Sydney FC head coach Steve Corica says missed opportunities whilst on the front foot left the door open for defensive errors to take their toll, as the Sky Blues let a two-goal lead slip in a 2-2 draw with Perth Glory on Saturday night.
Corica’s side were up 2-0 and in control, after goals to Joe Lolley and Rhyan Grant before the half-hour at Macedonia Park. Max Burgess struck the crossbar shortly after Sydney’s second as the visitors dominated proceedings the road.
But it all began to unravel just seconds after the restart for the Sky Blues, with Glory substitute Zach Duncan halving the deficit less than a minute into the second half. A partial power outage at the Perth venue led to a delay in play and 14 minutes of added time; 12 of those minutes ticked by before David Williams snatched a point for Glory with a powerful header which sent the home fans into the stratosphere.
Early in the season Perth looked like a team that didn’t know how to win and now, on a run of four games unbeaten at home, Ruben Zadkovich’s side look as thought they might not know how to lose.
The persistence and determination shown by the West Australian outfit is what Sydney look so devoid of, with a 12-game record of just four wins, two draws and six defeats to begin the 2022-23 campaign.
“I think after the first-half performance we’re probably very disappointed to concede two goals, especially straight after half-time, and then late on in that game there,” Corica told Paramount+ post-match. “We probably had some good chances in that first half to make it 3-0, maybe even four. We didn’t take them, and then it gives them an opportunity to come back into the game.
“The set piece was the first one; straight after half-time we’ve conceded. We were 2-0 up and then we come out, they get a goal early on and then momentum changes. I think we still had one or two good chances in that second half as well to put the game to bed, but we didn’t do that.
“We’re conceding too many. The first one was a set piece, a header, and the ball got put in behind us for the second goal and we didn’t deal with the cross coming in, so we have to be ready for anything they throw at us.
We have to defend a little better than that in moments. It’s just a bit of focus and concentration lacking at the moment.
Central defender Jack Rodwell’s absence was felt in the 2-2 draw, with the club stating the Englishman had failed a late fitness test before taking on Perth. Corica has been without Rodwell for the majority of the campaign, along with former Socceroos centre-half Alex Wilkinson, who has been sidelined since Round 1 with a long-term injury.
Corica hinted the latter may be on the road to a comeback, with Rodwell set for scans prior to a return date being set.
“He definitely could help,” Corica said of Wilkinson. “Wilko, he played an in-house game with the youth team Friday, so he got through that pretty well. We’re hoping he’ll be alright for next week. With Jack, we’ll have to wait and see, we’ll get some scans on Jack and see what the outcome is.”
MATCH REPORT
Michael Ramsey – AAP
A David Williams stoppage-time header has helped Perth Glory steal a 2-2 draw with Sydney FC in a clash interrupted by a second-half power outage.
The lights went out in the 65th minute of Saturday night’s game at Macedonia Park in suburban Perth, halting play for just over 10 minutes as both teams briefly left the ground.
But after being 2-0 down at halftime, Perth turned the tables and secured an unlikely equaliser when substitute Williams got on the end of Jacob Dowse’s cross and headed home.
Sydney will be left to lament one that got away after dominating much of the contest.
Star English import Joe Lolley set the tone with a sixth-minute brace in his return from a two-game suspension.
Lolley was gifted far too much space outside the box by a flat-footed Glory defence and drilled a left-footed shot off the inside of the post and into the back of the net.
The defensive lapses kept coming for the hosts, who missed a chance to equalise against the run of play in the 16th minute when Andrew Redmayne pulled off a sharp save to deny John Koutroumbis’s diving header.
Sydney went 2-0 up in the 26th minute after a clearing header off Diego Caballo’s curling cross landed at the feet of Rhyan Grant on the back post for a simple finish.
They should have added a third minutes later when Max Burgess hit the crossbar from close range.
Playing their fourth game in just 12 days, Perth were initially outclassed by a Sky Blues outfit who created ample chances through playmakers Caballo and Robert Mak.
Glory needed a spark and found one in the form of Zach Duncan, one of three halftime substitutes.
The young gun needed less than a minute to find the back of the net with a well-timed glancing header off a Jack Clisby cross.
Perth hunted for an equaliser before the ground was temporarily plunged into darkness, prompting fans to wave illuminated mobile phones.
The clock wasn’t stopped during the break in play, prompting the announcement of 14 minutes of stoppage time.
Lolley was denied a second goal by a diving Cameron Cook when play resumed before Glory turned the tables through Williams in the 12th minute of extra time.
“I’ve been in the A-League since the first season so I’ve seen everything, both good and bad,” Glory coach Ruben Zadkovich quipped.
“I think that was on show again tonight … a Sydney FC team with some real quality in their attack and a really spirited Perth team that stuck to a process and played some really good football in the second half under fatigue.”
The draw is another disappointment for eighth-placed Sydney who continue to perform below expectations.
“We played really well in the first half, we got the two goals and we really could have scored another one or two,” coach Steve Corica said.
“We just switched off at vital times and conceded, which is disappointing.”
Ninth-placed Glory are playing most of their home games this season at the 4000-capacity Macedonia Park while renovations are completed at HBF Park.
They will return to host Melbourne Victory next Saturday and have another three games scheduled at the ground next month.
