Sydney FC have come out on the right side of the latest Big Blue controversy to shore up sixth position in the Isuzu UTE A-League A-League, and leave Melbourne Victory nailed to the bottom of the ladder.
The matchup between the competition’s two biggest and most successful clubs frequently produces a major talking point and that was again the case in Sydney’s 1-0 win at Allianz Stadium.
Anthony Caceres scored the game’s only goal In the 35th minute, firing into the roof of the net from close range on a tight angle after receiving a pass from Max Burgess following a corner.
Victory were furious as it appeared the corner should not have been awarded, with replays suggesting the last touch came off Sydney’s Alex Wilkinson.
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Melbourne coach Tony Popovic strode on to the pitch at halftime and could be seen talking animatedly to referee Alex King.
“It touched me. I don’t know if someone touched it after,” Wilkinson told the Ten Network and Paramount Plus.
Sydney finished the match with 10 players after Burgess was dismissed in the 84th minute following an altercation with the fourth official after the Sydney midfielder caught Victory substitute Bruce Kamau in the back with his right boot during a tussle near the sideline.
Caceres’ match-winner came from Sydney’s first legitimate shot, after Robert Mak’s classy 24th-minute finish was overturned following an offside ruling from the VAR.
Victory had 15 shots to Sydney’s two, although only four of those were on target.
The win – just their third in nine home games – moved sixth-placed Sydney back to within a point of Wellington, who earlier on Saturday had scored a 2-1 win over Newcastle.
The defeat was another big blow to last-placed Victory’s fading hopes of making the finals as they fell nine points off the pace.
Neither side was particularly fluent in a match with plenty of intensity but little in the way of clear-cut chances.
Victory had nine shots in the second half but struggled to trouble Sydney keeper Andrew Redmayne.
For their part, Sydney have picked up 13 points from their last six matches.
