PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEKEND – SYDNEY FC

They were dominant yet again, showing off their flare with three well worked goals. Sydney are not winning by fluke at the moment, they are crafting these victories.

Rhyan Grant got the proceedings off to a flying start, scoring beautifully off the work of Alex Brosque, with Bobo then finding the net of some excellent work by Grant. Wellington pegged back a deflected shot but Milos Ninkovic put the nail in the coffin just after the half time break.

They allowed Wellington just two shots on target in the whole match compared to Sydney’s 7. Sydney played a different game this week, scoring early and holding on for the rest of the game. Even when they were under the pump from Wellington, they absorbed pressure and played it out quickly, barely allowing a chance on goal.

Currently first, with 11 points in hand, it’s not only hard to see Sydney losing top spot, it’s almost impossible. In the mathematically worst case scenario, Sydney can only finish as low as 5th.

They face their toughest run of the season though, taking on Wanderers, Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory in three consecutive weeks. If they survive these three weeks unscathed, they will have almost completely wrapped up the league.

A great performance this week but some big challenges lay ahead.

PLAYER OF THE WEEKEND – RHYAN GRANT

He has been one of the many unspoken heroes for Sydney this season and in the “Defender’s Round” he really stepped up, scoring the opening goal and assisting the second.

His first goal showed his determination and excellent positioning, finding the end of a Alex Brosque cross, having to run from close to halfway to finish off the move. He then put in a trademark cross to give Bobo a goal and Sydney a 2-0 lead.

That cross makes him the defender with the most assists in the league with 6. The next closest defender is Josh Risdon on 3.

Not only did he do well in attack, he did well defensively, making more interceptions than any other Sydney player. Wellington could find nothing going down their left wing with Grant putting in a solid shift in defence.

He has been a part of the strongest attack in the league and the strongest defence in the league, making him one of Sydney’s most valuable players across the park. He will definitely have to prove his worth in the next three weeks and Sydney face their toughest run of the season, but he will likely be more than up for the challenge.

A great performance this weekend and surely more to come.

GOAL OF THE WEEKEND – BOBO

Bobo was the man who got his name to it but it was really a great team goal and one of the team goals of the season at that. Here’s how it went down:

Buijs gave it to Holosko who gave it to Brosque who flicked it onto Bobo who passed it outside to Grant who crossed it back to Bobo who finished it off with the head. All this within eight seconds.

It was quick, concise and almost unstoppable. It’s the quick kind of football that has made Sydney so difficult to play against, moving the ball from defence to attack in a split second. They stretched the defence and caught them off guard.

Bobo has been a great member of the Sydney team and he demonstrated his dual attacking abilities in this goal, perfectly laying the ball off the Rhyan Grant who then put it onto Bobo’s head and he finished excellently.

A great goal that deserves recognition and that’s why it is our goal of the weekend.

FLOP OF THE WEEKEND – ADELAIDE UNITED

Adelaide have all but cemented themselves as the worst team in the competition with this result. A result this poor at your home ground signals that Adelaide have simply lost any drive to play well now. Unlike their next closest competitors, Central Coast Mariners, they haven’t shown any progression throughout the season and instead, have gotten worse.

On the face of it, this game looks like a domination by Perth. That was simply not the case. The game was fairly even but it was the horrendous defending of Adelaide when they were pressed that allowed Perth to sneak in five easy goals.

Adelaide’s failure to land any more than three of their 14 shots on target shows how poor they were in attack too. They have been one of the least clinical teams in the competition this season, showcased by the fact they have only scored 15 goals all season (Central Coast have 21).

Their “striker” Sergio Cirio only managed ONE shot all game. Perth were far from clinical on the other side, getting just 8 of their 19 shots on target showing that it wasn’t a case of Perth being good, rather Adelaide being poor.

Adelaide will be visited by Newcastle next week after the Jets held Melbourne Victory to a 0-0 draw. It will be hard to see them getting much from that game, particularly if they play like they did this week.

REFEREE WATCH

Well, if there’s any match we should talk about, it’s the Melbourne City vs Brisbane Roar game. Two highly controversial penalties saw two goals and despite the competition being relatively even in the end, both teams were furious with the soft decisions.

Brandon Borrello won a penalty after it was deemed Josh Rose had made contact with him in the box however replays indicated that there hadn’t really been any contact at all between the two players, with Rose’s reaction certifying his disbelief. Brisbane would score off that but City would get their own back a little while later.

Dane Ingham was judged to have brought down Nick Fitzgerald although again, replays showed that the challenge was very soft. Ingham was visibly perplexed at the decision and it is particularly unfortunate given it was the player’s debut.