Sydney FC has taken maximum points from their road trip to Canberra, easily accounting for the Australian Institute of Sport, 3-1.
Sydney FC has taken maximum points from their road trip to Canberra, easily accounting for the Australian Institute of Sport, 3-1.
In an unusual site, Sydney FC took the field in a mostly red AIS strip after both teams turned up in white.
In the previous meeting between the two sides the AIS was able to keep Sydney to a draw, which the youngsters must have taken confidence from.
Last place AIS came out of the blocks fast when a good chance from Stephen Domenici was confidently tipped over the bar by Sydney FC goal-keeper Nenad Vekic in the first minute.
Sydney seemed out of sorts in the first twenty minutes as the AIS continued to dominate the ball, with AIS players Ryan Edwards and Melvin Beckett on the right, and Marc Warren on the left, providing Stephen Domenici with good ball, but little in the way of opportunities.
Sydney put the first goal on the board in the 21st minute against the run of play when Joel Chianese-s firm strike from 40 yards out caught the AIS napping, the ball skidding along the ground at a rate of knots and into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal.
The goal took the wind out of the AIS sails and Sydney FC had a number of subsequent opportunities through striker Hussein Akil.
Sydney thought it had its second goal with about 30 minutes gone when a corner was deflected towards goal, beating AIS goal-keeper Aaron Lennox, but was saved off the line by Nikola Stanojevic despite howls of protest by Sydney players for hand-ball.
Coming up to half-time AIS goal-keeper Aaron Lennox made two more important saves.
Right on half time AIS won a penalty when an AIS player was crudely tackled inside the Sydney box.
The AIS should have had the equaliser right on half time but Sydney FC goal-keeper thwarted the penalty kick by Mustafa Amini and then the follow-up by Amini and Sydney went into the sheds with a 1-0 lead.
Sydney started the second half strongly with striker Hussein Akil hitting the crossbar from close in.
In the 53rd minute Sydney finally had its second goal through a beautiful strike off the left foot of Iain Ramsay. Ramsay-s strike never looked like being saved as the ball continued its upward trajectory into the top left-hand corner of the AIS goal.
Sydney while still growing in confidence allowed the AIS a number of corners, mostly against the run of play.
In the 73rd minute the AIS had another chance through a penalty kick just outside the Sydney box which was guided over the cross bar again by Sydney keeper Vekic.
Sydney keeper, Vekic was substituted with ten minutes to play after a solid performance that denied the AIS any chance of keeping up with Sydney.
The AIS players were then left heartbroken when a defensive cross was intercepted directly in front of the AIS goal by Sydney-s Joel Chianese whose deft pass allowed Dimitrios Petratos to slot home Sydney-s third goal.
The AIS scored a consolation goal in the 86th minute when Jake Barker-Daish slotted a penalty from 20 yards out passed Sydney-s replacement keeper Mark Pullman, but it was too little too late to make a difference to the end result.
Sydney 3 (Chianese 21, Ramsay 53, Petratos 83)
AIS 1 (Barker-Daish 86)
