Sydney FC cruised to a 5-1 win over Melbourne Victory in a one-sided National Youth League encounter at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney.
Sydney FC cruised to a 5-1 win over Melbourne Victory in a one-sided National Youth League encounter at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney.
Four first-half goals set up the win to leave Sydney within touching distance of the summit, while Victory remain marooned on the bottom without a point.
The Sky Blues fielded overage players Juho Makela and Hirofumi Moriyasu until their withdrawal on 55 minutes, while the visitors had the guile of first-teamer Isaka Cernak to call upon in the first half.
Sydney never looked like being headed after they hit two goals in as many minutes on the quarter-hour mark.
Melbourne failed to adequately deal with a corner and, following an almighty goalmouth scramble, Makela pushed the ball over the line from close range.
The margin was doubled within 90 seconds as the fleet-footed Joel Chianese bundled the ball home after a neat interchange off passes, with the goal awarded despite protestations for handball.
The dual blow for the visitors ensured the remainder of the half was largely one-way traffic with the Sky Blues constantly threatening to extend their advantage. The visitors enjoyed only rare sights of goal with notably John Buceto forcing a rare save from Ryan Norval.
Makela soon scored his second courtesy of a close-range conversion, while Mitchell Mallia made it 4-0 just past the 30-minute mark with a smart low finish from the edge of the penalty area. The always lively Mallia then cracked an effort against the post with a well-hit strike.
Any hopes that the Victory had of stemming the tide in the second half were dealt an immediate blow following the resumption as the Sky Blues made it five on the 50 minute mark. Tomislav Mijic had an easy close-range conversion after Makela outmuscled the defence with his aerial ability.
The tall Finn was at it again moments later heading narrowly over as cooling rain started to fall partly alleviating the humid conditions.
In spite of the scoreline it was Victory who scored the goal of the match as striker Luke O’Dea turned his marker on the edge of the penalty area and fired into the far corner with unerring accuracy.
Victory, to their credit, came back into the contest during the final 30 minutes although goalscoring opportunities at either end were at a premium.
Sydney FC 5 (Juho Makela 14′, 28′ Joel Chianese 16′ Mitchell Mallia 33′, Tomislav Mijic 50′)
Melbourne Victory 1 (Luke O’Dea 59′)
