The word "invincibles" may be banned inside the Sydney FC dressing rooms but with every game the Sky Blues are edging closer towards making history.
Sydney FC extended their unbeaten run to 19 games this season after cruising to a comfortable 3-1 win over Wellington Phoenix at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night.
The New Zealanders were powerless to stop the Sky Blues and not even a butchered pitch dented their fluid attacking performance as scintillating team goals from Rhyan Grant and Bobo and a classy strike from Milos Ninkovic quashed any suggestions of Sydney slipping on a banana peel.
A rain-soaked field tortured by a weekend of rugby sevens looked unplayable, yet Sydney moved the ball around as if it were carpet from the onset, stunning Wellington as they carved open their first goal after just three minutes.
A quick exchange between Ninkovic and Alex Brosque gave Sydney's captain freedom to roam down the left flank, from where he whipped in a deep cross towards the far post. With Phoenix's attention on marquee Bobo, they ignored the angled run from fullback Grant, who pounced on the cross with a powerful header, piercing the ball into the corner of the net.
The Phoenix were flirting with danger by playing a high defensive line against a team notoriously slick in transition and it wasn't long before they were punished by yet another superb manoeuvre.
Wellington thought they had pressed playmaker Ninkovic out of harm's way when he was forced deep into the left back role, but a cross-field pass quickly unravelled Phoenix's shape. It found Jordy Buijs on the opposite flank and he burst forward to find Filip Holosko, whose back heel to Brosque caught Wellington off guard. By the time Brosque's pass landed at Bobo's feet, they were chasing shadows. Unselfishly, the Brazilian sought Grant and his generosity was repaid by a delicate return cross from the defender allowing Bobo to finish the stellar move with a simple header in the 22nd minute.
Brosque should have scored their third with a close-range effort that shaved the outside of the post minutes later. Just as the league leaders appeared to enter cruise control, they were stunned by a goal against the run of play. Alex Rodriguez latched on to a Gui Finkler corner to deflect the ball past Danny Vukovic and into the net.
Phoenix could have drawn level through Kosta Barbarouses, who missed from close range, but it was Sydney who finished the half stronger. Holosko's close-range attempt required a fine save from Glen Moss to deny Sydney a third before their midfielder Josh Brillante rattled the upright from 25 metres.
Despite heading into the tunnels with a precarious advantage, Sydney regained their comfortable lead immediately after the restart when Ninkovic showed why he's emerging as the player of the season with a classy finish. Standing on the edge of the box, the Serbian midfielder left his marker red faced by threading the ball through the legs of Andrew Durante and into the corner of the net to make it 3-1.
Against a team as inconsistent as Wellington, it was a lead sufficient for Sydney FC to claim their 14th win of the season yet the Sky Blues weren't resting on their laurels. Substitute Bernie Ibini came close to adding a fourth but for a well-read save from Moss, while Bobo's header in injury time was narrowly wide.
Phoenix had no reply, powerless to resist the Sky Blue juggernaut extending their lead to 12 points at the top of the table as Sydney FC head into next week's derby against Western Sydney Wanderers still undefeated after 19 games.
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