John Kosmina’s reign as Sydney FC coach has kicked off with an impressive 3-2 victory over A-League leaders Central Coast in a highly entertaining match at the Sydney Football Stadium.
A first-half brace to striker Alex Brosque and a goal to captain Tony Popovic gave Sydney their first win in a month, just days after Kosmina replaced sacked coach Branko Culina.
Mariners midfielder John Hutchinson also bagged a double, with two spectacular long range shots, while Brosque could have scored a hat-trick but missed a penalty early in the second half.
Sydney’s performance overshadowed the debut of star Central Coast signing John Aloisi, who played 90 minutes but had limited involvement.
English striker Michael Bridges also made his A-League debut for Sydney and impressed with a lively display up front, winning Brosque’s penalty and earning a standing ovation from the home fans when he was replaced in the 83rd minute.
Kosmina was delighted with the performance, particularly in the first half, as his new side responded well to the changes he had only three training sessions to introduce.
“I’m very happy to get three points and happy that they had such a good first half and that we went on with it in patches in the second,” Kosmina said.
“The guys showed a bit of commitment, they showed they wanted to work for each other and toughed it out at the end.
“Whether it’s responding to me or responding to change I don’t know, but these guys are natural winners.”
Brosque’s 16th minute opener was a simple tap-in after midfielder Steve Corica’s shot had rebounded off the right upright.
The striker, now the league’s outright top scorer, then doubled the advantage in the 26th when he tucked away a fine through ball from Popovic for his sixth of the season.
The Mariners hit back just a minute later when Hutchinson stormed onto a layoff from Tom Pondeljak and drove a 20m strike into the underside of the cross bar and into the back of the net.
The goal-fest continued in the 31st when former Socceroos defender Popovic scored his first A-League goal with a fine diving header from a Juninho corner to earn a 3-1 halftime lead.
Brosque missed a chance to put the result beyond doubt when he fired his spot kick into the right upright in the 55th minute and it proved costly when Hutchinson scored his second a minute later, almost identical to his first.
A healthy crowd of more than 17,000 endured a nervous finale to the match as the Mariners pressed for an equaliser but it never came and Sydney secured a badly-needed three points to remain in sixth but move within just two points of the top four.
Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna acknowledged Sydney were impressive particularly in the first half but labelled his side’s performance as their worst of the season.
But he did praise his side for refusing to give up and also paid to tribute to Aloisi, who had a good chance to equalise in the 82nd minuted but sprayed his shot across the face of goal.
“Overall, I think he did well. He held the ball up well, was strong and did well in the air,” McKinna said.
Kosmina was forced to watch from the stands due to a touchline ban carrying over from his foul-mouth outburst at referee Matthew Breeze after his former club Adelaide’s win in last season’s preliminary final.
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