Sydney FC staged a dramatic comeback to seal their first Australia Cup since 2017, with new Brazilian striker Fabio Gomes stealing the show with a late double to defeat Brisbane Roar 3-1 at Allianz Stadium.
That makes it 0-3 for Brisbane in the last week, with the Roar joining the Broncos, who lost the NRL Grand Final and the Lions, who lost the AFL Grand Final. For the record, the Brisbane Tigers lost the second grade showpiece, too, and near-neighbours the Gold Coast Titans went down in the NRLW decider.
The win completes the set for one of Australian football’s long-serving figures, Sydney FC manager Steve Corica. With this win, he has now has an Australia Cup to go with A-League titles as a player and a manager, as well as an NSL title with Marconi and a stack of Socceroos caps.
“He (Gomes) is still finding his feet but he showed exactly what we brought him here to do,” said the coach.
“He’s been training as normal with the team but he wasn’t fully fit when he got here.
“It’s fantastic to win trophies. It’s been a few years since our last trophy so we’re happy to be back with one so early in the season.”
Cliches are widespread in football, but this was all of them. It was a proper cup tie, with both sides having plenty of chances, and a classic game of two halves, dominated by Brisbane until the break and then by Sydney FC after it.
There was the breakout star, Tom Waddingham, who looked like he would write the headlines by becoming the youngest ever Australia Cup Final goalscorer at barely 18, before the big name import made an instant impact as Fabio scored with his first touch in Sky Blue to equalise, then added a second late on to seal the result.
The crafty playmaker had his part, too, with Joe Lolley the clear best on ground and named Mark Viduka Medalist as player of the match, setting up Robert Mak for the second and posing a constant threat on the right wing.
There was the inevitable controversy, too, as Jake Girdwood-Reich caught Henry Hore in the face with a shoulder, but escaped with a yellow when more might have been expected, and VAR is not used in the Australia Cup.
“I don’t want to take too much away from the game because it was a really good game of football,” said new Roar coach Ross Aloisi.
“When a player swings an arm and the referee says to our players that if hit with the elbow it was a red card, but because he didn’t, it’s not a red card. I know people make mistakes but where is the VAR? It’s a hugely important game for both clubs.”
In between the tropes, there was an excellent football match. If this is the standard for the rest of the domestic season, then fans should be very excited indeed.
The Roar’s first half showed just how far they have improved under their new boss. they suffocated Sydney with their pressing and moved the ball rapidly across the field. Only their finishing let them down, with multiple chances spurned.
Corica read the riot act at half time and Brisbane’s high-octane style proved unsustainable, with more and more pressure coming their way, before a handball from Hore opened the floodgates.
When Waddingham, the breakout star of the early rounds, got the Roar on the board, it was a long time coming.
He had barely touched the ball in the opening quarter, but when the chance came, the 18-year-old was exactly where he needed to be to score.
Not for the first time, the Roar got to the byline, cut back and while Nikola Mileusnic’s shot was blocked, the 18-year-old pounced to slam home.
It was far from against the run of play. The Roar were all over their opponents, with their pressing far too intense for the favourites to deal with.
Jay O’Shea was running the game from central midfield and Hore constantly threatened along the left, but a second would not come.
Indeed, by the end of the half, Sydney FC might have equalised. Their best plan all night had been to find Lolley and Patrick Wood along the right channel, and the pair combined, only for Wood to fire wide under pressure from Scott Neville.
The first period somewhat fizzled out, albeit not without controversy. Sydney FC’s makeshift centre back Girdwood-Reich was late and high with a shoulder, catching Hore directly in the face.
The midfielder was down for almost five minutes, but only a yellow card was issued by referee Ben Abraham. It would have been a sin bin in the NRL, let alone the Australia Cup, but without no Bunker, the booking was all that followed.
Corica had seen enough. He yanked youngster Corey Hallman and debutant Jordan Courtney-Perkins at half time, with Max Burgess and Kealey Adamson introduced in an attempt to turn the tide.
It worked. Burgess enabled Sydney to keep the ball higher up the park, and suddenly, the chances flowed. Neville turned a dangerous cross behind and Macklin Freke denied Wood before the penalty that eventually brought parity.
When it came, it was more luck than skill: Hore’s reasoning for putting his hands in front of his face in the box when the ball came will be known only to himself, but Fabio, with his first touch in a Sky Blue jersey after arriving from Brazil, was nerveless from the spot.
The Roar were collapsing. Their attempts to play out only lost them the ball, and from one such turnover, Lolley was again free. This time, his cross was perfect for Mak at the back post.
That combination might have added to the score and finished the game, but the Slovak international fired wide. Undeterred, Lolley then found Burgess, who slipped in Fabio – who also missed.
