Sydney FC 2–1 Adelaide United
Report and EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS from Kris Goman.
It’s a gorgeous clear day at Cromer Park, possibly a bit hot for playing football but perfect for watching it. Sydney will be hoping to make amends for their drubbing last week against the Roar. The result is unlikely to see either team drop out of the top four in the table but both would like to solidify their position with three points.
Both Sydney and Adelaide are playing a 4-3-3 formation today with the hosts kicking off and they apply the pressure straight away. An early corner is cleared by Adelaide. It’s wave after wave of Sydney attack with one notable clearance landing on the roof of the building next to the field.
A second corner is also cleared as Adelaide have a clear height advantage. For the first fifteen minutes, Sydney have the bulk of possession and the game is mostly in their half. Adelaide have a couple of forays into their half but with the exception of Mallory Weber bringing it into the box on one occasion, they aren’t looking too threatening yet.
By the same token, their defence is standing strong and the game moves to the midfield until Princess Ibini brings the ball down the left to the top of the box and passes it to Remy Siemsen who has just run into an offside position. Her shot goes wide anyway but play is called back for the free kick.
Sydney retrieve possession and catch Adelaide slightly unaware. Some quick passes around the top of the box sees a pass from Ally Green send Siemsen into the box with Adelaide defence in hot pursuit. Her shot bounces straight off the keeper, Annalee Grove. Sydney restore possession again but eventually it goes out for a throw in for the hosts.
Adelaide step up and are putting pressure right back on Sydney. Maria Jose Rojas is making inroads and looking dangerous at the top of the box. That attack is cleared with no damage done.
Not long after Emily Condon gets the ball in midfield and passes across to Charlotte Grant who’s in the open on the left. Unusually, Ibini comes in clutch in defence with a burst of speed to a sliding tackle that clears the ball for a corner. The corner drops right in front of goal and Jada Mathyssen-Whyman leaps above everyone else to snatch it out of the air.
Sydney play out of the back but Adelaide are making it difficult to get through. Soon enough, it’s one tackle too many and Adelaide are back in possession. They pass back to the keeper and Grove’s clearance is intercepted by Cortnee Vine. A challenge bounces towards the keeper and she has it safely once more, despite Vine’s imminent arrival.
Adelaide are back pressing and Georgia Campagnale sends a great pass through to Holmes who crosses but Mathyssen-Whyman beats Weber to the ball.
Sydney build again and bring the ball up the field through a series of passes. When Siemsen gets it, she lays it off to Wheeler on the right and in the box. See takes it right down to the line and passes back. Maruschka Waldus blocks the cross out for a corner.
Teresa Polias’ corner goes to the far side of the box where there’s no Sydney-siders at all and is cleared. The clearance is picked up by Green and brought down the left. That move ends in another corner for Sydney. This time the corner goes straight to Siemsen in front of the box and she heads it past Grove for the first goal of the match. 1-0 Sydney at 40 minutes.
Adelaide try to immediately return fire and have a run down the right. The cross is straight to Mathyssen-Whyman though. The ball is sent out to Green who passes to Taylor Ray as Adelaide press again. Her pass back to Natalie Tobin is miscalculated and bounces over her head and out for a corner in a rather poor effort.
The corner goes to Ibini, who heads it backwards across the face of goal to Matilda McNamara facing goal. She heads it towards goal but Clare Wheeler is able to head it clear. As Charlize Rule brings it up the right flank, Isobel Hodgson comes in late with her tackle and floors Rule. She gets a free kick for her efforts.
The ball is quickly up the other end and Ray lobs a ball to Vine who brings the ball into the box but it goes just out of reach and the keeper has it wrapped up.
Just before half time, Dylan Holmes chases a ball to the goal line on the left, cuts back in and gets past Ray. Tobin blocks the cross and, soon after, play is stopped to deal with Siemsen who has hurt her ankle.
Two minutes of injury time are announced and Sydney continues to press to no avail until the half time whistle is blown.
Adelaide kick off in the second half. Sydney gets a corner very early on. Polias’ kick floats high and long to drop in the middle of the goal mouth right in front. Vine jumps high and beats Grove’s outstretched arm to head it in goal. 2-0 Sydney at 48 minutes.
From a throw in virtually straight after kick-off, Ibini nutmegs Kahlia Hogg and gets away a pass to Green on the left. Green crosses to the far post and the ball is batted away by Grove before Vine can get there. It comes out to Wheeler who takes a lovely on-target shot but it’s straight to Grove who has to absorb the power with her body.
Very soon after, Green has the ball again on the left but her cross finds Wheeler offside this time.
Next attack from Adelaide sees Rojas on the right, come right down beside the near post. Tobin gets just in front of her and punts it up to Mathyssen-Whyman. She initially catches it but realises it’s a pass back and drops it like a hot potato. The ball rolls down her body and she sort of flutter kicks it away and through Rojas’ legs and clear. They are very lucky as no one was expecting that and Rojas was right there and it could have so easily deflected off her. Mathyssen-Whyman gives a wry smile knowing she got away with murder.
Adelaide are in strife when a pass back hasn’t got enough oomph and Ray chases it down. Grove just beats her to the ball and clears it safely. Green then brings it back down the left and her cross had Siemsen and Vine perfectly positioned to pounce but Grove rises above and snatches the ball away.
From a free kick, Adelaide execute a wonderful series of passes through midfield that sees the ball delivered to Hodgson on the right with Ibini in chase. Tobin closes down the angle and gets the clearance. Soon after, as Adelaide are back on the attack, Ray gets a yellow for a shirt pull.
At 62 minutes, Adelaide have a free kick. Weber takes it and it sails curling towards goal. The Adelaide team rushes forward with one attempted header by Holmes not connecting but McNamara is following up and connects perfectly to send the ball to the back of the net for her first W-League goal. It’s game on and the score is now 2-1 in favour of Sydney.
The home side retort with a run down the left wing. The throw in sees a painful hip clash between Meleri Mullan and Green, who goes down. The ball lands with Ray who smashes it towards goal only to have Waldus head it behind. The resulting corner lands straight on top of the net.
At 74 minutes, Siemsen passes to Lowe in the box, she spins and losses sight of the ball which is cleared out to Wheeler, who is always in the right place at the right time. Wheeler belts it towards goal but it’s got a little too much uplift and it skims the crossbar. It’s just a matter of time until Wheeler scores a worldie.
As the clock ticks down, Adelaide dial up the pressure. There’s a couple of runs into their top third and then Rojas and Weber attack McLean as she tried to clear it out of the box. Rojas ends up with it and they are both in the clear. Rojas sidesteps Tobin then shoots. She goes to the left of Mathyssen-Whyman but the Sydney keeper has anticipated it and throws herself in that direction and blocks what should have been a certain goal.
The last five minutes are very transitional with the ball up and down the field. Polias gets a yellow for wasting time after a free kick is awarded to Adelaide. There’s four minutes of extra time announced as Toby gets a yellow for a late tackle on McNamara.
The free kick goes up to the Adelaide box and Holmes shoots. The shot is blocked and rebounds back up the field to Hawkesby. She lobs it further upfield with Toby running it down. Grove comes right out of goal and Allira Toby beats her to the ball, heading it over her and towards the left corner. It bounces high as Toby and Emily Hodgson speed towards it. Hodgson gets a foot to it and sends it into the air again. This is like a panto where Toby can’t see the ball. It’s behind you! Hodgson is able to head it out and Grove is back in goal.
It’s quickly back down in the Adelaide third and a throw in sees a snap shot by Holmes deflected to the cross bar and into the top of the net. The referee gives a goal kick instead of a corner much to the disappointment of Adelaide.
Adelaide are not giving up and continue to pile the pressure on. In the dying moments Sydney make a break and Ibini ends up in the right of the box and shoots. Grove is able to block the shot as the full time whistle goes.
The intensity really ramped up in the last fifteen minutes but neither team could break through. Both teams certainly displayed why they are in the top four and displayed top class defending. Sydney had the upper hand during most of the game and their skills in the set pieces were the deciding factor in the end.
Clare Wheeler got player of the match with an extraordinary work rate re touches and tackles and two cracking shots on goal.
Teams: SYDNEY FC: Mathyssen-Whyman, Rule, Green, Mclean, Tobin, Polias, Vine, Wheeler, Ray, Ibini, Siemsen. Substitutes: Campbell (GK), Hristodouou, Hawkesby, Lowe, Toby.
Scorers: Siemsen 40, Vine 48.
ADELAIDE UNITED: Grove, I.Hodgson, Grant, McNamara, Waldus, Holmes, Hogg, Campagnale, Rojas, Weber, Condon. Substitutes: Fryer-McLaren (GK), E.Hodgson, Kirkby, Mullan, Tonkin.
Scorer: McNamara 64.
Referee: Rebecca Durcau.
Attendance: 1,087.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GD | |
| Sydney FC | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 6 | 21 | +12 |
| Brisbane Roar | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 21 | 6 | 19 | +15 |
| Melbourne Victory | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 11 | 13 | + 4 |
| Adelaide United | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 13 | + 1 |
| Canberra United | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 11 | = |
| Western Sydney Wanderers | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 17 | 7 | – 10 |
| Newcastle Jets | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 4 | – 5 |
| Melbourne City | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 17 | 4 | – 10 |
| Perth Glory | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 1 | – 7 |
Top four sides qualify for the finals at the end of the regular season.
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