A Billy Celeski hat-trick fired Perth Glory to a 4-2 victory over Sydney FC at the Sydney Football Stadium tonight.
A Billy Celeski hat-trick fired Perth Glory to a 4-2 victory over Sydney FC at the Sydney Football Stadium tonight.
A wonder strike from Steve Corica gave Sydney FC a faint hope of a comeback, but when James Downey was knocked down in the penalty box, Celeski put the result beyond doubt from the spot.
Despite the defeat, departing defender Mark Rudan received a guard of honour from his teammates and local juniors and a standing ovation from the crowd, before saying farewell to ‘The Cove-.
The result leaves Sydney FC in fifth place, one point behind the Newcastle Jets.
LIVE MATCH UPDATES:
FULL TIME: SYDNEY FC 2 (Corica 50′, Bridges 90′) PERTH GLORY 4 (Celeski 33′, 35′, 77′ penalty, Bertos 49′)
90+1′- Yellow Card to Bridges for a late lunge.
90′- There will be 3 minutes added on.
90′- Micevski on for Coyne
90′- Sydney FC 2 Perth Glory 4
90′- GOAL!
Michael Bridges slots the ball under Tomi Tomich. Adam Biddle played Bridges into space on the edge of the box by switching the ball across the face.
90′- Bolton is collected by Downey as he slides out at his feet to snare the ball.
87′- Biddle checks inside his defender and drives a low shot just wide of the goal.
84′- Sekulovski flicks Bertos’ free kick over the bar. Another good chance.
81′- Robertson on for his Sydney FC debut. Milligan off.
80′- Rudan’s header hits the cross bar off the corner.
80′- Bridges slides the ball into Brosque but his shot is deflected by Djulbic.
77′- Sydney FC 1 Perth Glory 4
Celeski hits his spot kick to Bolton’s right – too much power and height for the ‘keeper.
77′- GOAL!
76′- PENALTY to PERTH!
Fyfe ruled to have shoved Downey in the area. Referee blew the whistle despite Robinson putting the ball in the back of the net.
74′- Sekulovski on for Rizzo.
73′- Brosque latches onto a Corica long ball but his shot is comfortabely caught by Tomich. The chip was on, but he opted for power.
72′- Fyfe’s long range shot deflects for a corner.
65′- Is there enough time for Sydney FC to snatch an equaliser? The crowd has lifted and so have the players. Perth will remember how late Sydney equalised in the return match in Round 8 – the score that night, 3-3. Will there be deja vu?
65′- Biddle on for Zdrillic.
64′- Rukavytsya on for Karpeh.
64′- Yellow Card to Milligan.
63′- Rizzo chips in the ball from a short corner but Bolton intercepts the dangerous ball.
63′- Another Perth corner.
62′- Milligan slides in against Karpeh and gives away the corner.
61′- Yellow Card to Djulbic for a shove on Brosque.
60′- Zdrillic blasts over the bar from a tight angle at the back post.
58′- Brosque played into the box but hooks his shot across the face of goal.
50′- Sydney FC 1 Perth Glory 3
Immediate reply by Sydney FC! Bridges got his head onto a long ball, nodding it into the path of Corica – his sublime volley looped over Tomich and restores hope for the home side.
50′- GOAL!!
49′- Sydney FC 0 Perth Glory 3.
Rizzo bombed down the right before whipping in a ball across the face of goal. Leo Bertos showed more enthusiasm to beat the Sydney defenders to the ball and he tapped it in on the volley to score his first goal of the season.
49′- GOAL!
48′- Tomich gloves the corner.
48′- Sydney FC have started the half brightly and earnt an early corner.
47′- Zdrillic skews his shot across the face of goal and the ball ricochetes around before being cleared.
46′- The second half is underway. Can Sydney FC replicate the drama of Round 8 and snatch some points from this match? John Kosmina says the boys will ‘pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off’ as they try to salvage a result. The side needs to step up a gear to do so.
Mark Rudan-s farewell has not followed the script as Sydney FC stare down the barrel of a defeat to bottom placed Perth Glory. Two defensive blunders have gifted a double to Billy Celeski who calmly slotted his chances past Clint Bolton.
Celeski-s first goal came after intercepting a misdirected pass from Mark Milligan. He then skipped past Milligan before striking a smart finish past Bolton. Minutes later, Celeski was at it again, this time dispossessing McFlynn before striding into the box and chipping the ball past the advancing Bolton.
HALF TIME: Sydney FC 0 Perth Glory 2
45+1′- Audacious forty yard effort by Talay is grasped by Tomich.
