Big Blue

Despite going down early, Melbourne Victory were putting a lot of pressure on Sydney FC. The premiers were just too strong in defence and they made sure the Melbourne boys didn't rain on their parade.

However, Bobo just can’t be denied for long. The Brazilian got the end of his stops on a great cross and the early goal ended up being the match winner.

Victory were very dangerous at times but Sydney somehow managed to keep them out. After a little dip in form, Sydney have turned it around in time for the finals.

Sydney FC

Andrew Redmayne 8 –

Tonight was possibly his best performance for Sydney. He made a few really good stops to deny Victory. His sweeping was really good as well.  

Luke Wilkshire 6.5 –

He got forward really well in the first half but he ran out of steam in the second, very understandable for a veteran. Let himself down with a few poor crosses from good positions.

Jordy Buijs 6 –

A good performance but Victory did fashion a lot of chances tonight and the Sydney defence need to answer some questions about that.

Alex Wilkinson 8.5 – he pulled off one of the best ever, A League, goal line clearances in the second half and another good one in the first half. He singlehandedly stopped a lot of Victory attacks.

Michael Zullo 7.5 –

A great assist for the first goal. His crossing really is head and shoulders above any other Australian at the moment.  

Josh Brillante 7 – 

An excellent game tonight, particularly in possession but it wasn’t Sydney’s best in defensive midfield. Troisi found more space than he has lately and the pace with which Victory attacked through the middle caused Sydney a lot of problems.

Brandon O’Neill 6.5 – 

Mirror image performance with his midfield partner tonight. Victory managed to play past them a few too many times but he did well on the ball and got further forward than usual.

Adrian Mierzejewski 6.5 – 

Victory did well to keep him quiet tonight. He was swarmed whenever he had the ball. His skills were up to the challenge and he wriggled out of the press more often than not. No goals or assists!

Milos Ninkovic 6 – 

He was involved in setting up the goal but he spent most of the game tracking back and defending. He got a little bored from defending so took a moment out of the game to practice some juggling. He’s done this a few times this season.

Alex Brosque 6.5 – 

Should have had an assist that included an amazing off the ball run but Thomas denied Ninkovic. A few times tonight he turned on the pace and made a nuisance of himself. Sydney will need that on Tuesday night.

Bobo 8 – 

Great decision to choose longer stops on his boots, they got him Sydney’s first goal. Goals like those always fall for inform strikers and the A League has never seen a more inform striker.

SUBS

Paulo Retre 5 – 

After he came on, Barbarouses found a lot more space, the Victory wingers soon switched and Retre dealt with George a lot better.

Matt Simon 5 – 

Did what Matt Simon does.

Ben Warland 5.5 –

Dealt with a lot of Victory pressure as soon as he stepped onto the pitch. Victory didn’t score so job done.

Melbourne Victory

Lawrence Thomas 6.5 – 

Made a great save against Ninkovic in the first half. He didn’t make any mistakes tonight but he wasn’t put under unusual pressure.

Thomas Deng 6 – 

He made some great forward runs in the second half but was relatively anonymous in the first half.

James Donachie 6 – 

Both Victory centre halves defended really well tonight. Keeping Bobo to just one goal is worth a medal in itself.

Rhys Williams 6.5 – 

His return really helped his team tonight. He looked fresh and it was a bit of a return to form.

Leigh Broxham 4.5 – 

He’s played in the most big Blues of any player but tonight was one to forget. Time and time again, his first touch let him down. A few passes were wayward as well.

Carl Valeri 6.5 – 

The veteran midfielder has found a bit of form late in the season. It’s no mean feat to hold Mierzejewski, Ninkovic and Brosque but he helped achieve that tonight. He hit a few nice passes too and he pushed his team forward for some good, fast attacks.

James Troisi 6 – 

Still not where he needs to be for himself or his team but it was an improvement on recent performances. He worked well off the ball tonight but a lot of what he tried still didn’t work.

Terry Antonis 6.5 – 

Great work to attack with pace and purpose from midfield. He also did the hard yards defensively and stopped the unstoppable a few times.

Kosta Barbarouses 6 – 

Looked really dangerous all night but it just didn’t end in goals.

Leroy George 5 – 

His dead balls are normally very dangerous but he couldn’t put in a decent corner in tonight and he had a lot of chances. He wasn’t bad in general play but he wasn’t at his best. Victory will need him firing in the finals.

Besart Berisha 4.5 – 

Beat the keeper but missed the goal. His build up play was better tonight than it has been at times this season.

SUBS

Kenny Athiu 4 – 

Came on with a decent amount of time left but he could not find the ball.