Sydney FC fail to break Suncorp drought but still undefeated

They might have failed to break their Suncorp Stadium drought but Sydney FC still have history in their sights.

Sydney FC’s Josh Brillante gets his head to the ball in front of Brisbane Roar’s Tommy Oar, right, at Suncorp Stadium last night.

They might have failed to break their Suncorp Stadium drought but Sydney FC still have history in their sights after their lively 0-0­ draw with Brisbane.

The Sky Blues’ frustrating run continued in Brisbane — not having won there since October 2014 — after a fiery, yet scoreless clash last night in front of 13,095 fans.

However, the Sydney FC juggernaut extended their unbeaten season start to 18 rounds — just two short of a remarkable record. They are in sight of the best national soccer season start — Apia Leichhardt’s 20-game streak in 1987.

Graham Arnold’s Sky Blues have made no secret of their bold plan to replicate “Arsenal’s Invincibles” of 2003-04 and finish the season undefeated.

But they appeared to face their biggest test of the campaign when they arrived at their Brisbane graveyard — albeit against a Roar side without suspended striker Brandon Borrello.

Brisbane adopted a State of Origin mentality in a bid to stop Sydney FC, even donning a maroon jersey for the A-League blockbuster.

Overall, Sydney FC have won just three of 19 games at Suncorp Stadium. But the Sky Blues still emerged unbeaten last night, extending their ladder lead over nearest rival Melbourne City to 12 points with nine games left.

One of the biggest scares for Brisbane came after Roar ironman Jade North copped a fifth yellow card for the season, ruling him out of their next match against City. The defender was penalised for a 27th-minute challenge on Sydney FC skipper Alex Brosque.

Jordy Buijs’ resulting penalty shot evaded diving goalkeeper and man of the match Michael Theo but sailed past the far post.

The second half had a frantic start with Jack Hingert forced to clear a Milos Ninkovic strike off the line in the opening seconds.

Roar talisman Thomas Broich’s point-blank header in the 56th minute was saved by keeper Daniel Vukovic but the German maestro appeared to cop a stray boot in the head from Josh Brillante.

The Sky Blues’ Brandon O’Neill received a yellow card for his 62nd-minute challenge on Broich, ensuring he would miss their next clash with Wellington.

“Our aim is to be the best team in A-League history,” Arnold said of Sydney FC, who moved to 44 points. “Our first goal is to get past 57 points, a record for a 10-team competition — we are striving for that.”

It was a stirring display from Brisbane after eight changes to the starting side that thrashed Filipino side Global FC 6-0 on Tuesday night in their Asian Champions League (ACL) qualifier.

“If you looked at the game as a whole, we deserved to win that,” Roar coach John Aloisi said.

Meanwhile, Arnold applauded the mental toughness of keeper Vukovic who candidly revealed on Fox Sports last night that his infant son Harley had successfully undergone a liver transplant.

AAP