Sydney show their mettle

The season so far has been smooth sailings for Sydney as the comfortably dispose of opponent after opponent. There have been a few times that they have gone behind, like against Melbourne Victory, but they equalised quickly and found the lead eventually.

Tonight was the first time that Sydney had to search for some steel underneath all those silky skills that have charged them to the top of the table. Steve Corica’s men showed they had it in spades, as they equalised so soon after the disastrous red card to Rhyan Grant.

Already a goal down, it would have been easy for the side to down the tools and to minimise the damage as much as possible. Fired by a crowd of 17,421 behind them, the Sky Blues instead fought tooth and nail and found a deserved late winner.

Corica’s multiple changes to the team set-up after losing a man helped the team to stay solid defensively, with Paulo Retre deputising in right back and not pushing up in the same way that Grant would.

City failed to test Sydney as regularly as they should have with a one-man advantage. They rarely stretched the opposition defence and lacked the nous to receive the ball in between the lines and truly pressure Sydney.

Indeed, even with the red card, Sydney were the team that the more dangerous with Milos Ninkovic especially rolling back the days with some beautiful exchanges in the attacking third to remind the fans why they fell in love with him.

The wonderful turnout at a beautiful boutique stadium where rewarded for their faith and the chants at the end of the game highlighted what this beautiful game is all about.

More of it, please.

Noone yet to deliver

If a player is presented a one on one opportunity, but it’s Craig Noone, he’s going to miss.

Noone’s wayward strike when it was easier to score encapsulated his time so far in the A-League. While many of City’s foreign signings have settled and proven themselves to be serious threats, the Englishman is yet to find his footing in Australia.

So far, Noone has scored one penalty and assisted twice in City’s 11 fixtures. He doesn’t look like changing that any time soon, either. The 31 year old has rarely been found in good positions to shoot, and when he does, just like tonight, he finds a way to miss.

He has shown some potential from set pieces with his left foot a bit more accurate when he’s not under any immediate pressure. In saying that, his cross from the corner for City’s opener was perhaps more to the credit of Connor Metcalfe’s jump than a splendid delivery.

Still, Erick Mombaerts has persisted to start him even though he creates little to no threat in the final third. He was hauled with twenty minutes to go tonight as City sought a winner, but it’s time to question whether his performances warrant a start at all.

Glover could be Australia’s next great goalkeeper

He’s risen out of nowhere but Tom Glover’s performances since being thrown into the deep end to replace the dropped Dean Bouzanis have been spectacular.

Tonight, he made an incredible penalty save with his trailing leg after diving to the right to stop Adam Le Fondre’s penalty that was aimed straight through the middle. According to Wikipedia, Glover has always had a knack for being a penalty shot stopping giant, with several for Tottenham Hotspurs’ Under-18 side when he was with the North London team’s academy.

It’s not only his clear shot stopping skills that catch the eye, though. Glover has an urgency to his game that you don’t see in many goalkeepers. He quickly restarts the game from goal kicks and it revealed his desperation to win.

Graham Arnold has recently been reported on whether the Socceroos have a new generation of goalkeepers coming through the ranks beyond Mat Ryan. It is perhaps to soon at the moment, he is certainly on the right track.

Today wasn’t to be for the keeper though, as the defence in front of him let him down, even with a one man advantage, but the future is bright for Glover.