No Del Piero, no problem for Sydney FC as they overcame the loss of their Italian superstar to record a club-record fourth straight win, seeing off Newcastle 2-0 at Allianz Stadium.
No Del Piero, no problem for Sydney FC as they overcame the loss of their Italian superstar to record a club-record fourth straight win, seeing off Newcastle 2-0 at Allianz Stadium.
Alessandro Del Piero limped out of the game on 43 minutes after suffering what appeared to be a hamstring strain, picking up a yellow card for his troubles after heading straight to the bench without informing match officials.
But for once his absence didn’t prove fatal for Sydney, who scored through Joel Chianese two minutes after their captain’s departure and added a second via super sub Ranko Despotovic on the hour.
It’s the first time the Sky Blues have strung together four consecutive wins, taking them to second spot on the table.
Newcastle stay fifth after their first defeat in a month.
Both Sydney goals were the result of individual skill and brilliance.
Chianese’s perfect first touch from Ali Abbas’ cross from the left took him past defender Jacob Pepper and in the line of fire with only keeper Mark Birighitti to beat.
His second touch proved just as good, the left foot strike on the turn leaving Birighitti with no chance and handing the Sky Blues the lead.
It was Chianese’s fourth goal in four appearances against Newcastle and Sydney’s 300th A League goal.
Despotovic came on for Del Piero and soon had his second Sydney goal in as many weeks, slewing past a couple of defenders before beating Birighitti at the near post with a powerful left-foot drive.
Both sides were guilty of turning over possession in the first half but the second term started in much livelier fashion and should have produced a goal for Newcastle early on.
Nathan Burns held his head in his hands after blasting his shot well over the bar after Ben Kantarovski fashioned the chance with a lovely ball in from the right.
Sydney almost made them pay straight away, Richard Garcia’s header striking the underside of the cross bar and rebounding out for Despotovic’s follow up header to be tipped over by Birighitti.
But Despotovic didn’t have to wait long for another opportunity, burying the chance to ensure the Sky Blues’ winning run continued into a fourth week.
Sydney FC 2 (Chianese 45+1, Despotovic 60)
Newcastle 0
Crowd: 14,803
