In a disjointed contest that lacked any rhythm or flow and contained plenty of fouls, Sydney FC and the Wellington Phoenix played out a 0-0 draw at Allianz Stadium, leaving Sydney with one win at home so far this season and winless in four matches.
There had not been a goalless draw in this fixture since November 2007 but the sequence was snapped tonight.
Sydney FC had the majority of chances in a relatively even first 15 minutes of the match, with Moss saving well from Filip Hološko’s effort in particular after an error from Albert Riera gave him a chance on the edge of the box. The major talking points were two soft yellow cards given out by referee Chris Beath to Sydney’s Milos Dimitrijevic and Wellington’s Roly Bonevacia. Despite Sydney having the shots on goal early, the Phoenix had most of the possession, but could not find the final ball to exploit Sydney’s high line and get anything on target.
Wellington’s first attempt on goal did not come until the 33rd minute when Bonevacia shot narrowly wide. Despite Sydney’s six attempts on goal and six corners at the same stage of the game, neither side really looked capable of breaking the stalemate. Both sides were struggling for fluidity and execution, and there was no clear side in the ascendancy throughout the entirety of the half. Come the half time whistle, the score remained locked at 0-0.
Despite the scoreline, there were no tactical changes made by Graham Arnold or Ernie Merrick to begin the second half. Sydney had the first chance, as Smeltz played in Milos Ninkovic, but his tame effort went over the bar. Both sides traded close misses in the 56th and 58th minutes respectively (with Krishna almost finding Bonevacia in the box and Smeltz feeding Brosque to shoot just wide) and Phoenix midfielder Alex Rodriguez struck against the base of the woodwork from an acute angle.
The flashpoints of the match happened in the final 10 minutes as tensions between Phoenix defender Manny Muscat and Sydney skipper Alex Brosque boiled over into handbags before Brosque put his energy into outpacing the Nix defence and hitting the post with the best chance of the match in the 83rd minute.
Ultimately the match remained goalless, and both sides had to settle for the draw.
And another by the Cove #respect pic.twitter.com/FA4BakzM6t
— David Lewis (@DavidLewis31) November 26, 2015
Click NEXT for major talking points
