Sky Blues prove too hot for the Bulls following dominant second half display
Sydney FC recorded its second victory of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s season with a 4-1 win over the Bulls FC Academy on a hot Sunday afternoon at Valentine Sports Park.
The young Sky Blues had to fight back from conceding the first goal to take the three points.
Alen Harbas equalised with a delightful chip in the first half before the striker added a second before goals from substitutes Clayton Taylor and Ben Gibson sealed the result.
The Bulls took the lead from a Sunday Yona header from a corner but were unable to hold the lead.
The visitors were the first team to settle as Mason Wells had a powerful effort blocked by Sydney FC custodian Adam Pavlesic in his first action of the game.
Wells was involved in the thick of the action for the Bulls FC opener. He earned the corner which saw big towering defender Theph Theph rise to head home for 1-0 lead.
It was almost double delight for Wells. He was given space by the Sydney FC defence before he unfurled a shot which rattled the crossbar and bounced away.
Sydney FC got their footing and Alen Harbas had their first shot of the day. The striker hooked an effort wide of the box nearing the half hour mark.
Building on that, Sydney FC had a pair of efforts in trying to find the equaliser.
Matthew Scarcella fired one right at Bulls FC keeper Griffin Barry then Luka Smyth saw his shot sail over the bar.
Sydney FC did find the equaliser in the 34th minute. A delightful ball over the top found Harbas in the box and he chipped Barry to make it 1-1.
Coming out of the break, Bulls FC felt just fine. They had the first two chances of the second half through Sebastian Hernandez and Edward Caspers which went wide.
Rhys Youlley went close to restoring the Bulls lead. The attacker curled an effort towards the top corner which forced Pavlesic into a diving stop.
It was Sydney FC who hit the front in the 66th minute. Harbas showed his strength to hold off the defender and rifled an effort into the net to make it 2-1.
The hosts added a third through substitute Clayton Taylor. He weaved past the Bulls FC defence before he fired home to make it 3-1 for Sydney FC.
It was another substitute who added some icing on the Sydney FC victory cake. Ben Gibson rolled the ball home from a throw in to make it 4-1.
Speaking post-match, Sydney FC coach Jimmy Van Weeren was delighted with the second half performance especially from his side after a downbeat first half.
“The first half was not our best performance we have to be honest about that.
“We have to be mentally tougher than that.
“The second half we responded well and scored some goals. For us, it depends on who we have available each week but we want to win as many games as possible.” said Van Weeren.
For Bulls FC Academy coach Zeljko Kalac, the former Socceroo keeper was upset by the loss considering the dominant display his side put in the first-half.
“It was a game that we dominated, and I can’t believe the result.
“The last 30 minutes we were poor and didn’t manage the game well.
“The subs in the last few weeks have been fantastic but were poor tonight which isn’t good enough.”
Match Stats
Sydney FC 4 (Harbas ‘34, ‘66, Taylor ‘79, Gibson ‘90+2)
Bulls FC Academy 1 (Theph ‘16)
Sunday 5 March 2023
Valentine Sports Park, Glenwood
Referee: Jake Rose
Assistant Referees: Patrick Teleki & Alexis Johnson
Fourth Official: Chloe Gray
Sydney FC: 4. Nathan Paull, 6. Matthew Scarcella, 8. Kealey Adamson (13. Hayden Matthews ‘90+1), 9. Luka Symth (26. Zane Schreiber ‘45), 10. Alen Harbas (7. Ben Gibson ‘75), 18. Oscar Priestmann, 21. Louis Agosti, 29. Aaron Gurd, 30. Adam Pavlesic, 34. Max Buratto (17. Jayden Trenkoski ‘60), 38. Alexander Parsons (11. Clayton Taylor ‘60)
Unused subs: 20. Max Vartuli
Yellow cards: Harbas, Schreiber, Gibson
Red cards:
Bulls FC Academy: 3. Theph Theph (5. Anthony Krilic ‘61), 4. Joel Bertolissio, 8. Samuel Bosnjak, 12. Charlie Ragg (20. Adrian Knez ‘68), 34. Issac Hovar, 40. Griffin Barry, 42. Edward Caspers, 46. Jesper Webber (10. Ayman Gulasi ‘61), 47. Sebastian Hernandez (25. Sunday Yona ‘61), 48. Mason Wells, 49. Rhys Youlley (9. Maribor Garang ‘68)
Unused subs: 41. Patrick Williams
Yellow cards: Yona
Red cards:
Player Ratings:
3: Alen Harbas (SFC)
2: Kealey Adamson (SFC)
1: Adam Pavlesic (SFC)
By Justin Davies (@JustDavies90)
