Mercurial talent Del Piero taking on the Adelaide United defence
Sydney FC’s four-game winning streak at home stretched out to five last Saturday with a 2-1 win over Adelaide United. A dominant display by the Sky Blues saw them continue their surge towards contention in the finals, despite a tense finish that could have seen Adelaide snatch a point right at the end.
The home team had dominated with the majority of possession from the start. The Adelaide midfield did not help their own cause as they continued to surrender the ball to the opposition. Both teams lacked the quality passing they are usually capable of with a couple of half chances for Sydney FC being the only highlights of the first half.
The start of the second half saw a 27m free-kick from Italian superstar Alessandro Del Piero hit the upright, much to the relief of Adelaide keeper Eugene Galekovic.
Sydney’s next attack saw a shot from Dimitri Petratos take a wicked deflection off defender Ian Fyfe which made its way into the back of the Adelaide net, giving Sydney FC a deserved 1-0 lead on 49 minutes. Sydney continued to dominate and were rewarded again on 66 minutes with a Del Piero corner finding its way to the feet of an unmarked Blake Powell who tapped it in from close range to make it 2-0.
Sydney were cruising until the 78th minute when some absent defending from Adam Griffiths saw an Adelaide goal kick turn into a one-on-one opportunity for youngster Tomi Juric who raced away to score with a fabulous finish making it 2-1.
It was a very nervy last 12 minutes for Sydney with both sides scrapping for every possession until the final whistle, but they held on to take the match out 2-1. Their victory now takes them up to 5th on the ladder.
Sydney FC 2 (Dimitri Petratos 49′, Blake Powell 66′)
Adelaide United 1 (Tomi Juric 78′)
Man of the match: Alessandro Del Piero
Crowd: 15,602
