Sydney FC continued their winning ways with a solid 4-2 result against 2015 NPL 2 Grand Final Champions Northern Tigers at Valentine Sports Park on Saturday night.
Sydney were sharp out of the blocks and took any early lead after four minutes when Chris Zuvela burst into the penalty area and drove a low shot across the keeper inside the far post to open the scoring.
Six minutes later it was Daniel Araujo that jinked his way into the opposition penalty area and his shot on goal took a deflection and looped over the keeper to double the Sky Blues lead.
The Sky Blues could have easily increased their margin by several goals with Bai Antoniou and Charles Lokolingoy having the best of the chances, however, some wayward finishing and fine keeping kept the scoreline at 2-0 at the half time break.
Northern Tigers, who were crowned 2015 NPL 2 Champions, pulled a goal back soon after the resumption with an audacious 40 meter lob over the head of keeper Mitch Evans as Sydney were playing a high line, and at 2-1 the game was on edge.
Lokolingoy came close when he struck the base of the goal post on the hour mark and then Antoniou also found the woodwork with an effort as well.
A well worked move down the left flank saw clever combination play between Brendan Curtis and Yianni Spyrakis send Cristian Gonzalez flying down the left sideline before delivering a precision pass across the face of goal for Lokolingoy to bury into the back of net for 3-1.
A dubious call by the referee gave Northern Tigers another lifeline as he awarded the home team a penalty adjudging a foul by centre back Patrick Flottman in a contest for the ball. The spot kick was duly converted and at 3-2 the tension in the game rose considerably.
It was Sydney FC that kept their focus and put the game beyond doubt when Antoniou rifled home for 4-2 following another delightful build up in possession.
Head Coach, Rob Stanton, was pleased with his charges efforts as they continue to build the momentum in their first season of senior football. The young Sydney FC first grade squad has an average age of 18.9 years.
“I was pleased with not only the way we played the game but also that we stood up in the physical battle too” said Stanton.
“It was a good test for my players and to see how they handled themselves.”
Sydney FC next take on equal top Bankstown City led by former Sky Blue, Michael Beauchamp, at Lambert Park on Saturday 2 April (kick off 7:45pm).
Sydney FC 4 (Zuvela; Araujo; Lokolingoy; Antoniou) defeated Northern Tigers 2 (McConaghy 2).
Line Up: Mitch Evans; Nicola Kuleski; Patrick Flottman; George Timotheou; Brendan Curtis; Yianni Spyrakis; Chris Zuvela; Daniel Araujo; Cristian Gonnzalez; Charles Lokolingoy (Tom Slater); Bai Antoniou (Aaron Avery)
Subs Not Used: Duro Dragicevic (GK); Liam McGing; Mani Gonzalez
