Sky Blues stay alive in race for Premiers Plate

They have had trouble closing out games but Sydney FC somehow managed to get the job done again last night.

Sydney players and fans celebrate Cam Devlin’s late goal. Picture: AAP.

They have had trouble closing out games but Sydney FC somehow managed to get the job done again last night as they continued to stay in the battle for the Premiers Plate with a 2-0 win over Adelaide United at Leichhardt Oval.

The Sky Blues maintained second spot on the table but moved to within five points of leaders Perth Glory after new signing Reza “Gucci” Ghoochannejhad scored his first goal for the club on 15 minutes before substitute Cameron Devlin also got his first for the club, putting the game beyond doubt when he scored in injury time.

It was yet another solid performance from the defending Premiers Plate holders and they showed they are not going to give in without a fight as they try to chase down Glory in the final six games of the regular season.

Still, after dominating the first half with a quality display, led by Gucci and veteran Milos Ninkovic, Sydney couldn’t quite get it together in attack in the second half as United showed a bit more going forward than they did in the first 45 minutes.

Still the Reds didn’t really test goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne while Alex Wilkinson was simply superb in the heart of the home defence.

Sydney coach Steve Corica was delighted with the effort of the team and happy to see the superb contribution for Gucci, who was a real livewire before he ran out of puff in the second half.

The Iranian only joined the club in January and has taken a little time to find his feet, but he showed last night that he will be influential come finals time as well as in the Asian Champions League campaign.

Sydney produced a quality first 45 minutes, dominating for large parts and deservedly went into the break leading 1-0 after Ghoochannejhad’s fine effort on 15 minutes.

The Iranian, who has taken time to settle into the Sydney way of playing having only joined the club in late January, was a constant handful for the United defence with his pace and skill. The benefit of time and training saw him combine a lot better with striker partner Adam le Fondre and midfield genius Milos Ninkovic.

Ninkovic in particular showed the whole range of his remarkable repertoire from his sublime passing, to his vision to his ability to set up the likes of Gucci and le Fondre.

Sydney, who have had trouble finishing off their chances in recent weeks, searched impressively for a second but the visitor’s defence held firm. The visitors came out with a lot more purpose in the second half. They pushed up higher and pressured the Sydney midfield, looking for turnovers. Still, Wilkinson was a tower of strength in defence for the Sky Blues.

Corica said he could have been more pleased with the effort of his players, declaring the first 45 minutes as probably the best half of football they have played this season. “The first half was excellent, the best we have played all season. The second half turned a little bit, but sometimes you have to defend and we defended really well, keeping another clean sheet,” Corica said.

As for Gucci, Corica could not have been happier.

“He hasn’t been here long so it takes a bit of time to get used to everything,” Corica added. “The combination with Adam (le Fondre) is really working now, two great strikers. We still have Alex Brosque to come back as well so that will give me a few headaches.”

Still, the Sydney boss wasn’t too concerned by the fact his side didn’t close it off until the last minutes of the match.

“Sometimes you win 1-0 or 2-0 and sometimes that’s enough as long as you don’t concede.”