Five moments from Sydney FC v Adelaide United in Round 12 of the Hyundai A-League 2014/15 Season
1. Lacklustre first half
It was an uninspiring first half for the Reds, getting off to a somewhat slightly sluggish start. First half play wasn’t without its moments, largely thanks to Bruce Djite, the ever lurking presence in Sydney’s defensive line. Djite had his chances, perhaps the best coming in the 11th minute following a lofted pass from Marcelo Cassusca, but Djite couldn’t quite strike the ball as well as he needed to.
2. Yellow cards all round (1st half, both sides)
The match featured a proliferation of yellow cards all throughout, as four Reds and two Sky Blues were shown yellow. Some challenges were quite mild – others slightly spicier – but were none the less very telling, as the frustration levels built in a scoreless first half hour of play with not a lot of flow for either side.
3. Djite’s Breakthrough
The second half looked to be heading in a similar direction at first, before Djite scored in the 67th minute and flipped the script. Carrusca deftly rounded Sydney keeper Vedran Janjetović, before firing a low cross which bounced off of Djite via Sky Blues defender Sebastian Ryall into the net.
Djite’s breakthrough goal provided a shot in the arm for United, who were suddenly highly active all over the ground, full of life as they lifted the intensity in defence and fluidity in attack.
4. Sanchez and Mabil Make it a Goal-fest
In the 80th minute James Jeggo broke on the right wing and fired a pinpoint cross to a sprinting Pablo Sanchez, who sent a header into the top corner with equal accuracy. It was a flawless sequence of events as the Reds started to not just win, but dominate.
The exclamation point came in extra time when a crafty Jeggo flick pass found Cirio, who in turn found a wide open Mabil in front of goal, the youngster making no mistake as the Reds went up 3-0 to claim a dominant victory away from home.
5. Plenty of changes for next match
Josep Gombau and his squad spoke about the clubs depth of Hyundai A-League ready players, and now that depth will be put to the test with Eugene Galekovic on Socceroos duty – youngster John Hall his likely replacement – and Nigel Boogaard and Tarek Elrich set to miss the New Years Eve festivities due to one match bans.
Gombau has plenty to think about in the reshuffling of his lineup as his Reds find themselves thin in defence.
