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Sky Blues end cup reign of lacklustre City

Can Sydney FC do the double? (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
13th September, 2017
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Melbourne City’s reign as FFA Cup holders ended in lacklustre fashion as Sydney FC eased to a 2-0 quarter-final victory at Leichhardt Oval on Wednesday.

Goals early in each half from Jordy Buijs and Alex Brosque sealed a deserved victory for a Sky Blues side who are chasing a maiden Cup win to add to last year’s A-League crown.

There were few signs of a repeat of last season’s well-matched and occasionally tempestuous final between the two sides.

Sydney FC largely dominated the contest although genuine goalscoring opportunities largely remained at a premium in front of a pre-season crowd of 4,102.

Buijs set Sydney FC on their way with a perfectly flighted free-kick from 20 metres after just seven minutes.

Aside from the goal, perhaps the best opportunity fell to Michael Zullo but the Sky Blues’ fullback was unable to direct his effort over onrushing goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic and into the net.

Sydney FC goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne remained a spectator throughout the contest amid an uninspired performance from the big-spending City.

The stage was perfectly set for Tim Cahill to conjure some trademark X factor for his side.

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And while City started the second half with vigour following Cahill’s half-time entrance, it was Brosque who grabbed the headlines with a superb goal.

The Sky Blues skipper took advantage of a cheap defensive turnover, before rounding one defender and expertly lobbing a stranded Galekovic.

Redmayne was finally called into action in the dying minutes, denying Bruce Kamau from close range.

Meanwhile any hopes of some giant-killing in Melbourne were quickly quashed as a Nikola Mileusnic hat-trick inspired Adelaide United to a 3-0 win over Heidelberg United.

It was an at-times feisty encounter at Olympic Village as former National Soccer League club Heidelberg attempted to reprise a famous win over an A-League opponent following their victory over Perth Glory a month ago.

However Mileusnic scored from close-range on three minutes thanks to Ryan Kitto’s assist, and doubled the advantage eight minutes later with a smart turn and volley from near the penalty spot.

The hat-trick arrived on the hour mark with another close-range finish to effectively end the match as a contest.

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