45′- There will be 1 minute added on.
42′- Milligan heads Corica’s corner over the bar.
42′- The free kick rebounds off the wall and goes for a corner.
41′- Simpson clips Brosque twenty five metres out from goal. Talay lines up the free kick.
40′- Nothing eventuates.
40′- Sydney FC corner.
35′- Sydney FC 0 Perth Glory 2.
Disaster for Sydney FC. Celeski pounces on another defensive blunder to poke the ball bast Bolton and silence the crowd.
35′- GOAL!
34′- Sydney FC 0 Perth Glory 1
Billy Celeski intercepted a poor pass from Mark Milligan and finished smartly past Bolton
34′- GOAL!
33′ – Celeski slides a ball into the path of Karpeh, but Bolton smothers the ball after a poor touch from the striker.
33′- Word from the dressing room is that Robbie Middleby has a bruised shin below the knee.
30′- Crowd thought Sydney had scored! Talay hoisted the ball back in after the corner and Rudan’s header flashed past the post.
30′- Sydney FC’s first corner of the match.
24′- Zdrillic has slotted straight into Middleby’s position at left midfield.
23′- INJURY forces Robbie Middleby off after a collision with Mark Milligan. David Zdrillic is his replacement.
21′- Bridge’s offside after sweeping move by Sydney – thirty metre diagonal ball from Talay to Corica, but his first time centre to Bridges caught the Englishman offside, and he blasted over anyway.
21′- Talay smothers Rizzo’s shot off the corner.
20′- Tyler Simpson charged into the box after a one-two with Bertos down the right, but Milligan’s challenge forces the ball out for a corner.
18′- Perth wastes the corner.
17′- Rudan clears a dangerous cross over the bar for a corner to Perth Glory.
15′- Bertos blasts an effort wide after he had no other options available in a box packed with Sydney defenders.
13′- Best moment so far – Corica floats a lovely weighted ball from the right, but Brosque heads wide of the post.
12′- Bridges turns his defender and hits the deck on the edge of the area – no free kick awarded to the chagrin of the crowd.
9′- Popovic skies the ball over the bar after a scramble for the crumbs in the box.
8′- Both sides finding their feet in these early stages, with neither stamping their mark as yet.
7′- Tomich tidies up a long ball but is put under pressure by Brosque chasing after the lost cause.
4′- Lucky escape for Sydney FC as Bolton’s clearance is charged-down by Bertos but the rebound bounces over the bar.
1′- Game is underway.
Kick off shortly. Sydney FC will line up in a 3-4-3 formation, with Terry McFlynn replacing the suspended Ruben Zadkovich. Perth Glory will field a 4-4-2 shape, with Hayden Foxe captaining the side in the absence of Jamie Harnwell, Simon Colosimo and Nikolai Topor-Stanley.
Welcome to tonight’s coverage of Sydney FC v Perth Glory. All the hype leading into this match has surrounded veteran defender Mark Rudan’s swansong in his 50th appearance for the club. The towering centre-back has been handed the captain’s armband for tonight’s encounter.
However, this is a crucial fixture in Sydney’s race for a spot in the final four, and Rudan has stressed the importance of focusing on the task at hand. After Adelaide United succumb to the Central Coast Mariners 2-1 last night, Sydney FC can leapfrog them into third spot with a win tonight.
Perth have enjoyed somewhat of a mini revival under new coach David Mitchell and come into tonight’s match having already pushed Sydney FC to two draws earlier this season. Only a miraculous comeback snared Sydney FC a point in a 3-3 draw in Perth in Round 8.
With a game in hand against Central Coast Mariners next weekend, this is a great opportunity for Sydney FC to reclaim a spot in the four, while maintaining John Kosmina’s unbeaten run in charge of the club.
Sydney FC v Perth Glory
Saturday 15 December
Sydney Football Stadium
Referee: Michael Hester
Crowd: 12 402
Sydney FC: Clint Bolton, Iain Fyfe, Mark Rudan (c), Tony Popovic, Robbie Middleby, Steve Corica, Alex Brosque, Terry McFlynn, Mark Milligan, Ufuk Talay, Michael Bridges. Subs: Ivan Necevski (gk), David Zdrillic, Adam Biddle, Mark Robertson.
Perth Glory: Tom Tomich, Dino Djulbic, Billy Celeski, Leo Bertos, Jamie Coyne, Nick Rizzo, James Downey, Hayden Foxe, James Robinson, Jerry Karpeh, Tyler Simpson. Subs: Tando Velaphi (gk), David Micevski, Nikita Rukavytsya, Naum Sekulovski.
