Sydney FC and Isuzu Ute A-League premiers Newcastle Jets drew 1-1 in the first leg of their semi-final at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
An exchange of goals eight minutes apart early in the second half leaves the tie in the balance ahead of the second leg at McDonald Jones Stadium next Saturday.
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos opened the scoring in the 50th minute before a sweeping counter-attack ended in Newcastle’s equaliser to Eli Adams.
A first half that yielded 12 combined shots, 7 on target, threatened to explode into a shoot-out at any moment.
And having started the brighter in the second half it was Sydney FC who would open the scoring.
Stamatelopoulos read the ball best when a blocked shot from Tiago Quintal bounced into his path in the 50th minute. The high, spinning bounce looped over Jets defender Mark Natta and left Stamatelopoulos to head past on-rushing goalkeeper James Delianov.
Newcastle equalised when Clayton Taylor took possession deep in the defensive half and burnt down the wing, leaving two Sydney FC opponents in his wake.
Coaches react: Kisnorbo hails ‘best performance’
Only Eli Adams could keep up with the lightning-quick counter and was unmarked on the end of Taylor’s pass to finish past Sydney goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares.
Stamatelopoulos nearly doubled his tally when he shot across the face of goal in the 64th minute. The chance would ultimately prove Sydney FC’s best chance to win the game.
A penalty shout for Ahmet Arslan in the 87th minute as he collided with Daniel Wilmering drew vociferous appeal from the Sydney FC fans but referee Daniel Elder waved away the claims, and VAR did not intervene.
Earlier, Rhyan Grant set the tone for the night hitting the post with a header in the fourth minute, before Delianov saved a curling Piero Quispe shot in the 28th. Newcastle’s best first-half chance was a Max Burgess header at a corner in the 34th minute and the ensuing scramble before Devenish-Meares fell on the ball.
Coaches react: Kisnorbo hails ‘best performance’
The second leg at McDonald Jones Stadium will kick off at 7:40pm AEST on Saturday May 16.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
WHAT THEY SAID
Sydney FC scorer Apostolos Stamatelopoulos.
Newcastle goalkeeper James Delianov.
Sydney FC’s Paul Okon-Engstler.
Newcastle Jets goalscorer Eli Adams.
