Harbour View: Another Derby, Another Win
Sydney Derby: WSW 1-2 Sydney Fc
As a football fan, there isn’t much you demand of your players. The most important thing as a supporter when it comes to derbies is that the 11 players who put on your teams colours give 110% on the field. On the weekend in the second Sydney derby of the season I saw a side wearing sky blue give exactly that and as the players came over to celebrate with the travelling cove, I couldn’t be more proud to be a Sydney supporter.
In terms of on the field, it was a classic smash and grab. The sky blues finished with less that 40% of possession, however the only thing that matters in football is the scoreboard of which we finished ahead by a margin of two goals to one. As mentioned above they fought valiantly however the clear stand outs on the night we’re Matt Jurman and Jacques Faty. The central defence partnership finally seemed to click and apart from the odd occasion they we’re impenetrable at the back. As well as this both had key roles in both goals as Faty rose above Topor-Stanley to finish off a clever corner routine and Jurman teeing up the experienced Shane Smeltz for the eventual winner in the 90th minute.
Apart from those two, the team was dogged fighting for every ball whilst sitting deep and being stubborn in defense with the exception of a little hiccup when Ryall lost his man and Vidosic provided a world class finish to beat Janjetovic. However the players continued to toil away and were rewarded in the end.
Looking Ahead: Victory Away
So this is the second game of three which could well define where we finish at the end of the season and it definitely won’t be easy. The positive is well it isn’t at Aami Park but at Ethiad where the sky blues have a much better record. In terms of the team, can’t see much changing after the derby win with captain Brosque still out injured. However the Olyroos representatives could well be back from the disastrous Olympic qualifying campaign. Overall though, I would be more than happy with a point in this fixture.
Elsewhere: W/Y League
In other competitions, finals time has come. Our W-league side finished the regular season going down to Melbourne City valiantly 2-1 away from home. However ensured themselves 3rd place with a victory over Newcastle Jets the week before. This week they face Canberra away from home on Sunday with the game being shown on Foxsports.
The youth team also capped off a good season with a win against the FFA centre of excellence. By doing so they also won their conference and ensured a Grand Final match-up against Adelaide United this Saturday which will also be broadcast on Foxsports.
Sky Blue Play of the week
Matt Jurman cops his fair share of criticism from the Sydney faithful at times. However as mentioned above, he was immense on the weekend and therefore gets the player of the week.