Sydney FC has extended its winning run to seven by beating Adelaide United 1-0 in its top-of-the-table National Youth League clash at Hindmarsh Stadium on Saturday.
The Sky Blues had the better of the first half and were rewarded when Brendan Gan produced the match-winner in the 35th minute.
A midfield turnover allowed him to stream forward, break free from three defenders and pull the trigger from outside the box.
Adelaide goalkeeper Mark Birighitti was left stranded as Gan coolly sent the ball past his left side.
Sydney FC started the game with a stiff breeze behind it and made some promising forays into attack earning four of the first five corners of the game and maintaining constant pressure on the home side-s defenders.
Jacob Timpano and Chris Payne read the ball well from set plays but were just off target with headers.
Marc Warren also tested goalkeeper Birighitti who had to dive to his right to stop a low and well-directed strike.
United also managed to control the play in patches and were sharp in the middle of the ground. They also kept the opposition on their toes with some floating crosses and some clever link-up play just inside the box.
The Reds put in a credible performance and tried to find the quick response before the break but to no avail.
The second half saw more attacking play by the home side and they were unlucky not to have a goal of their own.
In the 62nd minute a dipping Jason Spagnuolo cross provided a gilt-edged opportunity but Adelaide lacked a composed finish in the box.
A Spagnuolo header slid across the face of the goal in the 79th minute and not long after a Joel Allwright strike cannoned into the left goal post to leave the home fans frustrated.
Sydney also threatened to score numerous times in the second half and in the end deserved the three points at the final whistle.
Reds coach Joe Mullen said he was pleased with his team-s effort against the ‘benchmark’ side.
“We did push, we had a few chances but Sydney held out well,” he said.
“They-ve got a good defence, they work very hard, they got behind the ball early and they did what we-ve done well this year, they pressured the player with the ball.”
Match Details
Adelaide United 0
Sydney FC 1 (Brendan Gan 35-)
Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
Saturday 22 November 2008
Referee: Regis Queffelec
Assistant Referees: Christian Verdicchio, Mark Michael
Fourth Official: Stephen Toth
Adelaide United line-up: 30.Mark BIRIGHITTI (gk), 3.Scott WEIDENBACH (2.Michael DOYLE 51-), 4.Michael MARRONE, 5.Michael VALKANIS (OA), 6.Alexander SUNASKY, 8.Matthew MULLEN, 10.Osama MALIK (16.Michael DE BONO 62-), 11.Jason SPAGNUOLO (OA), 12.Andrew CIARLA, 15.Francesco MONTEROSSO, 17.Shane TOBIAS (7.Joel ALLWRIGHT 57-)
Substitutes not used: 40.Lucas ANDREUCCI (gk)
Yellow cards: Matthew Mullen 61-, Michael Doyle 90-
Red Cards: Nil
Sydney FC line-up: 30.Clint BOLTON (OA) (gk) (20.Vedran JANJETOVIC (gk) 45-), 2.Rhyan GRANT, 3.Marc WARREN (9.Sean ROONEY 65-), 5.Jacob TIMPANO (OA), 6.Chris PAYNE, 9.Sean ROONEY (12.Kerim BULUT 59-), 10.Zach CAIRNCROSS, 11.Kofi DANNING, 13.Sam MUNRO, 14.Brendan GAN, 15.Sam GALLAWAY (7.Ivan PAVLAK 45-)
Substitutes not used: Nil
Yellow cards: Sam Munro 52-, Chris Payne 70-, Zach Cairncross 78-, Kerim Bulut 87-
Red Cards: Nil
