- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Bernie Ibini was Sydney FC’s hero in Saturday’s A-League derby draw with Western Sydney, while Wanderers midfielder Iacopo La Rocca was again the villain, with the Sky Blues’ Ali Abbas carried up the tunnel with major knee injuries.
Ibini was in disbelief that the Italian’s challenge that left midfielder Abbas with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) didn’t get a caution at the very least.
It was not the first time La Rocca had left a Sydney FC player laying on the pitch. In season eight, he missed the Wanderers inaugural finals campaign after Terry Antonis was bloodied on the pitch by a La Rocca elbow.
Ibini was shocked at the lack of a card from referee Peter Green.
“I can’t believe he didn’t get anything at all.
“I think definitely (he deserved a card) for a tackle like that.
“He wasn’t going for the ball or anything, for the player to go off injured … and now it’s worse (Abbas’s injury) than what it seemed to be … it’s very sad.”
Ibini who was very concerned for Abbas was quick to point out La Rocca had a bit of form.
“I don’t think he (Abbas) is doing too well,” Ibini said.
“From what has been said, it sounds very serious. It’s very disappointing we’ve had the injury with Corey (Gameiro) and now we have lost Ali after getting injured during a game to a tackle from an opposition player.
“I think he elbowed Terry in the past as well and Terry was bleeding … this was a reckless challenge.”
While the injury to Abbas dampened the mood for Ibini after his screamer of a goal, the attacker labelled the effort as close to his best in the A-League, the 22-year-old’s tally going past 20.
“I think it would have to be up there because I carried the ball from up near halfway, beat two defenders and put it in the back of the net,” he said.
“I was very happy with the goal. In terms of the game, we were under the pump a bit and, 1-0 down, to get us back to 1-1 was very important.”
Ibini was played in thanks to an opportunistic ball from Pedj Bojic, the old Central Coast combination coming to the fore.
It was Bojic’s best performance for a long time after making his way back from several injuries and Ibini was full of praise and ready to continue to link up in the future.
“He’s put in a great ball for me. He saw the space and put it there. We have a great combination, we know how each other’s plays and it’s always good to have him on the right side.
“I think he is going to get better. He has been out for a long time, so to see him back at his best is very exciting because I know how well we can play together.”
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.