Central Coast Mariners legend Matt Simon came back to haunt his former club, scoring twice off the bench to give Sydney FC a 3-1 win at Central Coast Stadium.
Sydney FC started the game in better fashion than the home side, consistently posing a threat in transition and limiting the Mariners’ midfielders of time on the ball. They deservedly took the lead in the 34th minute, after Fillip Holosko’s backheel found Alex Brosque inside the area, who then set up Shane Smeltz for a simple finish, the striker’s first goal of the season.
However, like last week against Melbourne City, the Mariners produced an immediate response and equalised through Roy O’Donovan. The Irishman missed a good chance earlier in the half, but made no mistake with his finish after Fabio Ferreira’s cutback from the right flank. O’Donovan was giving the Sydney FC defence a lot of problems and had a good shout for a penalty just before half-time after being played through by Liam Rose.
Unfortunately, those calls for a penalty were denied, but the Mariners looked to linger on the decision too much as Nick Fitzgerald got sent off for two yellow cards in two minutes.
The Mariners held firm for much of the second half, but in the end they ran out of legs and Sydney FC pounced. Matt Simon, the Mariners’ all-time leading goalscorer, came off the bench and scored twice in the 82nd and 87th minutes to secure the win for his new side and ensure their return to the top of the table.
Simon creates striker dilemma for Arnold
Shane Smeltz looked dangerous in the first half, and after scoring his first goal of the season looked to be returning to his usual predatory form. However, the New Zealand international faded badly in the second half and Graham Arnold turned to Matt Simon to break the deadlock. The A-League veteran did exactly that, scoring two clinical goals to put the result well beyond doubt, and surely stake his claim for a starting spot next week. Smeltz may have broken his duck for the season, but Simon was the one who stepped up when it counted.
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