Sydney FC has continued its winning start to the inaugural National Youth League competition with an emphatic 3-0 victory over the second-placed Queensland Roar at a rain-soaked Sydney Football Stadium on Friday night.
An opportunistic strike from Adam Biddle on 14 minutes handed Sydney the early lead before second-half goals to Sean Rooney and Kerim Bulut made it a perfect eight wins from eight starts for the baby Sky Blues.
The Roar battled hard throughout but after a competitive first half struggled to keep pace with the hosts who began to assert their ascendancy in the heavy conditions.
A threatening electrical storm forced the players from the field after 60 seconds of action causing a 20-minute delay.
When play resumed under persistent rain the first legitimate chance of the contest fell to the right boot of Sydney striker Chris Payne who was denied the opener by some sharp work from Griffin McMaster.
After a sluggish start Queensland asked the first serious question of Sydney keeper Vedran Janjetovic via a Chris Grossman free-kick from just beyond the penalty box on 12 minutes.
But the visitors were soon on the back foot when Adam Biddle was fouled on the right flank deep in attack.
Chris Triantis’ well-weighted cross from the ensuing free-kick found Biddle in space who let fire from close range – McMaster deflected the powerful shot but it was Biddle who showed the most urgency to the loose ball slotting home the opener with his second effort for a 1-0 advantage.
The conditions began to take a toll on both sides with neither able to keep possession for prolonged periods.
An ambitious long-range effort from Payne on the half-hour was the closest the Sky Blues would come to doubling their advantage before the break while a well taken free-kick from Roar midfielder Adam Sarota moments later sparked the visitors who dominated the latter stages of the half without reward.
It was very nearly a dream start for the hosts at the resumption when Sean Rooney swooped on a miscued back-pass, but the in-form striker failed to capitalise.
Rooney remained in the thick of the action narrowly clearing the bar with his first touch in the 64th minute after a clever cross from Kofi Danning.
After several near misses Sydney finally had their second goal on 74 minutes when Rooney controlled a curling cross before blasting a powerful strike past substitute keeper Matthew Acton for the 2-0 lead.
The hosts erased all doubt four-minutes later when Rhyan Grant found Kerim Bulut in space who delivered a clinical finish on the run.
Match Details
Sydney FC 3 (Adam Biddle 14-, Sean Rooney 73-, Kerem Bulut 78-)
Queensland Roar 0
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Friday 28 November 2008
Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones
Assistant Referees: Scott Edeling & Nick Backo
Fourth Official: Brett Hookham
Sydney FC line-up: 1.Vedran JANJETOVIC (gk), 2.Rhyan GRANT 3.Adam BIDDLE (12.Kerem BULUT 55-), 4.Chris TRIANTIS, 5.Jacob TIMPANO (OA) (7.Matthew JURMAN 1-), 6.Chris PAYNE (17.Luke AUSTIN 60-), 8.Nikolas TSATTALIOS, 9.Sean ROONEY, 10.Zach CAIRNCROSS, 11.Kofi DANNING, 13.Sam MUNRO
Yellow Cards: Chris Triantis 41-
Red Cards: Nil
Queensland Roar line-up: 1.Griffin McMASTER (gk) (OA) (20.Matt ACTON (gk) 60-), 2.Michael RYAN, 3.Daniel BOWLES, 6.Matthew MUNDY, 7.Adam SAROTA (c), 9.Luke BRATTAN (4.Mitchell BEVAN 53-), 10.Tommy OAR (5.Brad McDONALD 46-), 11.Josh McVEY (8.Michael ANGUS 60-), 13.Chris GROSSMAN, 14.Isaka CERNAK (11.Josh McVEY 67-), 18.Ben GRIFFIN (OA)
Yellow Cards: Matt Munday 30-
Red Cards: Nil
