed strike that shaved the outside of the post.
Soon
after, a quiet Filip Holosko burst into space but, under pressure
from Iacopo La Rocca, applied too much angle on his finish.
In
the second half, Sydney coach Graham Arnold sensed the need for
change and replaced Holosko with skipper Alex Brosque and eventually
Bobo with Matt Simon, while Henrique returned for Adelaide at the
expense of a cramping Nikola Mileusnic.
Holland
came closest after the break, skipping past three Sydney defenders
only to botch his finish, while Simon sent one wide and Alex
Wilkinson took a feeble stab that was indicative of a squad perhaps
more focused on next week's FFA Cup final.
Arnold
said his side struggled to deal with Adelaide's long balls and slow
play in a cynical match featuring a total 36 fouls.
"It
was two desperate teams trying to win," he said.
"Adelaide's
position on the table doesn't reflect the type of team they are ...
but they took the tempo out of the game and it was hard for us to get
going.
"Every
time we tried, there was a foul, they took their time on throw-ins
and goal kicks and slowed the game up a lot.
"We
have to be honest - the players are disappointed in their own
performance."
Reds
assistant coach Pau Marti was happy to keep a first clean sheet.
"To
get a point here was a good result," Marti said.
"I
think the way we played, we deserved to get three points - we had the
chances ... we stopped them playing."
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