Sydney FC are back into sixth spot on the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder after coming from two goals down to defeat Newcastle Jets 3-2 at Allianz Stadium.
The Jets started brightly at Allianz Stadium and took a deserved lead in just the 18th minute as Lachie Rose converted from close range after Sydney FC’s claims of a foul in the build-up were waved away by referee Shaun Evans.
Somewhat stunned, the home side found themselves 2-0 down in the 22nd minute as Japanese winger Kota Mizunuma slotted home the away side’s second after good work from Clayton Taylor.
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Cutting the Jets’ lead down to one at the break, Brazilian maestro Douglas Costa made it 2-1 in the 36th minute as his left-footed strike took a deflection before nestling inside the near post.
Sydney FC levelled things up in the 55th minute as Golden Boot contender Adrian Segecic lashed home from inside the box after the Jets had coughed up possession inside their area.
The home side then completed a miraculous comeback in the 83rd minute as forward Jaiden Kucharski drilled a low effort beyond Scott and into the back of the net from a wide angle to make it 3-2 to the home side.
The result edges Sydney FC back into the top six at the expense of Adelaide United and they now have a one-point buffer over the Reds heading into the final two games of the season.
As for the Jets, Rob Stanton’s side remain in ninth place on the ladder after suffering their 11th loss of the campaign.
In emotional scenes before kick-off, the Sydney FC crowd were on their feet to serenade legendary goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne after it was announced he’d be leaving the Sky Blues after the end of the season.
90 seconds in and the Jets had the first sight of goal at Allianz Stadium; Lachie Rose received the ball on the right edge of the Sydney box but his low shot was comfortably saved by Harrison Devenish-Meares in the Sky Blues goal.
Handed a start in place of Patryk Klimala, forward Kucharski forced Scott into his first save of the match, drilling a low shot straight at the Jets keeper after some excellent work by Douglas Costa in the build-up.
Both sides were enjoying plenty of possession but it was the Jets who made the breakthrough in the 18th minute in somewhat controversial fashion.
Racing on to a ball in behind, Jets winger Eli Adams appeared to trip defender Jordan Courtney-Perkins in order to get the better of the Sydney man before the ball was eventually worked into the box and converted from close range by Rose.
A subsequent VAR check followed but referee Shaun Evans deemed the contact to be accidental and the goal was allowed to stand.
But if there was a hint of controversy about the opener, there was nothing wrong with the Jets’ second.
Released down the Jets left, Taylor drove into the box and whilst may expected him to shoot on his left, the winger brilliantly picked out at the arriving Mizunuma at the back post who did the rest, coolly dispatching the ball beyond Devenish-Meares to make it 2-0
Seemingly shell-shocked, Sydney FC looked to rally and should have pulled one back through the ever-dangerous Adrian Segecic, however the 20-year-old pulled his left-footed shot wide of the near post when inside the box.
Now growing in confidence after their shaky start, the Sky Blues pulled one back, in the 35th minute as Brazilian star Costa lashed home a left-footed effort which beat Scott at his near post.
The home side will feel as though they should have been level heading into the break though however Kucharski dragged his right-footed effort wide of the far post after brushing off the challenge of Kosta Grozos.
Sydney FC were left aggrieved at the start of the second-half when Jets midfielder Charles M’Mombwa deliberately brought down Segecic in the middle of the pitch whilst already on a yellow card.
The away side almost then made it 3-1 in the 50th minute as Taylor burst threw on goal and hammered a powerful effort towards goal from a narrow angle which clipped the fingertips of Devenish-Meares before bouncing down off the bar.
But having survived on that occasion, the Sky Blues then forced a mistake at the other end to make it 2-2.
Shoulder-charging M’Mombwa off the ball inside his own box, Sydney skipper Rhyan Grant then squared the ball to Segecic and the in-form attacker did the rest; lashing a left-footed off the near post and into the back of the net to make it 2-2.
In red-hot goalscoring form, Segecic then took aim from the edge of the box and would have had his second of the afternoon but his ferocious effort was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Scott.
Fresh off the bench, Ben Gibson was agonisingly close to making it 3-2 to the Jets in the 82nd minute but he toed his effort wide of the far post after stretching to connect with fellow sub Dane Ingham’s through ball.
That missed effort would prove to be decisive.
Snatching a loose ball in the middle of midfield, the evergreen Grant shrugged off a Jets challenge before sending Kucharski through on goal and the lively forward did the rest; drilling a low effort across the keeper and into the far corner of the goal to make it 3-2.
With the Jets throwing everything forward – including goalkeeper Scott – in a bid to find the equaliser Sydney almost killed off the game deep into stoppage time, however substitute Wataru Kamijo’s effort from just inside the Jets half bounced narrowly wide of the target as Sydney held on for the three points.
