Ben Gibson scored a late winner to push the team back to four points clear at the top of the A-League table.
We opened up as the more dominant of the two teams, as we controlled the opening ten minutes of the match. Kota Mizunuma managed to find the back of the net in that period, only for the goal to be chalked off after Dobson had just carried it out of play.
Mizunuma had a golden opportunity to open the scoring 25 minutes in. Will Dobson beat a Sydney FC defender on the edge of the box before firing towards goal. Devenish-Meares palmed the effort into the path of Mizunuma, who rushed his effort straight into the post and out of play.
Kota more than made up for his missed effort, scoring a stunning long-range volley to open the scoring. Burgess launched a ball over the top of the Sydney FC defence, searching for Mizunuma. Kota let it bounce twice, before smashing his effort on the half-volley, finding the bottom corner from just outside of the box.
We would take the 1-0 lead into the break, having firmly controlled the first stanza. Sydney would have the quicker start to the second half, as they had back to back opportunities to equalise. Campuzano had an open net after latching on to a half-cleared header from Delianov 25 metres from goal. Despite having an open net, he dragged his effort wide. Moments later, Stamatelopoulos would find himself 1 on 1 with Delianov, only to fire wide of the post.
Sydney would finally be rewarded for their spell of dominance, as Quintal would squirm his way past Aquilina before firing into the net, equalising at 1-1 with just over 20 minutes left.
Sydney continued to press for a winner, but to no avail. After withstanding long bouts of pressure from Sydney FC, Ben Gibson would break through to win it in the 93rd minute. Xavier would pick up the ball, before firing a perfect cross through to Gibson, who tapped into the empty net.
The result pushes us back to four points clear at the top of the A-League Men’s table, with just four games remaining. The team will be back in action on April 2nd, as they head to Campbelltown to face Macarthur. They return home on April 11th, against Adelaide United. Tickets can be purchased HERE!
