Sydney FC put Hills United to the sword
Sydney FC continued its push to fight off relegation following a comprehensive 3-1 victory over Hills United at Ilinden Sports Centre on a chilly Tuesday evening.
The young Sky Blues got off to a flyer as Oscar Fryer put Sydney FC ahead before Byron Ginn equalised for the visitors a minute before half-time.
Mathias Macallister continued his good run of form scoring his third goal in two matches as he put FC in the lead before Fryer added his second and the team’s third goal from the spot to secure the three valuable points and put pressure on Hills on the league ladder.
Sydney FC enjoyed the better possession in the first quarter-hour forcing several corners they couldn’t convert but also defended strongly especially when Nikolai Muller had a shot charged down without posing any real threat to either ‘keeper.
Fryer opened the scoring when Wood did well but parried Brazete’s shot with the Sydney FC player able to nip in and clinically tuck away the rebound with a thumping shot into the roof of the net. The home side buoyed again after taking the lead caused United several headaches without adding to the scoresheet. The goal, although a set-back, didn’t shake United who kept their shape and continued to look for an opening although Anthony Frangie replaced Yu Okubo on the half-hour for the visitors.
Alex Zaverdinos tipped over a Cam Philp shot from the edge of the area after the ball was pulled back sweetly, United growing into the match and beginning to find the opportunities.
The pressure paid off when skipper Glen Kelshaw floated in a delightful ball from the right for Ginn to head home strongly when arriving late in the box to level the scores with the match all square going into the break.
Sydney FC again started the half at a frenetic pace, as they did the first 45 minutes, with Fryer firing narrowly over very early on from distance but again Wood could only parry a Blake Bolwell shot, the ball bouncing awkwardly in front of the ‘keeper, that Macallister this time was able to pounce on to find the net and restore their lead.
Instead of sitting back the Sky Blues went forward at pace in search of a third goal that nearly led to their undoing and United levelling for a second time when conceding a foul outside the area that saw Frangie firing into the wall before the ball was cleared.
Shortly after came the somewhat contested penalty decision when Ginn was adjudged to have shoved Brazete in the back with the latter ending up in the net. Up stepped Fryer to add his second of the night from the spot in the 63rd minute.
United were about to make several changes before the incident took place and did so immediately afterwards with a raft of substitutions as the visitors had little option but to go on all-out offensive in the remaining time left.
Zaverdinos did well to hold a shot from Frangie when seeing it late after coming through a sea of bodies albeit the effort was tame from the falling striker in the 75th minute however it was the visitors who looked to be running out of ideas and steam whilst leaving huge amounts space between the attackers and defenders.
In the final stages and with a two-goal buffer, Sydney FC were able to sit deeper but still looked to hit over the top but with no addition to the scoring it was a priceless 3-1 win for the struggling youngsters of Sydney FC.
It was a spirited fight back from United, but the youthful exuberance of the home side saw them through in a desperately needed win leaving Hills United coach Luke Casserly disappointed after the match.
“We did have the shorter turn around and a couple of boys missing tonight but it is what it is,” he said.
“I thought for the most part, until the penalty which we feel was harsh, it was a pretty even game and we were still in it and had a chance but at 3-1 it was really over and from that point on Sydney FC’s hunger and desire was very good and fair play to them.
“It’s been a bit of an issue for us all season where we get to good areas and the delivery is not quite right – we don’t really put the pressure on teams as much as we should and a lot of that is down to the final decision, the execution in the final third that’s let us down.
“It was a tough night and fair play to them, but we regroup and keep charging along,” he concluded.
Sydney FC coach Jimmy Van Weeren was in better mood when adding.
“The last couple of weeks we’ve started playing the football we want with a more settled squad and to get the points tonight was the number one priority,” he stated.
“Back-to-back wins is very pleasing and also the manner in which we played but we know this is a tough league and we need to keep putting in the effort.
“With the short turn around, we couldn’t train before the game so the boys have mainly been training solo and credit must go to them for that and the dedication they’ve shown.
“I feel we did enough to win the game although it wasn’t an easy victory tonight, (Hills) United are a tough side to break down and you need to earn the win because they don’t give too much away at the back but we’re very happy with the result.”
Match Stats
Sydney FC 3 (Oscar Fryer 19’, 63p’, Mattias Macallister 51’)
Hills United FC 1 (Byron Ginn 44’)
Ilinden Sports Centre, Rockdale
Tuesday, 11th June 2024
Referee: Mujtaba Ebrahimi
Assistants: Lance Greenshields and Paul Mercieca
Fourth Official: Joel Crawford
Sydney FC: 40. Alex Zaverdinos, 3. Tyler Williams, 4 Joseph Calusic, 7 Oscar Fryer (6 Dylan Rose 80’), 8 Lachlan Middleton, 10 Tiago Quintal (2. Noah Mathie 90’), 13 Jacob Brazete (16. Pearson Kasawaya 69’), 22 Will Kennedy, 24 Wataru Kamijo (17. Ayouk Eduard-Mo 80’), 33. Mattias Macallister, 34. Blake Bolwell (9 Bailey Callaghan 80’)
Subs not used: 30. Mason Hartig
Yellow Cards: Nil
Red Cards: Nil
Hills United FC: 1 Ryan Wood, 5 Daniel Petkovski, 9 Yu Okubo (11 Anthony Frangie 29’), 10 Jamal Belkadi (24 Sunday Yona 64’), 12 Jordan Lane (7. Wade Giovenali, 64’), 13 Cam Philp, 15 Noah Casserly, 19 Glen Kelshaw (39. Dylan Yaako 82’), 22 Byron Ginn, 27. Nicolai Müller (14 Sam O’Connor 64’), 49. Kaya Akdeniz
Subs not used: 21. Emlyn Cross
Yellow Cards: Kaya Akdeniz 13’, Sam O’Connor 85’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Oscar Fryer (SFC)
2 – Jacob Brazete (SFC)
1 – Glen Kershaw (HUFC)
By NPL NSW Men’s Reporter Micky Brock
