Sydney FC scrape 2-1 win over luckless Melbourne Heart

Let’s face it. Yesterday’s game between these two inconsistent sides is not one that will live long in the memory.

For Sydney FC, it was another game where, like last week against the Mariners, they struggled to create co-ordinated chances in the final third. For the Heart, this loss continued their sorry away form, increasing pressure on John Aloisi. One bright spark for the visitors however was the spark that the fragile Harry Kewell brought to a side which, for the first hour, looked bereft of spirit.

With 16,008 fans watching on, the first 40 minutes was largely dominated by Sydney FC in the possession stakes. However, like last week, moving the ball forward through the midfield proved a struggle. The fullbacks were content to sit in the backline and pass the ball across the defensive line repeatedly, much to the frustration of the home fans.

There were three highlights from the first half which helped keep the fans awake. The first was a contentious decision by referee Chris Beath to not award a penalty to the home side after the ball cannoned into the outstretched arm of Massimo Murdocca. Beath ruled it ‘ball-to-hand’, much to the ire of not only Sydney FC but the fans in the stadium.

The second was – to borrow Ned Zelic’s hashtag – a moment of #IndividualBrilliance from Sydney’s own fragile marquee, Alessandro Del Piero. Taking possession near the halfway line, his mazy run made the Heart defence look static, which, when combined with his stepovers, gave him enough time and space to cut the ball past the outstretched hand of Andrew Redmayne.

The game – and crowd – suitably awakened, Sydney FC doubled their lead barely 2 minutes later, with growing cult hero Ranko Despotovic seizing a chance to blast the ball past Redmayne. The home side were ecstatic, the away side looked deflated.

The second half saw the momentum largely shift, as Farina made two substitutions. Del Piero came off after complaining of lower back tightness, while a lacklustre Matt Thompson was replaced by speedster Yairo Yau.

At the 56 minute mark, the crowd applauded as Aloisi rolled the dice and sent out Harry Kewell. This substitution saw the Heart’s final third become a lot more potent, with his runs causing some concern amidst Sydney’s defence. Kewell also wasn’t afraid to stand his ground as Sydney defender Nikola Petkovic went chest-to-chest with the Socceroo on more than one occassion.

Sydney took their foot off the accelerator, allowing the Heart to get into better positions as the half went on. A free kick right on the edge of the area resulted in a leaping Joel Chianese failing to get his arm out of the way. Beath pointed to the penalty spot amidst roars of outrage from players and fans alike. Harry Kewell made the decision to step up and take the penalty. However at the critical moment, his foot strike went completely wrong, with the ball skewed far wide of the post.

Head in hands, and Sydney FC’s players providing helpful tips about where to direct future penalty attempts, Kewell nonetheless didn’t let his head drop, which resulted in Heart scoring a few minutes later. Diminutive striker Michael Mifsud finally received a ball at his feet, after which he skipped around Vedran Janjetovic and buried the shot into an empty net.

The rest of the game was largely one-way traffic as Heart tried to break through the Sydney defence repeatedly, only to be stopped by efforts from Nick Carle, Seb Ryall and Petkovic. Sydney’s rare attacking moments were let down by poor crossing into the box, as well as heavy touches resulting in lost possession to grateful Heart defenders. However Sydney’s keeper Janjetovic was the real hero of the day for the home side, repeatedly pulling off reflex saves to deny the Heart.

The game ended 2-1 to the home side, who have moved up to third place. However the team – and their coach – know that the kind of form they showed won’t be sufficient to get past the teams hot on their tails, let alone the two teams ahead of them. As for the Heart, this week will be just like all the ones before it: fans discussing how long does Aloisi have left in the coach role.

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