Sky Blues fail in quest to reach AFC Champions League Two decider
They won on the night, but the Sky Blues failed to advance to the AFC Champions League Two final.
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Sydney FC’s shot at a multimillion-dollar payday is over after the Sky Blues failed in their bid to reach the AFC Champions League Two final.
Facing an uphill battle at Allianz Stadium on Wednesday night after losing last week’s semi-final, first-leg 2-0 to Lion City Sailors in Singapore, the Sydneysiders won 1-0 on home soil, but were knocked out 2-1 on aggregate.
Lion City will now meet UAE club Sharjah in next month’s decider, with the winner to pocket a cheque of more than $A3.9 million.
The loser of the final won’t leave empty-handed, with the runners-up prize being more than $A1.5 million.
A late goal from English winger Joe Lolley gave Sydney some hope of forcing the contest into extra-time.
However, the Sky Blues, who dominated the match, couldn’t find a second goal, and their dreams of Asian glory were dashed.
The Sydneysiders must now focus on securing an A-League finals berth to have any chance of lifting silverware this season.
Their chances of reaching the Champions League Two final seemed on the rise after just nine minutes of Wednesday night’s second-leg when defender Jordan Courtney-Perkins had the ball in the back of the net.
However, celebrations were short-lived after attacker Adrian Segecic was correctly ruled to have been in an offside position in the build-up.
Sydney suffered similar frustration in the 43rd minute when captain Rhyan Grant headed the ball into the net, only to be flagged for offside.
Soon after, in first-half stoppage time, Polish striker Patryk Klimala should have done better after being found by a pinpoint cross from Brazilian star Douglas Costa.
However, Klimala’s attempt at a glancing header wasn’t up to scratch, with the ball flying wide of the post.
Sydney continued to attack in the second half, with Grant failing to hit the target with a shot inside Lion City’s penalty area in the 47th minute.
The visitors’ Dutch winger Bart Ramselaar had a chance to extend Lion City’s aggregate lead three minutes later, but fired his shot over the crossbar.
It was one of the Sailors’ few chances on the night as they defended for their lives to hold on to their advantage from the first-leg.
However, the Sky Blues were about to give up, with Segecic, Lolley and Klimala all forcing second-half saves out of Lion City goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud.
Lolley finally got the better of Mahbud with a fine strike in the 85th minute but it was a case of too little, too late for Sydney, with Lion City holding on to advance to the May 18 final.
Originally published as Sky Blues fail in quest to reach AFC Champions League Two decider
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