Two late goals to Shannon Cole and Alex Brosque sealed a 2-nil win for Sydney FC against an undermanned Perth Glory at Parramatta Stadium on Sunday afternoo
Two late goals to Shannon Cole and Alex Brosque sealed a 2-nil win for Sydney FC against an undermanned Perth Glory at Parramatta Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
“I think we deserved a bit more today,” was the response of Perth Glory interim head coach Ian Ferguson.
“The effort was fantastic but we didn-t have the killer punch.”
But the result could-ve been different after a tight call went against the Glory in the first minute.
Just 50 seconds into the game, Jacob Burns swung in a free kick from just outside the area to a completely unmarked Baird, whose glancing header appeared to be over the line before McFlynn hooked it to safety. Replays suggested the ball may have been over the line, but play was allowed to continue.
Missing three first-choice defenders – Scott Neville (suspended) and Andy Todd and Jamie Harnwell (both injured) – Perth’s defence was hit with a further blow late in the game when Brent Griffiths was sent off in the 90th minute.
But playing in his 100th Hyundai A-League match, Brosque proved the difference in the last 15 minutes, his crisp through-ball bisecting Perth’s defence and allowing Shannon Cole to fire home.
And, six minutes later he was at it again calmly running onto Hiro Moriyasu’s forward ball as he slotted home one himself.
Former Glory player Hayden Foxe was again busy in defence and he saved his side in the 50th minute when he just got his boot to Naum Sekulovski’s goalbound shot after the defender was released at goal by Baird’s back heel.
Although Perth lacked the “killer punch”, the visitors dominated the second half until a quick counter caught them out.
Brosque took possession near the centre and stormed forward as the Glory defence held their line. Caught out by Brosque’s speed, Perth’s midfield couldn’t shut Brosque down as he slipped in a deft ball for Shannon Cole to run onto, the young defender making no mistake as he fired home.
Then on 84 minutes, Sydney made it 2-nil through Moriyasu.
The Japanese import also took possession near the centre and despite being anonymous to that point, fired off a brilliant ball that allowed Brosque to run forward.
Brosque casually skipped his way past Glory stopper Velaphi as he charged off his line to challenge, the striker firing home into the empty net as Sydney produced their third win of the season.
Match Details:
Sydney FC: 2 (COLE 75′, BROSQUE 81′)
Perth Glory FC: 0
Referee: Peter GREEN
Crowd: 6,654 at Parramatta Stadium, Parramatta
Sydney FC line-up: 20. Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 3. Stephan KELLER (2. Sebastian RYALL 34′), 5. Hayden FOXE, 6. Hirofumi MORIYASU, 8. Stuart MUSIALIK, 12. Shannon COLE, 14. Alex BROSQUE, 15. Terry MCFLYNN (c), 19. Mark BRIDGE (16. Terry ANTONIS 84′), 22. Sung-Hwan BYUN, 23. Rhyan GRANT (24. Dimitri PETRATOS 57′).
Substitutes Not Used: 1. Liam REDDY (gk).
Yellow Cards: 6. Hirofumi MORIYASU 28′, 5. Hayden FOXE 73′, 15. Terry McFLYNN
79′.
Red Cards: Nil.
Perth Glory line-up: 1. Tando VELAPHI (gk) , 2. Josh MITCHELL, 3. Jamie COYNE, 7. Jacob BURNS (C), 9. Robbie FOWLER, 10. Michael BAIRD (21. Mile STERJOVSKI 65′), 14. Steven McGARRY, 16.Adriano PELLEGRINO, 17. Todd HOWARTH (13. Tommy AMPHLETT 85′), 18. Brent GRIFFITHS, 19. Naum SEKULOVSKI.
Substitutes Not Used:20. Aleks VRTESKI (gk), 24. Joshua RISDON.
Yellow Cards: 7. Jacob BURNS 71′.
Red Cards: 18. Brent GRIFFITHS 90′
