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High-flying Sydney FC ground Jets

Sydney FC have extended the lead at top of the Foxtel National Youth League with an impressive 3-0 win over the second-placed Newcastle Jets in their Round 11 clash at Wanderers Oval, Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.

Sydney FC have extended the lead at top of the Foxtel National Youth League with an impressive 3-0 win over the second-placed Newcastle Jets in their Round 11 clash at Wanderers Oval, Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.

For the most part it was a match befitting a top of the table clash with the Jets shading the league leaders in a hard-fought scoreless opening half.

But the injection of Blake Powell and injuries to key Jets Joey Gibbs and Michael Kantarovski saw Sydney exert their dominance with a goal from the set piece to defender Aaron Calver on the hour mark.

The Jets were still in the contest until late in the fixture when Alec Urosevski and Mitch Mallia netted for Sydney to blow the scoreline out to 3-0 and send the Sky Blues 10 points clear at the top of the table.

The match started in ideal conditions and it was the home side who almost got the perfect start when Kantarovski fired a rising shot off the crossbar from a Matthew Bilic corner in just the second minute.

Newcastle went close again when midfielder Radovan Pavicevic flashed a header wide of the target from another pin-point corner from Bilic.

The Jets received a body blow in the 15th minute when in-form striker Joey Gibbs was forced from the field after sustaining a nasty gash in a head clash with team-mate Pavicevic. Thomas Waller came on to play up front for the home side.

Despite the disruption Newcastle still edged Sydney with the better chances with Kale Bradbery working well with Waller and Bilic to threaten the Sydney goal, while the visitors mainly attacked on the counter with striker Mitch Mallia causing applying plenty of pressure to the Jets defence.

It was Mallia who almost gave the visitors the lead in the 42nd minute with a clever shot on the turn but it sailed narrowly wide for the far post before the Jets had the last say of the half when Brandon Lundy blazed over the bar after a deft pass from Bradbery.

Sydney brought on Blake Powell and Josh MacDonald for Chris Naumoff and Anthony Tomelic to start the second half and Powell was immediately involved laying back a pass for Daniel Petkovski to fire a lovely volley that was tipped over the bar by Newcastle goal-keeper Ben Kennedy.

Newcastle lost another key player when hard-working midfielder Kantarovski hobbled off the field with an ankle injury in the 57th minute and Sydney took the lead just a few moments later.

Powell forced a sharp diving save from Kennedy with the Jets custodian pushing the low shot around the post. From the corner Sydney defender Aaron Calver’s skimmed header found the bottom corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.

Newcastle looked as if they may have equalised 10 minutes from full-time when skipper Michael Finlayson weaved his way through the Sydney defence in the box and poked the ball in the back of the net but play was called back for a foul by Finlayson on Sky Blues goalkeeper Tristan Prendergast.

Sydney sealed the win just before full-time when right winger Alec Urosevski jinked his way in behind the Jets defence and unleashed a powerful shot that rocketed into the far top corner of the net.

The visitors added insult to injury for the Jets when Mitch Mallia sprinted onto a lovely through ball from Powell and steered his shot past Kennedy to make the final scoreline 3-0.

The Sky Blues now sit 10 points clear at the top of the table and will next host the bottom placed Central Coast Mariners on Sunday the 19th of January at Sydney United Sports Centre, Edensor Park (kick off 5:45pm).

Newcastle Jets 0
Sydney FC 3 (Calver 60, Urosevski 86, Mallia 90+2)

@ Wanderers Oval, Newcastle