Sydney FC continued their pre-season preparations with a comfortable 4-0 victory over the Macarthur Rams at Campbelltown Stadium on Tuesday night to lift the inaugural ACBC (Australian Careers Business College) Cup.
Sydney FC 4 (Ninkovic 68’, McIllhatton 73’, Simon 80’, Iredale 85’) def. Macarthur Rams 0
The Sky Blues braved both the chilly conditions and their opponents in what was a fairly one-sided affair.
Graham Arnold’s men came to close to breaking the deadlock inside the opening 10 minutes after Matt Simon’s header was cleared off the line by a desperate Craig Cooley.
But while the Rams struggled to create chances of their own, the defending Hyundai A-League champions pressed on with a flurry of opportunities either side of the half-time whistle.
The breakthrough came just past the hour mark, after Milos Ninkovic volleyed the ball home from close range following some well-worked play between Simon and club captain, Alex Brosque.
Samuel McIllhatton, Matt Simon and John Iredale all scored in the game’s closing stages, as Sydney held firm for the impressive victory.
What They Said:
Matt Simon: “It was a good work out but a comfortable win for us. MacArthur were well organised and gave us a good run.
“It was nice to get on the scoresheet but the most important thing was the performance and I think the boys were very professional again.
“It’s another step in the right direction for us. It was also good for the young boys to come on with plenty in reserve and carry on the professional performance.”
Goals
68’ NINKOVIC GOAL – Ninkovic volleys home from close range after Simon nods down Brosque’s initial cross.
73’ McILLHATTON GOAL – McIllhatton controls Mutch’s cross before putting the ball beyond Matic.
80’ SIMON GOAL – Simon heads a Brandon O’Neill cross past Matic and into the back of the net.
85’ IREDALE GOAL – Iredale collects the through ball and beats the last defender before firing a driven effort past a hapless Matic.
Key Moments
8’ SIMON CHANCE – Simon meets the Sydney corner but his header is cleared off the line.
9’ RETRE CHANCE – Following the corner, Retre receives the ball on the edge of the box and tries a shot that curls just wide of the post.
14’ SIMON CHANCE – Simon makes with contact with the ball from the corner but his header is easily dealt with by Matic.
30’ SIMON CHANCE – Simon forces a save from Matic at his near post, but Bobô’s follow-up effort is tipped away for a corner.
32’ NINKOVIC CHANCE – Ninkovic has a shot from inside the box but a series of ricochets sends the ball just past the post.
36’ BROSQUE CHANCE – Brosque fires a shot towards goal but the defender manages to make a block at the crucial moment.
43’ CARNEY CHANCE – Carney volleys the ball towards goal following the corner but it lacks power and falls harmlessly into the hands of Matic.
50’ RETRE CHANCE – Retre latches onto the through ball, but his cutback across the goal is cleared before Simon can make contact at the back post.
51’ SIMON CHANCE – Brosque releases Simon inside the box but he is unable to squeeze the ball past an onrushing Matic.
54’ BUIJS CHANCE – Buijs fires a long-range rifle towards goal that calls Matic into action.
55’ RETRE CHANCE – Retre tries a first-time effort that just curls past the far post.
57’ BROSQUE CHANCE – Simon lays the ball off to Brosque but his shot is cleared off the line once again by the defender.
77’ SIMON CHANCE – Simon beats Matic at the near post, but he is unable to head the ball in from the corner.
86’ O’NEILL CHANCE – O’Neill’s free-kick curls beyond the wall and out for a goal kick.
Team News
Sydney FC 4 (Ninkovic 68’, McIllhatton 73’, Simon 80’, Iredale 85’) def. Macarthur Rams 0
Head Coach Graham Arnold made just one change to the side that defeated the Earlwood Wanderers 9-0 last week, naming Christopher Zuvela in the starting line-up in place of Jacob Esposito.
Ground: Campbelltown Sports Stadium
Referee: Katie Patterson
Sydney FC: 1. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 5. Jordy BUIJS, 6. Joshua BRILLANTE, 8. Paulo RETRE, 9. BOBÔ (11. Nicola KULESKI 46’), 10. Milos NINKOVIC, 14. Alex BROSQUE (c), 17. David CARNEY, 18. Matt SIMON (23. Filepe ZAPATA 81’), 19. Christopher ZUVELA, 22. Sebastian RYALL (13. Brandon O’NEILL 58’).
71’ – BENCH CLEARED: 20. Thomas HEWARD-BELLE (gk), 2. John IREDALE, 3. Liam McGING, 4. Patrick FLOTTMANN, 12. Brendan CURTIS, 16. Samuel McILLHATTON, 21. Matthew GREEN, 24. William MUTCH.
Subs Not Used: 7. Andrea AGAMEMNONOS
Yellow cards: Retre 45’.
Red cards: None.
Macarthur Rams: 1. Nikodin MATIC (gk), 2. Craig COOLEY (21. Lachlan PARADJIK 55’), 3. Danny LAZAREVSKI (26. Lachlan RIXON 71’), 6. James RALSTON, 8. Matthew TROTTER (10. Ben CORNISH 55’), 9. Marcello TURDERA (31. Dario PULJIC 63’), 11. Damien TRAVIS (36. Alexander LAZARESKI 63’), 12. Lachlan REUS (33. Shane BELAK 67’), 14. Blake McGINN (7. Nathan PAULL 55’), 15. Mason VERSI, 19. Scott GOODWIN (17. Rhys LLOYD 61’).
Subs not used: 28. Khervyn AGUILAR, 37. Mitchell DI PIETRO, 40. Nikola BRATIC.
Yellow cards: Goodwin 42’, Lazarevski 53’.
Red cards: None.
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