PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEKEND – SYDNEY FC

I know it’s going to sound a bit controversial but, despite dropping points, Sydney FC still had the performance of the weekend. It’s not so much that they were clearly the best, but rather, who else would you give it to?

Brisbane were lucky it wasn’t 5-0 against them, Melbourne City and Western Sydney thrashed it out in one of the scrappiest games of the season, Perth only overcame a poor Adelaide team thanks to a red card and a refereeing decision whilst Newcastle and Central Coast played out a solid game, with neither being able to set themselves apart.

Sydney have been a force this season and if it weren’t for Michael Theo, would have recorded their seventh win in as many games. They scored inside the first quarter of an hour thanks to a Josh Brillante stunner.

Two poor passes saw Sydney come ever so close to being 3-0 up inside the first 40 but Michael Theo was excellent on both occasions. Brisbane managed to draw just before the break but it was very much against the run of play, with a beautiful curling shot the defence could do little about.

Less than 10 minutes back from the break and again, Sydney came excruciatingly close to getting a fourth but again, it was Michael Theo who delivered big time, saving an excellent Brandon O’Neill free kick.

Another two shots forced the Brisbane keeper into some heroics just after the hour mark. Even a last minute one on one break from Sydney was not enough to find the winner as yet again, Theo was up for it.

Despite the draw, Sydney were the dominant team. In almost every category, they played Brisbane off the park and despite many Roar players saying a draw was fair, it was hard to see that being the case with Sydney able to beat every Brisbane player apart from the one in between the sticks.

Graham Arnold called it Sydney’s best performance of the season and whilst that may have been stretching it, they were clearly the better team on the night. The team would have felt very hard done by to walk away without a win but they have won our performance of the weekend.

PLAYER OF THE WEEKEND – MICHAEL THEO

Facing 18 shots in total, six shots on target and nine from inside the box, it was a miraculous performance from Michael Theo. Graham Arnold praised his team’s efforts and said that if it weren’t for the efforts of Theo, that Sydney would have won the game by similar margins to what we’ve seen against Central Coast, Wanderers and Perth.

Brisbane came into the match knowing they were underdogs but also with confidence, keen to be the first team to beat Sydney in over 13 games. Sydney took an early lead thanks to a Joshua Brillante stunner and there was very little Theo could do it.

He backed up well from there, making a series of point-blank range saves, saving his team twice after two defensive errors. Brisbane certainly looked shaky but their keeper was the epitome of confidence and would have inspired them on to their goal, just before half time.

He excellently saved a Brandon O’Neill free kick which looked like a sure-fire goal. From there, he saved two shots from Alex Brosque and Milos Ninkovic, keeping his team afloat as they face the barrage of Sydney FC.

His final moment of the match came in the final few seconds after Bernie Ibini broke from the halfway like before attempting a shot past the on-rushing keeper. Theo was forced to spread himself and blocked the ball well, saving Brisbane from a final minute loss.

He hasn’t necessarily been consistent this season but this performance will keep him in the net for at least another week. At 35, he is the second oldest player on the team and his experience showed. Having been let down several times by his defenders, Theo remained resolute and showed that he is still capable of producing world-class performances.

He won the man of the match award for this game and he also gets our performance of the week, almost single-handedly, saved a point for Brisbane.

GOAL OF THE WEEKEND – JOSHUA BRILLANTE

He’s been playing professional football since 2010 but, almost six years to the day he made his debut, Joshua Brillante got his first ever professional goal and it was stunning.

Sydney FC had taken the early pressure to Brisbane and found themselves just outside Brisbane’s box with 12 minutes of play gone. A solid tackle just outside the box gave the ball to Brillante well outside the area.

He took the ball in space with a heavy touch and (still well outside the box) put everything he had behind it, sending it into the top corner of Michael Theo’s goal, leaving the keeper helplessly diving to his right.

Whilst Thomas Kristensen would score another beautiful goal just before halftime, Brillante’s goal was just a level above. The power with which he struck it gave the keeper no chance and the ability to keep the ball from sailing over the bar was excellent.

Brillante has been one of the unsung heroes of Sydney FC’s stellar start to the season but will certainly be a player many are keeping an eye on now. Returning from a turbulent time in Italy, the midfielder is not only finding his feet again, but now, finding the back of the net.

A well-deserved goal of the week and one that could even be in the top ten goals of the season by May.

FLOP OF THE WEEKEND – ADELAIDE UNITED

Whilst they may have been the victim of a controversial refereeing decision, it was a match that after the equaliser, they never exactly looked like winning. It has been the story of their season so far. Flashes on individual brilliance disguise a team that is just simply not performing.

They started the game off well and took an early lead thanks to a superb Tarek Elrich cross that left Josh Risdon with no way to avoid hitting it into his own net. They were not able to retain that lead for very long though, conceding within three minutes.

Rostyn Griffiths was able to find the back of the net thanks to the Adelaide defence giving him plenty of room to set up a low, driven strike. The two teams went into the half level with Adelaide doing reasonably well before the end of the first 45.

Returning from the break the competition heated up with Adelaide’s fourth yellow card of the night being shown just two minutes after returning to the field.

It was the next goal that was to be the centre of controversy for the night though, as Rostyn Griffiths appeared to illegally connect with Eugene Galekovic whilst challenging for a Marinkovic free kick. Andy Keogh finished off the spilled ball to take the lead to 2-1 for Perth.

Protests from Guillermo Amor and Iacopo La Rocca saw the former head to the stands whilst the latter received a yellow card. The team’s ill-discipline caused them a headache just a few minutes later when Jordan O’Doherty received his second yellow for a studs-up lunging tackle.

La Rocca was then lucky to not receive a second yellow card in what was the second controversial call of the night. Whilst challenging for a ball, La Rocca connected with Keogh’s mouth, with the Perth Glory player visibly bleeding from the mouth a few seconds later.

The Irishman got his justice a few minutes later however, finishing off an excellent counter-attacking move in the final minute to put the game beyond doubt.

The game was not the worst performance for Adelaide this season but it was unfortunately the worst performance of the weekend. They’re still lingering in 10th and despite dominating possession on the night, they were completely lacklustre in the final third, managing just 7 shots compared to the 15 shots from Perth.

Adelaide only had one shot on target all night despite their 58% of possession, showing that there is a serious problem with converting chances to goals. They have the equal worst goal difference in the competition and now sit four points adrift of Central Coast and Newcastle who, at the moment, look better teams than Adelaide.

Sure, they had a big decision go against them, but we know by their season so far that its far more than refereeing that’s hindering them. They are looking lacklustre and coming up against the most in form team in the competition next week away from home is seriously going to challenge them.

Adelaide have some serious thinking to do and their results show it. As we said, not the worst performance of the season, but the worst performance of the weekend.