Sydney FC will be out to consolidate their position in the A-League top six when they host Melbourne Victory in the third instalment of the ‘Big Blue’ for the season. We’ll have live scores from 7.45pm AEDT.
Given that Sydney FC were destroyed 7-2 by the Central Coast Mariners in their first encounter of the season, it is hard to believe they’ve beaten their NSW rivals in the second and third encounters between the two.
But they deserved their three points last weekend in a remarkably controlled performance against a side who, up until the week before, occupied top spot on the A-League ladder.
Melbourne Victory backed up from their 5-0 thrashing of Newcastle with a 1-1 draw at Suncorp Stadium in difficult conditions.
Ange Postecoglou’s side are essentially treading water for the next three weeks now; they won’t overcome the Mariners in second, and they are guaranteed a home final with a nine-point lead over fifth.
Still, they must take this opportunity to try and work several of their injured brigade back into the frame, Archie Thompson will need these last three weeks to sharpen up before the finals. Unfortunately for the Victory, Marcos Flores remains unavailable.
On the evidence of last weekend Sydney FC should produce another strong performance at Allianz tonight.
But anybody who has seen the Sky Blues play throughout the season knows the difficulty they have in achieving consistent results and really, we could see anything from them tonight.
Coupled with the fact that Melbourne Victory have beaten Sydney on both times they’ve met this year and we should see Postecoglou’s side get at least a point here.
Jukes
Guest
First game of Sydney FC I actually enjoyed watching. Top game
TomC
Roar Guru
Well, that was one of the most frustrating games I've ever had the misfortune of watching. Shocking defending, shocking finishing. Coe's goalkeeping in the second half was a highlight. Apart from that it was a contest of who could give it away in the most embarrassing fashion possible.
Nathan of Perth
Roar Rookie
1-1 not too bad a result for Glory, only one point. Will be fine as long as we can pick up there against Welly at home. But wooooow, what a game!
MV Dave
Guest
Fabulous game, lots of chances, great saves, missed penalty and 22,500 in attendance...wonderful advert for the HAL.
Franko
Guest
Good spectacle thus far
alex
Guest
Good news for roar and glory! What a start for victory leading 1-0 after 3 minutes.
mds1970
Roar Guru
Sydney's gridlocked roads have claimed a scalp. Vedran Janjetovic was caught in traffic & arrived late for the warm-up; and found himself dropped to the bench. Ivan Necevski gets a start.