A razor sharp Sydney FC cruised into the 2015 A-League grand final with a 4-1 victory over Adelaide United last night.
Although a very entertaining 90 minutes saw the momentum constantly turning, the precision of the Sky Blues overcame the visitors, Josep Gombau’s men left regretting a multitude of missed opportunities.
Outside90 Senior Editor Hugh Schuitemaker takes a look at the standout individual performances at both ends of the pitch.
Sydney FC
Vedran Janjetovic – 7: The Sky Blue goalkeeper ensured the dominant scoreline with his command of the 18-yard area. Made five important saves, including an early denial in a one-on-one situation with Sergio Cirio.
Seb Ryall – 6: Had trouble dealing with the pace of Craig Goodwin but fulfilled his defensive duties, with four clearances, three blocks and six tackles.
Jacques Faty – 6: Looked shaky at times in the face of Adelaide’s creative attacking outlets, letting too many solo runs from the likes of Cirio get close to the goalkeeper.
Matthew Jurman – 7: The most stable of Sydney’s back four, distributed well and made five interceptions.
Nikola Petkovic – 6: Only passed with 50% accuracy, yet went a long way in keeping Cirior and later Awer Mabil under wraps, winning four out of five tackles.
Milos Dimitrijevic – 7.5: Solid performance from the screener as the Sky Blues dominated the midfield battle. Created two chances and sent three crosses into the box.
Mickael Tavares – 7: A force in both aerial duels and tackles on the ground, had some good figures in defence and moving towards goal.
Bernie Ibini-Isei – 9: Perhaps the 22-year-old’s best A-League performance, terrorising both wings and attacking the Adelaide goal from the first whistle. Scored a deserved opening goal in the 19th minute, then became the provider for Alex Brosque just before half-time.
Alex Brosque – 9: A stellar brace was probably just rewards for the efforts of the playmaker, too much to handle cutting in from the wing. His first was finished with a stylish back-heel, while his second put the game beyond doubt minutes after the restart.
Chris Naumoff – 8: Like Ibini, caused headaches from the outset on the wing and seamlessly found space around the box. Sealed the deal with his counter-attacking goal in the closing minutes.
Marc Janko – 7: Adelaide focused their defensive efforts on shutting the Austrian down and with little access to the ball he was only able to get off one shot on goal. However, did cause enough distraction for his teammates to run wild and also set up Sydney’s third, albeit from a clearly offside position.
Substitutes
Terry Antonis – 7: Replaced Janko on the hour mark and was able to get some touches on the ball, assisting the final goal from Naumoff with some great back-and-forth passing.
Rhyan Grant – 6: Provided the fresh legs to comfortably see Sydney through the last 15 minutes.
Shane Smeltz – N/A: With only 10 minutes to play the A-League veteran did not get much of a chance for an impression here.
[interaction id=”554ed8eb103be6e070a3313d”]
Adelaide United
Eugene Galekovic – 5.5: Adelaide’s custodian is rarely beaten so many times in one match, but like his defence was largely overwhelmed as each of the Sky Blues’ attacks came with deadly accuracy.
Osama Malik – 6: Barely a moment to rest for the fan favourite defender, attempting to track Naumoff on the left which proved difficult at the least. Unfortunately his day ended early, forced off the pitch at half-time with a thigh injury.
Dylan McGowan – 5.5: Could not stop the onslaught from Antonis as Sydney moved the ball down the left-wing and into the 18-yard box at will.
Nigel Boogard – 6: Hit the post in the 79th minute in one of many agonisingly close moments for United, yet probably could have done more to sure up his fellow defenders at the other end.
Tarek Elrich – 5.5: Soundly beaten on numerous occasions by Ibini as Adelaide’s defence was broken down far too easily.
Marcelo Carrusca – 6: United needed an influential performance from Carrusca, however, the talismanic Argentine was heavily marked by the opposition defence, harshly limiting his space and time on the ball. His recent injury seemed to have come at the worst possible time, leaving Adelaide’s key player rusty for the final’s series.
Isaias – 7: Was tough for the Sky Blues to contain and was integral to the build-up play, but like his team lacked a little fortune in-front of goal. Took two shots, provided three crosses and passed with 75% accuracy.
Jimmy Jeggo – 7: One of the best on the pitch for the Reds, able to find space to bring the ball forward and looking sharp with his passing. Had a great chance at goal from a header in the 34th minute.
Craig Goodwin – 8: A star for Josep Gombau’s men in their short finals campaign, gave Adelaide a slight lifeline as he put the finishing touches on a 74th minute counter-attack. Also recorded an astonishing 14 crosses from both sides of the field.
Pablo Sanchez – 6.5: The Spaniard’s wicked free kick hit the post on the half-hour mark, yet he quietened down after that, with no further shots on goal.
Sergio Cirio – 6.5: On another day Cirio may have put away a hat-trick as he found many holes in the Sky Blue backline, with four great chances on goal that went begging – including the early one-on-one with Janjetovic.
Substitutes
Awer Mabil – 6.5: Adelaide’s super-substitution could not make a difference at the ANZ stadium, but did pass at over 90% and created two chances on goal.
Miguel Palanca – 5.5: Replaced Pablo Sanchez but did not get enough of the ball to make an attacking impact.
What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. Make sure you follow us on Twitter @Outside90 and like us on Facebook.
