If goal mouth action is a key ingredient in a quality Hyundai A-League clash then seven goals between Perth and Sydney had the makings of a classic. Unfortunately for a 10-man Glory it was a lopsided scoreboard glaring back at them when the final whistle sounded.
If goal mouth action is a key ingredient in a quality Hyundai A-League clash then seven goals between Perth and Sydney had the makings of a classic. Unfortunately for a 10-man Glory it was a lopsided scoreboard glaring back at them when the final whistle sounded.
A game which started with plenty of promise was turned on its head in the 20th minute when Perth defender Dino Djulbic was sent for an early shower and the flood gates opened as Sydney raced to a match winning lead at the break.
The big Perth defender was shown a yellow card after arguing against the penalty given away by team mate Adriano Pellegrino and then was seeing red a few moments later after continuing to protest. Coach Dave Mitchell was justifiably disappointed in Djulbic-s actions which forced Perth to reshuffle their set-up and gave Sydney the numerical advantage for the majority of the match.
“We were playing well to that point and after Dino was sent off we still had an opportunity to get something out of the match and continued to go forward however we didn-t adapt at the back quickly enough and Sydney capitalised and it cost us,” Mitchell said.
It was the home side who inflicted the opening wound on Glory after just two minutes when a sloppy back pass was collected by Sydney marksman Alex Brosque and he finished with style.
The early disappointment didn-t keep Perth down for long and they were soon on back in the game when the club-s international connection of Amaral and Eugene Dadi combined for the equaliser. Former Brazilian international Amaral firing a pin point free kick into the area to find Dadi who climbed high to head home past Clint Bolton.
The rest of the opening half was one to forget for Perth, going down to 10-men and conceding a further three goals to leave them with a mountain to climb after the break. Much to their credit they returned revitalised and gave the home side a shake.
“The second half was all about pride and to the lads credit they came out and ran hard and created some good opportunities,” said Mitchell.
“It was pleasing to see that we never gave up and lifted ourselves off the canvas to put some fight into the second half. That was what I asked of them at half time and the lads put in a gutsy performance to finish off the match,” said Mitchell.
In what was a tough day at the office for most, Dadi turned in an eye catching two-goal display and received strong support from midfield duo Amaral and Scott Bulloch.
Dadi unsettled the home defence all afternoon and deservedly took his goal tally for the season to three in three games. While his first owed much to the delivery of Amaral, his second was a tribute to his persistence as he drew a penalty from former Perth skipper Simon Colosimo and converted the kick himself.
Bulloch also continued to impress in his debut season as he edged an intriguing tussle with experienced Sydney defender Iain Fyfe. The former Sorrento man looked accomplished in possession and showed a real willingness to both take on his marker going forward and battle back to regain possession. He was perhaps unfortunate not to bag a first A-League goal shortly after the break when he dispossessed Colosimo before unleashing a well-struck 20-metre effort that flashed narrowly over Bolton-s crossbar.
The youngster received plenty of support from Amaral who simply carried on from where he left off against Newcastle last weekend. The Brazilian again showcased his top-class vision and mesmerizing close control, while also using all his guile and experience to give the visitors some breathing space despite the very close attention of numerous Sydney markers.
Elsewhere, Glory was indebted to goal keeper Frank Juric who pulled off a string of fine saves late in the game. With the visitors throwing bodies forward in a desperate bid to reduce the deficit, it was inevitable that gaps would appear at the back, but Juric almost single-handedly kept Sydney at bay.
The former Socceroo drew on his vast experience to deny Steve Corica on three separate occasions and also keep out goalbound efforts from Jon Aloisi and Mark Bridge.
It was unfortunate for Juric that he could do nothing to prevent the luckless Nikolai Topor-Stanley from inadvertently adding Sydney-s fifth goal in the shadows of full-time.
David Tarka was a surprise inclusion into the Glory line-up and came through the game unscathed. Although the central defender would have been bitterly disappointed by the result, it is to be hoped that his injury nightmare has now been put well and truly behind him.
Glory will look to build on a courageous second-half performance in which they made light of their numerical disadvantage to dominate their hosts for long periods. However Mitchell will have plenty to think about over the next fortnight, with the competition taking a break next weekend, to prepare Perth for a home clash against Queensland on Sunday 14 September.
“The break gives us some time to get a few of the boys back who weren-t available today so it has come at a handy time. I thought we were better than what the final score line said and we will work hard over the next couple of weeks and be refreshed physically and mentally for a big game against Queenland,” Mitchell said.
Sydney FC 5 (Brosque 2-, Corica 21-(pen), Bridge 39-, Cole 43-, Topor-Stanley 88- (og))
Perth Glory 2 (Dadi 12-, 66-(pen))
Sydney Football Stadium, Sunday, 31 August 2008
Referee: Peter Green
Perth Glory: 20.Frank JURIC (gk), 2.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 3.David TARKA, 4.Jamie COYNE (c), 6.Dino DJULBIC, 9.Adrian TRINIDAD (13.Nikita RUKAVYTSYA 46-), 10.AMARAL, 11.Scott BULLOCH, 14.Eugene DADI (24.Anthony SKORICH 85-), 16.Adriano PELLEGRINO (7.Nick RIZZO 85-), 17.James DOWNEY.
Substitutes not used: 1.Jason PETKOVIC (gk),
Yellow cards: Pellegrino 20′, Djulbic 20-, Amaral 86-
Red cards: Djulbic 20-
Sydney FC: 1.Clint BOLTON (gk), 2.Iain FYFE, 4.Simon COLOSIMO, 5.Mitchell PRENTICE, 7.Robbie MIDDLEBY, 10.Steve CORICA (26. Dez GIRALDI 83-), 12.Shannon COLE (23.Jon ALOISI 66-), 14.Alex BROSQUE, 15.Terry MCFLYNN, 17.Jacob TIMPANO )6.Tony POPOVIC 59-), 19.Mark BRIDGE.
Substitutes not used: 20. Ivan NECEVSKI
Yellow cards:
Red cards:
