Adelaide United 1-3 Sydney FC
By Kris Goman (19/11/23)
Above: Sydney FC players celebrate Fiona Worts’s goal. Photo: Sydney FC.
It’s still early days in the league and Sydney has been away in Uzbekistan playing in the AFC Club Championship so are low down the table due to missing a couple of games and this is almost a bottom-of-the-table clash so both teams are looking for points.
It can be a psychological struggle when you’re at the bottom of the table despite having games in hand so a win here would be a big confidence booster for either team. Conditions are ideal with the temperature at 24 degrees and a glorious sunny day.
Adelaide come into the match with just a single point from a draw and three losses and their fortunes don’t change on completion of this match. It’s a spirited affair with Adelaide having the bulk of possession but can’t turn that into enough goals to overcome Sydney FC.
Two excellent team goals with all the work and the assists coming from defenders and a penalty earned and struck by Princess Ibini sees Sydney to a convincing 3-1 win over the Reds.
Sydney had 20 shots on goal to Adelaide’s nine and the bulk of those were from Fiona Worts and Shea Connors who are both fitting in nicely to their new team.
Very early on, Ibini crossed to Worts whose shot is saved by Annalie Grove. Soon after Conners bursting down the right took another shot that went wide. Shay Holman took down Nanako Sasaki and received a yellow for her troubles.
Tori Tumeth tackled Dylan Holmes in a brutal challenge that looks like it took the wind out of her. The Sydney fouls are piling up.
Ibini wove a ball through to Connors again and it once again crossed the face of the goal to go out. Worts, Ibini and Connors linked up well to apply a lot of pressure and shoot but Adelaide were defending well.
Then in a change of positions, Connors got ball back in a defensive move and passed to Tumeth who brought it up the right in a fantastic run into the box to then centre it to Worts. She pushed it in for the first goal against her former clubcreating a 1-0 scoreline. The right side has been very successful for Sydney so far.
Not too long after, Abbey Lemon intercepted in the mid field and brought the ball down the left and put it on a platter for Worts to head it in past Annalee Grove for the second Sydney goal.
Alana Jancevski had a strong strike on goal in retaliation and Jada Whyman managed to push it out for a corner. Ibini backed up for another strike but there’s not enough on it and it was easily caught by Grove this time.
Worts was pulled down in the box and pleaded for a penalty but Lara Lee was not having any of it. Sasaki tried a long range shot that was on target but easily caught by Whyman.
Just before half time Holman took a shot toward the top right of the goal but it skimmed the top bar in a very close shot.
In stoppage time Worts ran down the centre and inexplicably slowed up and was dispossessed. Lemon recovered it and passed to Connors who was in the clear but her shot was marginally wide again.
Hannah Blake received a beautiful ball from Hodgson and moved into the clear to score in the right side of the goal. Sydney were complaining about her being offside and Whyman copped a yellow. Just a bit later Juric got a yellow too. Going into the half time break, we’ve got a match on again at 2-1 Sydney.
After the break Adelaide push hard and Mariah Lee slipped a pass to Blake but her strike hits the side netting.
Worts chases a ball down on the right and sends it back to the top of the box to Indiana Dos Santos who shoots slightly high. After some passing around the box, it fell to Ibini who took a long shot which is tipped over by Grove.
Abbey Lemon got a yellow for Sydney’s third after a tackle on Blake. The free kick results in a corner which is tipped out by Whyman for another corner which resulted in nothing.
Lucy Johnson replaced Dos Santos, who had had a fairly quiet game, but soon after appears to roll her ankle and hobbles off to be replaced by 17-year-old Zara Kruger.
When Annabel Haffenden brings Ibini down in the box, Adelaide’s fate is sealed. Ibini slots the penalty to the bottom left and consolidates Sydney’s lead to 3-1.
Aideen Keane and Sasaki collide and, as the last to the party, Keane scores yet another yellow for Sydney.
Towards the end, Keane drove down the right then sent it onto Ibini who let it roll through to Worts who lined up for her hat trick but was denied by Grove in a great save.
Even without Cortnee Vine and Natalie Tobin, a lack of possession and a lot of travel recently, Sydney dominated the match and won convincingly, able to convert more of their chances and take the three points with Adelaide remaining winless at the bottom of the table.
Teams: ADELAIDE UNITED: Grove, L. Hodgson, Tonkin, Waldus, E. Hodgson, Sasaki, Homles, Morgan, Blake, Jancevski, Lee. Substitutes: Jenkins, Haffenden, Holtz, Panagaris, Taylor.
Scorers: Blake 45+3’.
Sydney FC: Whyman, Tumeth, Seaman, Mclean, Lemon, Ray, Holman, I. Dos Santos, Ibini, Worts, Connors. Substitutes: Franco, Chauvet, Johnson, Keane, Kruger.
Scorers: Worts 20’, 26’, Ibini 79’.
Referee: Lara Lee.
Attendance: 1,376.
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