The Sky Blues ended their recent winless run with a solid 1-0 win over the Jets in front of a Cove-less crowd at the Allianz.
The goalless drought continued for Sydney in the first 45 minutes, taking them to an unbelievable sixth-straight half that they have failed to score in. How the hosts, or more specifically Filip Holosko did not score in the first-half was quite simply remarkable. The marquee man had three gilt edged opportunities and another semi-chance to open the scoring, but could not find the back of the net.
But the goal finally came for the hosts as Alex Brosque was put clean through and made no mistake with the finish to lift the monkey off of his team’s back. Newcastle pressed hard for the final 20 minutes, but failed to take advantage of any momentum. Worrying signs came towards the end of the match for Sydney fans though, as Brosque limped-off with what looked like a hamstring problem.
Formations
Graham Arnold made only the one change for the match, with Andrew Hoole coming into the starting XI for the first time this season, meaning that Brosque was the man to lead the line.
The Jets were able to welcome back Milos Trifunovic to the starting lineup after a knee injury kept him out of the side last week. Ryan Kitto was also given his first club start, named in place of the injured Leonardo who missed out with a niggling injury.
The drought is over, but Sydney lacked the cutting edge
Sydney FC fans were finally able to celebrate a goal and a win after Brosque scored the only goal of the game in the 57th minute. But the Sky Blues still have a lot of work to do in front of goal as they squandered a number of very good opportunities to put the game out of reach. The marquee man Holosko was the main culprit, as he failed to find the back of the net fromfour very good opportunities in the first-half.
Not all was negative though, as the new look front-three of Hoole, Holosko and Brosque looked very dangerous at times, with the pace of Hoole especially causing problems for the Newcastle defenders. Milos Ninkovic was the man to drop into the attacking midfield position, which freed up the spot for the 22-year-old to slot in on the left wing. Ninkovic looked a lot more comfortable and confident on the ball playing in behind the front three and a number of the chances that Sydney created came through the Serbian.
The Newcastle Bus
Newcastle played a very deep line in the first 45 minutes and the term ‘parking the bus’ came to mind on numerous occasions. They had a clear game plan to go out and frustrate the Sydney attackers, attempting to put doubt in their minds about whether or not they will be able to score. This meant that the usual attacking options of David Carney and Enver Alivodic were almost playing as left and right-wing backs, which gave Trifunovic the impossible task of holding the ball up by himself. It also allowed Gersbach and Grant to get forward and support the Sydney attack at free will.
The game plan looked to be working though as they went in at halftime on level terms. Not for the first time this season we have seen the Jets take this approach in the first-half and then come out quickly after the break, which is exactly what they did with Carney immediately on the front foot. The Jets stalwart was given the freedom to stay up front and this in turn limited the attacking potential for Grant, who was forced to sit back and mark the attacker. It is sometimes hard to switch mentalities from such a defensive approach to attacking and this seemed to be the case with the Jets, failing to really create anything overly dangerous after they went a goal down.
Sydney pair solid as a Rock
A third clean sheet in a row for the Sky Blues yet again showcases why they boast the best defensive record in the league. To think that Jaques Faty is still to return to the back four is frightening, even though Seb Ryall has stepped up very well in his absence. It may be hard for Arnold to tinker with his back four next week.
Mickael Tavares and Milos Dimitrijevic also play a large role in the defensive game which can sometimes go unnoticed. A lot of teams are caught out on the counter-attack due to both of their holding-midfielders being sucked forward, which creates a hole for the opposition to attack when they win the ball back. This is not the case for Sydney. It is very rare that both Tavares and Dimitrijevic both get caught out and when one ventures out, the other is disciplined enough to hold his position. This then forces the opposition to try and bypass the midfield and either play the long ball to the strikers or go wide. The composure and mental awareness from both of these players is something to be admired.
Sydney FC Conclusion
Sydney move level on points with both Western Sydney and Melbourne Victory at the top of the table after this win, but both sides have a game, or games in hand on the Sky Blues.
It is still relatively early days in the season, but Sydney look like they will yet again be there or thereabouts towards the end if they can start consistently finding the back of the net.
The pace of Hoole and Brosque offered something different up front tonight for Arnold’s team and this could be a tactical changing point in how they will approach matches from now on, as Smeltz is struggling to find any kind of consistency or form.
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Newcastle Jets Conclusion
The Newcastle Jets continue to slide after what was a tremendous and in some ways unexpected start to the season. If Wellington are to win on Saturday it will see the Jets slip out of the top six for the first time this season.
Scott Miller seems to be taking a similar approach into every game and the opposing managers may have started to pick up on his tactics. But with the likes of Leonardo, Nigel Boogard and Daniel Mullen nearing return, it is surely not long till the Jets can get back to winning ways and put pressure on the top of the table.
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