Sydney FC stepped up to the plate, finding an even playing field and claiming a 1-1 draw with high-flying Melbourne City.
It was a Sydney-swayed start to the match, with an early goal for the home side that was subsequently called offside, followed by multiple solid attempts on goal within the first 15 minutes alone.
Against the run of play, however, it was Melbourne City that took the early lead in the 18th minute from a set-piece just outside the penalty area.
Sydney FC found their equaliser with a penalty from Adam Le Fondre in the second half, bringing the score to a tense and tight 1-1.
With a missed penalty opportunity and two disallowed goals for Sydney FC, it seems that there are still some crucial loose threads that need tying if the Sky Blues want to stay in the running for the grand final.
Sydney FC head coach, Steve Corica, believes that overall, his side had more chances than City, and when he was questioned about their inability to make something out of those chances, he just laughed.
“Look, I think we did capitalise,” Corica said.
“They were just slightly offside.”
It’s clear that Corica doesn’t see an issue with how many times his frontline has been caught offside, for the most part they were just simply unlucky.
Corica’s belief is that there’s no need to focus on the mishaps from Friday’s game. It’s all about taking from the positives, and all his squad needs now is the confidence to get them through to that final round.
“No one expects us to beat them, but I think after tonight we showed that we can,” Corica said.
“We’ll never give up and we’ll keep fighting until we get the result.”
Despite the tight score line, Sydney FC proved that they are more than able to take it to the top-of-the-table team. It’s clear that they certainly have a strong base to build upon before the second leg.
Both teams will meet again in Melbourne next week to determine who will be the one to progress on to the grand final. Until then, Corica and his squad will be working on their self-belief.
Feature image credit: Jaime Castaneda
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