Sydney’s composed 1-0 victory on the road in Korea confounded the critics and football community alike, illustrating how far a bit of extra planning and application can take a team in the Asian Champions League.
The Cove will be scratching their heads, surging up the Group H table at the same time they slip out of finals contention back home.
Arnold shuffles the pack
The starting lineup reverted to a traditional 4-4-2 formation. George Blackwood and Matt Simon went up front, while Christopher Naumoff, Andrew Hoole, Ali Abbas and Zac Anderson were given reprieves. The bench was packed with inexperienced names like Riley Woodcock, Max Burgess and Alex Mullen.
The season-ending injury to Milos Ninkovic meant Mickael Tavares and Milos Dimitrijevic were paired in central-midfield to provide an experienced backbone. David Carney and Rhyan Grant were kept back in Sydney.
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Pohang started on the front foot, forcing a poor clearance from Matt Jurman to press the visitors deep inside their own-half. Long balls to Simon and Blackwood offered no joy, staying isolated up front as a pair in the early stages.
As the tempo began to drop and the encounter became more tactical, Sydney could not win any meaningful possession in Pohang’s half of the field. The hosts were willing to let the Sky Blues have the ball in their side of halfway, but as soon as they tried to pass the 50-yard line, the space was immediately cut off.
Then against the run of play, Sydney went direct. A run from Blackwood just missed the mark before a flick on from a Naumoff corner almost forced Pohang into a save from close range. There was life in the Sky Blues.
But Zac Anderson and Jurman gave away cheap, unnecessary fouls back-to-back, predictably mounting the pressure back onto their team. Nothing came of the set piece, yet it showed how easily the team from Moore Park could self implode at any given moment.
Kang Sang-Woo remained an ongoing threat, switching from central and wide positions to keep the defence guessing. A foul he won from Abbas in the 23rd minute gifted a set piece opportunity, with Vedran Janjetovic failing to impress via an attempted punch away from danger.
Bigger risk, bigger reward
What was clear was that Arnold, who had reportedly to been awarded a new three-year contract at the club prior to kick-off by Fox Sports, had learned his mistakes in the 2-0 defeat to Urawa in matchday one. With the midfield allowed to press up the field and feed the two strikers, more chances were likely, but for both sides.
Kim Dae-Ho’s cross from out wide could only find Abbas, who made a terrific clearance a couple of yards out from goal. All of a sudden the game was becoming stretched.
Just prior to the break, Naumoff of all players put the doubters to rest, finishing off a lovely play that started down the left with Abbas and Blackwood the striker’s cutback leaving the maligned player to smash the ball in the back of the net. Sydney suddenly founded themselves 1-0 up and it was the first time the hosts had conceded in six starts at the Steelyard.
Sydney feed off halftime lead
At the break Pohang made a double substitution. It was a moral victory of sorts for Graham Arnold, but an indication that the Steelers were coming full throttle in the second 45. At least that was the expectation.
To counter the home press, Hoole launched a long diagonal ball up to Blackwood, whose neat turn on the edge of the box won a foul. It was not pretty, but incredibly effective under the circumstances.
A flurry of chances arrived in the 54th minute, as a clever run from Blackwood put the ball on a dime for Naumoff, but the winger fluffed his lines before a cutback to Hoole saw the ball blast over the bar. It was yet another scare for the Group H hosts.
The ensuing play was comfortable for Sydney. They continued to look dangerous on the break and even with fresh legs, Pohang failed to make any genuine inroads. O’Neil slotted in for Tavares with aplomb, filling the gap in the middle of the field to shield the back four and circulate the ball when required.
Steelers huff and puff, but house stays upright
The inevitable wave of pressure started to come in the last 15 minutes. But instead of a backs-against-the-wall onslaught, the Steelers were only limited to a number of poor crosses and long range efforts that did not trouble Sydney until the very late stages, when a corner in the 94th minute caused a panic until it was booted into the heavens by Jurman.
The 1-0 win and three points can easily provide the blueprint for Sydney domestically and on the continent. Similar remarks were made after the stunning Guangzhou Evergrande win, but this was as unified and disciplined a performance as the Sky Blues have put in for 2015-16.
Simon and Blackwood’s work ethic and defending from the front is a major point of difference from the pitiful A-League displays, offering an outlet not of flair but blue collar substance. Coaches often say that hard work is the best formula and in these two towering figures, they have it.
“It’s a fantastic achievement for Sydney FC,” explained Arnold post match.
“Against Wellington we let ourselves down and our fans down.”
With two home ties and a daunting away trip to China to come, all of a sudden there is life in Sydney’s season on the back of a couple of great results in the ACL.
Should Arnold get the team defending with that dogged determination for the rest of the campaign, then the Cove can hope to salvage something out of the mire. six points from a possible nine in this field is surely cause for optimism. All eyes now turn to Gosford on Saturday.
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