With some silky Sydney play and a solid possession game, the reigning Champions held on for their second win of the season, extending their unbeaten home streak to more than 550 days.

The Sydney faithful were stunned with both of the ‘Nix’s goals coming from nothing.. even though the pair could define the word class in the dictionary. Andrija Kaluderovic caught Andrew Redmayne napping late on in the first, with a sweetly struck half-volley hitting the back of the net, and a Dario Vidosic header  looped into the net from distance.

SYDNEY FC

Andrew Redmayne – 6.5

Kept quiet until the latter stages of the first half, where he couldn’t help his side from conceding. With some assertive claims from crosses, Redmayne stood up when his side needed him, despite conceding two classy goals.

Michael Zullo - 8

Bagged his first A-League goal since the 2008-09 season with a banging hit that rifled into the top corner. Using the confidence of his goal, the fullback continued to make some positive darting runs down the touchline in search of a second.

Alex Wilkinson – 6.5

The centre back managed to defend his goal well enough with only a few Phoenix attacks presenting any real danger.

Jordy Buijs - 7

The Dutchman didn’t have much to do, pouncing on the chance to make some bursting runs into the Phoenix half. Buijs added to the way in which the home side were able to dominate ball possession.

Luke Wilkshere - 7

The former Socceroo was kept quiet throughout the game, but managed to seal an assist which complemented his solid defensive display.

Brandon O’Neill – 6

Neill did his job well, distributing the ball with conviction and helping the defence to snuff out numerous threats from the ‘Nix.

Joshua Brillante – 6

Brillante kept managed to have a consistent game, performing his role the way Sydney needed him.

Milos Ninkovic – 6.5

The Serbian star’s game was a little off and he struggled to make an impact. Still, he came up with some of his trademark ‘Milos magic’ with some dazzling touches to evade his opponents and catch the eye of fans.

Alex Brosque – 7

Brosque played his usual strong game with some intelligent runs, however missed a few chances that he would normally put away. The veteran striker was able to slip Bobô through with a delightful pass to open the scoring.

Adrian Mierzejewski – 6.5

The Polish international showed his class once more, but sent a scare through the coaching staff after hitting the deck with complaints of hamstring soreness.

Bobô – 7.5

The Brazilian bagged a brace with a goal in both periods of play, before being brought off in the dying stages of the game.

SUBS

David Carney – 6

Carney attempted to create some chances for the strikers in the box, which unfortunately came to little effect. The winger was able to contribute to helping his side claim all three points.

Matt Simon – 6.5

Matt Simon managed to create a few chances with the limited time he had to do so, which he failed to capitalize on. The striker was unable to ‘put the game to bed’ late on, forcing a smart save from Keegan Smith.

Paulo Retre – N/A

Came on too late to make an impact.

Wellington Phoenix

Keegan Smith – 6

The youngster was given a boost of confidence with the chance to start his second A-League game in a row, yet showed the expected nerves on occasions. The 18-year-old didn’t have much of a chance on any of Sydney’s three goals, yet showed his footwork skills with some classy distribution to his fullbacks.

Scott Galloway – 5.5

Another quiet night, with limited chances to make his runs down the flanks and little link up play with his midfielders.

Tom Doyle – 5.5

Stuck as a centre back in this game, Doyle struggled to get forward, unlike his usual fullback role denying the New Zealander the attacking element to his game that we have become accustomed to seeing from him. 

Andrew Durante – 6

Fresh from being one of the All White’s custodians, Durante played the game with his usual passion, but found it hard to move the ball around and find support from the players around him.

Daniel Mullen – 4.5

The defender was dragged on the stroke of the 60th minute, following some sloppy defensive work and seeing three Sydney goals hit the back of the net.

 

Matthew Ridenton – 5

Didn’t manage to catch the eye with any of his play, which was the underlying reason in why the midfielder was substituted in the 60th minute.

Goran Paracki – 6

More sloppy defending on the first goal. The Croatian worked hard in the midfield to try and rectify the situation his side was in, to no avail. 

Dario Vidosic – 6

A well taken goal was able to shine a light on fairly dull performance.

Michael McGlinchey – 5.5

Couldn’t hold the ball in his possession and find his teammates in any attacking positions during the game. Managed to get an assist and keep his side in the game with a great ball that found Dario Vidosic’s head.

Roy Krishna – 5

Let his frustration out towards the end of the game, having difficulty to keep the ball at his feet and find a path to goal.

Andrija Kaluderovic – 6.5

Like Vidosic, the striker couldn’t get into the game with the ball stuck in his side’s defensive half. A sweet strike into the side netting was able to brighten up what was another dull input.

SUBS

Ali Abbas – 5

Entered the Sydney pitch to a very warm welcome in front of the fans who used to sing his name, but was unable to make an impact. Late on, a poor offside call denied the Iraqi flyer the chance to bring his side level.

Adam Parkhouse – 5.5

The winger found it hard to maintain any consistency with his crossing, missing a few chances to deliver a good ball to any of his teammates even though he brought a spark of confidence onto the ground.

Hamish Watson – N/A

Came on too late to make an impact.