Melbourne Victory proved themselves against last week’s performance, after a 4-0 loss to Newcastle Jets. Whilst Sydney walked away with the win there’s more than meets the eye to the 1-2 score line, with Victory putting up a solid fight.

“This has been a positive time for us. All week we’ve been saying we’ve got to come back from last week’s game, we’ve got to put it behind us, but it’s a totally another thing to come out here and do it. I’m really proud of the girls but losing those couple of goals at the start of the game and finishing so strong is a bit annoying, but it’s positive signs for the future.” – Annabel Martin.

Melbourne Victory – Key Moments and Players

For the duration of last season the young Melindaj Barbieri was utilised as a super sub, but this round she started off the bench for impressive effect. Perhaps taking a few tips from captain Christine Nairn, she had some killer long shots on goal whilst being hardworking in the centre of the field, pairing up with Adriana Taranto and Annabel Martin on the attack.

Sydney’s first goal came from a direct free kick. The outstretched fingers of Bianca Henninger appeared to graze but not halt the ball from Alanna Kennedy, securing Sydney a 0-1 lead in the 18th minute. Despite this set back Henninger went on to shut down and smother numerous attacking chances from an imposing Sydney frontline, especially off tight corner plays.

Laura Spiranovic, substituted on in the 63nd minute, injected the frontline with aggression that saw Victory ride out the final minutes in style. Her long throw in in the 83rd minute reached Dowie in the box, who turned through defenders and pushed the ball across the line.

“They’re a quality side with quality players. I think they defended really well in the second half, tightened things up there. They’ve got really good midfielders – Nairn’s a really good player and she links up really well with Dowie who is always a threat. It was never going to be an easy game.” – Teresa Polias

Sydney FC – Key Moments and Players

Caitlin Foord’s return to field after a match off provided them the sky blue with a lot of depth on the left flank. The impact of her and Kyah Simon on Sydney’s attack are not to be understated, both going in for the far shots and looking for the clinical through balls. Once Sydney had shifted the play to their front third, their frontline doused out sleek and speedy combinations that Victory’s defence struggled to stay on top of.

Georgia Yeoman-Dale was a stand-out asset on their right wing, both in terms of her speed, and her crisp and well-placed crosses. Trapping a high ball from Elizabeth Ralston, she swiftly weaved her way through Victory defence and squared the ball to Siemsen. It took only a touch for Siemsen to send the ball ricocheting into the back of the goal in the 36th minute.  

“Sydney is a great team; they’re going to be contending for the whole thing and they’re going to have their strengths. Pace is one of them and creativity in the final third is another… You just look at their attack and they have a lot of weapons. I think at times we helped them be pretty quiet today but if we tried to make it who’s more athletic, Sydney are going to win that battle every time.” – Christine Nairn

Up Next

Sydney will look to continue their winning streak when they meet Adelaide United at home next Sunday. The game will take place at Seymour Shaw Stadium, with a 5pm kick off.

For Melbourne Victory, they will meet favourites and fellow locals Melbourne City at AAMI Park on Sunday at 2.30pm. The game will be broadcast on ABC and Fox Sports.

MATCH DETAILS

Melbourne Victory 1 (Natasha Dowie 83’)

Sydney FC 2 (Alanna Kennedy 18’, Remy Siemsen 36’)

Sunday 20 November 2016

Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne

Kick-off: 4pm

Referee: Rebecca Durcau

Melbourne Victory: Bianca Henninger (gk), Alexandra Natoli, Alexandra Cheal, Annabel Martin, Lia Privitelli (Laura Spiranovic 62’), Ayesha Norrie, Natasha Dowie, Christine Nairn, Melindaj Barbieri, Adriano Taranto (Rachel Alonso 71’), Samantha Johnson

Substitutes – Bethany Mason-Jones (gk), Gulcan Koca

Cautions – Alexandra Cheal 15’, Samantha Johnson 18’, Natasha Dowie 81’

Sydney FC: Sham Khamis (gk), Teresa Polias (c), Remy Siemsen (Olivia Price 84’), Liz Ralston, Servet Uzunlar (Natalie Tobin 14’), Nicola Bolger, Caitlin Foord, Georgia Yeoman-Dale, Alanna Kennedy, Kyah Simon, Leena Khamis

Substitutes – Sarah Easthope (gk), Princess Ibini

Cautions – None