A fiery partnership between forwards Cortnee Vine and Rachel Lowe proved just the magic needed for Sydney FC to defeat first-placed Western United 3-0 in the Liberty A-League.
Sydney, despite the late sending off of captain Nat Tobin, made a statement as the reigning premiers took down their rivals to close within three points of top spot with two games in hand on Sunday.
“This a massive win for us and put us in a good position being a few games behind (United),” Princess Ibini told AAP.
“We have plenty of girls that can come in and obviously (Tobin) is a big loss, but we know what we need to do and anyone that comes in can do the job.”
The Sky Blues came out looking dangerous but struggled to find the back of the net in the first half, despite several perfectly placed balls from midfielders Sarah Hunter and Mackenzie Hawkesby.
They quickly atoned in the second half, however, as Lowe scored within five minutes of the break thanks to a well-weighted through-ball from Vine on the right wing.
Only 10 minutes later the pair were on show again as Vine accelerated to the corner of the box and cut back to the goal line to find Lowe, who sneaked the ball past Western goalkeeper Hillary Beall.
On the other wing, Sky Blues star Princess Ibini surged down the pitch but repeatedly struggled to gain inroads to the box thanks to some high-pressure defending from Western’s Angela Beard and Alana Cerne.
But Ibini’s hard work paid off in the 81st minute when a deep pass from captain Natalie Tobin into the penalty area was swept up by the forward, making it 3-0.
The game was anything but mellow, and after a frustrating first half both sides came out with a fiery point to prove, resulting in yellow cards for Sydney’s Deborah-Anne de la Harpe, Hunter, Vine, Tobin and Western’s Julia Sardo.
Tobin, filling in for skipper Madison Haley after she was ruled out with a hip injury, had a spirited second half and was sent off in extra time for a second yellow card.
Seconds later, a floating ball into the home side’s penalty area from Western’s Sydney Cummings resulted in a Sky Blue panic that led to defender Charlotte McClean colliding head-on with Jada Whyman.
The flurry of injuries and yellow cards meant all of Sydney’s bench had a run, including 15-year-old Indiana Dos Santos in her A-Leagues debut.
Strong performances from Western’s forward Hannah Keane and defender Beard were unfortunately backed by a lacklustre squad that struggled to keep up with Sydney’s quick pace.
Western remain on top but are just three points ahead of Sydney, who have two games in hand.
