Sydney discard Iain Ramsay added another heartbreaking dimension to his former club’s A-League title defence by scoring the winner in unbeaten Adelaide’s 2-1 victory at Sydney Football Stadium on Monday night.
The victory put a massive 18-point buffer between Adelaide and last-placed Sydney, who haven’t won in eight games and are eight points outside the playoff places.
Reds coach Rini Coolen even admitted to feeling sorry for Sydney, who dominated the SFS encounter but conceded an own goal and a stoppage time goal.
The winner was scored by 22-year-old halftime substitute and midfielder Iain Ramsay, who made just one substitute appearance for Sydney in a semi-final against Melbourne last season before being released.
Ramsay broke Sydney’s hearts by steering the ball home from a cross by Robert Cornthwaite in the 91st minute.
Adelaide moved within one game of Central Coast’s league record of 12 games unbeaten despite losing star striker Sergio van Dijk and Argentinian playmaker Marcos Flores to injuries early in the second half.
It was the fifth time this season Sydney had squandered a 1-0 lead.
Asked if it was not a crisis for his club, coach Vitezslav Lavicka said: “You can call it a crisis, I call it a big problem for us at the moment, but me personally I’m a positive thinking person.
“I give 100 per cent support to the players to try to lift them up because they work hard.
“We are all upset, but we will work again and try to turn (things) around.”
It looked as if Sydney’s wretched luck this season was finally turning around when Alex Brosque scored a 40th minute penalty after referee Gerard Parson deemed their former defender Iain Fyfe had held on to Stephan Keller.
However, fate conspired against Sydney just over 10 minutes into the second half when defender Shannon Cole inadvertently fired a Lucas Pantelis cross past his own goalkeeper.
The Sky Blues reacted positively but couldn’t add a goal in a purple patch during which Adelaide goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic made good saves from Hirofumi Moriyasu and Mark Bridge.
“Normally they (Sydney) should win this game, they were much better than us,” Adelaide coach Rini Coolen said.
“I feel sorry for them because they needed the points.”
He said Van Dijk’s knock above a knee was not serious, but wouldn’t know until Tuesday about the extent of Flores’s hamstring injury.
Adelaide captain Pantelis said it was clear Sydney was the better side, but stressed his men never gave up and was diplomatic about what appeared a slightly soft penalty award.
“Obviously we’ve got our questions about that, but it’s something he decided to give and he gave it and we just had to move on,” Pantelis said.
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Central Coast Mariners are premiers of A-League Men for the first time in 12 years after defeating Adelaide in the season finale.
Central Coast sit second behind Wellington, and a victory over Adelaide will see them finish the regular season on top of the ladder.
Joe Lolley was outstanding for the Sky Blues, scoring a brace as Sydney FC equaled their biggest ever victory.
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