Sydney FC 4 (Brosque 12’ & 24’, Tavares 30’, OG 85’) Central Coast Mariners 1 (Ascroft 38’)
The Run Down
A 10-man Central Coast Mariners have fallen 4-1 to Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Boxing Day. Congratulations goes to Harry Ascroft who bagged his maiden Hyundai A-League goal, the 20-year-old centre back leapt above the pack and headed home a class cross by Matt Sim.
Two penalties (Alex Brosque & Mickael Tavares), the opener to Brosque and a late own goal sealed all three points for the home side.
Full attention now turns to New Year’s Eve when the Yellow & Navy return to Central Coast Stadium to take on Wellington Phoenix.
Goals
12’ BROSQUE GOAL: Some sharp combination play between Milos Ninkovic and Andrew Hoole provided the opener. Sydney’s skipper was there to poke home from close range.
24’ BROSQUE GOAL (P) (2): Before heading into the sheds with an injury, Brosque made no mistake with the spot kick to double Sydney’s lead.
30’ TAVARES GOAL (P): A miss-timed challenge in the box saw Jake McGing concede a harsh penalty. With Brosque on the sideline, Tavares converted.
38’ ASCROFT GOAL: A man down, The Mariners continued to push forward and found a cracking goal through Ascroft. Sim delivered a precision cross that found the head of Ascroft who headed home from just inside the box.
85’ OWN GOAL: A wicked ball into the Mariners’ 18-yard-box forced McGing into a sliding challenge. McGing’s effort deflected and found its way into the back of Tom Heward-Belle’s net.
Walmsley’s Words
“We came into the game with high hopes, trained well but we needed to keep the ball better, that was the opportunity that we needed to take and didn’t in the first half.”
“I’m happy with how we went about it in the second half but we were up against it, overall Sydney FC were the better side and deserved to win.”
“We’ve been given a great opportunity by our owner to expose young players to the demands of the A-League, 5 or 6 rounds in we were really happy with how these guys were going and of course the belief [of the players] starts to go a little bit because the results aren’t going our way. You need to wait for that moment to galvanise the group. It will come, it will come when we can convert the 1-0 into a 2-0 win and that’s when this team will start to grow in belief.”
“There are a lot of learnings that come from that and I’m really happy with the progress of our younger players. The way we go is to keep putting them out there, they have to adapt quickly because the game doesn’t discriminate and the more exposure, the quicker they will get there.”
“[developing players] That’s the challenge I’ve accepted, that’s the one I relish. It’s a great opportunity. Resilience is key in this and we want the players to develop that and soon enough and at some point these young players won’t be young anymore, they will be leaders and they will be delivering performances.”
“I believe that we can go out at home against Wellington on New Year’s Eve and get a result and go from there, it won’t be easy but that’s the challenge that’s in front of us next and we will tackle it head on.”
Sydney FC: 1.Vedran JANJETOVIC (gk), 2.Seb RYALL, 3.Alex GERSBACH, 5.Matt JURMAN, 7.Andrew HOOLE, 10.Milos NINKOVIC (8.Milos DIMITRIJEVIC 55’), 13.Brandon O’NEILL, 14.Alex BROSQUE (18.Matt SIMON 26’), 23.Rhyan GRANT, 24.George BLACKWOOD (6.Robert STAMBOLZIEV 81’), 27.Mickael TAVARES
Unused substitutions: 20.Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 19.Jacques FATY
Yellow cards: Gersbach 49’, Grant 50’, Dimitrijevic 61’ Hoole 64’
Central Coast Mariners: 1.Paul IZZO (gk), 2.Storm ROUX, 3.Josh ROSE, 5.Harry ASCROFT, 8.Nick MONTGOMERY (c), 9.Roy O’DONOVAN, 10.Anthony CACERES, 11.Nick FITZGERALD (21.Mickey NEILL 69’), 15.Matthew SIM (7.Fabio FERREIRA 66’), 16.Liam ROSE (40.Tom HEWARD-BELLE (gk) 30’), 22. Jake McGING
Unused substitutions: 4.Jacob POSCOLIERO, 14.Daniel HEFFERNAN
Yellow cards: Izzo 24’ & 30’, O’Donovan 51’
Red cards: Izzo 30’
Saturday 26 December 2015
Sydney FC 4
Central Coast Mariners 1
Venue: Allianz Stadium
Attendance: 12 648
Referee: Ben Williams
