North Queensland Fury has ground out a 1-0 win over Sydney FC after a goalkeeping howler by stopper Ivan Necevski at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Wednesday night.
North Queensland Fury has ground out a 1-0 win over Sydney FC after a goalkeeping howler by stopper Ivan Necevski at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Wednesday night.
Ufuk Talay delivered an innocuous free kick which sailed over the wall and toward Necevski but he must have blinked as it went straight through his arms for the 70th minute winner.
Dyron Daal, the bench-specialist, can take credit for the goal also after sparking the cellar dwellers into a frenzied five minutes of what just short of total-football resulting in the free kick.
The encounter was otherwise uneventful with a lacklustre first half during which both teams were asleep at the wheel before a few nervy final minutes with the homeside trying to hold on.
Fury captain Talay said his side still had hope of making the finals despite their on and off-field woes.
“I wouldn-t say it was a lucky (goal), it was a great strike actually,” he joked.
“It was a tough game it was quite humid out there for both teams but at the end we are glad to grab the three points.”
“We still believe we are going to make the top six so every point counts for us.”
“It will take a bit of pressure off the boys coming up with the wind because we have another tough game coming up against Brisbane.”
Sky Blues coach Vitezslav Lavicka refused to criticise the goalkeeping blunder and instead reflected on his sides- scoring ability.
“I think in general player, especially if the first half, we played pretty well but our biggest problem this season and the last three games is productivity, to create the end product,” he said.
“They did a great strike and scored a lucky goal but we didn-t create the chances so there is no chance to be successful.”
The two sides struggled early with neither able to manufacture any quality possession.
Sydney threatened first when they caught the homeside outnumbered with three attackers against defender Mark Hughes.
Hughes was not going to be beaten with the Englishmen biding his time before lunging with a leg to block the final pass
North Queensland had their first opportunity in the 19th minute when David Williams dribbled past defenders and laid the ball back to Gareth Edds.
Edds was reluctant to shoot and when he finally did it was evident why as the ball failed to leave the ground, curling low past the left post.
The chances ended there as the teams went into half-time looking for a way to find the net.
The Fury suffered a blow after the break with Osama Malik pulling his hamstring in the 50th minute forcing him from the field.
Daal came off the bench and provided a much needed spark which resulted in a few enterprising plays and raids on the box.
Daal drew a free kick on the left which would see the ball bounce off the legs of several players like a pin-ball tantalisingly close to the goal line before the keeper pounced.
The Sky Blues were rattled and Hirofumi Moriyasu was called for an accidental hand ball in front of the box which would prove costly.
Talay stepped up and curled the ball over the wall and straight towards goalkeeper Necevski.
Necevski was caught in two minds to either catch or punch the ball paid the price with the pill sailing straight through his arms for the winning goal.
North Queensland Fury 1 (Talay 70)
Sydney FC 0
Crowd 2761 at Dairy Farmers Stadium