Brisbane were given multiple lives and, eventually, it told as substitute Jaiden Kucharski’s shot was saved by Freke, only for Fabio to follow it in to seal the triumph for Sydney FC.
JoshW
Roar Rookie
Mariners wooden spoon for this season.
Brisbanefan93
Roar Rookie
Both brown and lofthouse have had injuries in preseason. Lofthouse has only just started back training this past week apparently. Brown was back earlier but this game came probably a tad early. Wouldn’t be surprised if his fit and ready to go for rd 1.
chris1
Roar Rookie
Garry I don't know if Wood is good enough actually. Glad to be proved wrong but he is not clinical enough for me. He has speed yes but that won't be enough.
Grem
Roar Rookie
Thanks I’ll look into that
chris1
Roar Rookie
Grem you are better off looking for parking off Oxford st. So basically go to the Paddington end rather than the Randwick end where Fox are. And along Oxford st - well take your pick for eateries. There are pubs, clubs and restaurants all along the strip.
Brendan
Roar Pro
Having no VAR may have been the saving grace of the game then. There were lots of questionable calls. Saying that, I’m happy for the Australia Cup to remain VAR-free. It’s more old-school, & almost holistic.
JoshW
Roar Rookie
100% red card, he lifted the elbow and followed through with it, right in front of the brisbane bench.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
they just played in their first final for 9 seasons, yeah what an absolute disgrace. Better not do that again or we’ll have to bring Fong back and move back to Redcliffe. They’ve been signing strikers year after year for five or more years now, every year dud after dud. If that tells you something, it’s that’s their selection process is wrong. I’d prefer that they keep looking rather than sign the next striker available, and fix their selection process. More money issues wouldn’t be a surprise, plenty have been uncovered by the new execs, not the least the lack of an actual budget. Keep the faith Waz, there’s a lot of things to address at Roar, it’s going to take a while.
Waz
Roar Rookie
“Rebuild the club” … for crying out loud, just sign one more adult striker and defender that shouldn’t get in the way of rebuilding the club (if that’s not just a smokescreen).
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
think you missed my point Waz. They've elected to rebuild the club first. Even the process for selection of players to sign has to be built, obvious from past signings. I wouldn't listen to rumours, as you know they have mostly been way off the mark in the past. Calm down, give it time. No one's claimed to have a title winning team this year.
Waz
Roar Rookie
At half time I thought we were capable of winning, sadly not, but Sydney stepped up and we couldn’t live with them. The PR spin of the latest management was laid bare last night sadly .. if the rumours are true of a seven figure tax debt to the ATO then they just need to come clean and lay it on the line for fans. And the reality is, we are not talking about $500k to get a striker - that ship has sailed - but filling a side with NPL players is a disaster … $160k is all they’d need to spend to get a decent player, visa or otherwise. And as I said earlier on - you don’t rebuild a team over a couple of seasons in the A League, you rebuild it every year because the turnover rate at all clubs is so high. So it’s not a “rebuild” it’s a “we can’t afford anything but give us your money anyway”. And if you’re going to play kids and NPL players, the one thing you have in place on Day 1 of preseason is a strength & conditioning coach - at least get them fit not wait until the month before … that’s cost cutting not “rebuilding”. Ross can clearly get these boys playing fine good football but the one basic rule of football (score more goals than your opponent) is compromised badly if you can’t score or have enough defenders.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
pick up your dummy Waz, and jump back in the cot. The Number 1 problem Roar has had signing strikers is they’ve been picking duds, lacking quality or just not suited to Roar for family or other reasons. The No 1 problem overall, like many other clubs, is the lack of a sustainable plan, either financial, operational or strategic. They’ve puddled along with hope as their saviour and not much else. It’s a chicken and egg question for them and in the absence of funds to buy the chicken, they picked the egg. No one’s about to pour in an extra $mil or so for players, and they’re determined not to sign any more duds. They have to grow what they’ve got (several youngsters), nurture many more and turn them into a profit to grow the club. This should have happened a decade ago. We have to stop providing legends and captains for other clubs for free. There’s no way we can expect this team to win the A League, and certainly I didn’t expect them to win last night. Actually, after the first half I did, I was surprised at the ease with which they swamped SFC and like you, disappointed with the second half. But come on, this is going to take more than a season or two. We’ll be competitive, finals for sure, but don’t expect silverware until we get the cabinet built.
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
personally, I don't think a pen was deserved. What's Hore supposed to do, take a whack in the face?
Lionheart
Roar Rookie
Waddingham came off with a foot injury, precautionary but no choice really
criag
Roar Rookie
I thought he stalled at the time, but after watching replays I think he may have just sailed close to edge. Looked like he kept his feet moving so technically didn't come to a stop.
criag
Roar Rookie
The ONLY advertising for the game I saw was an electronic road sign on Oxford Street warning of potential traffic delays due to ‘an event’ at Accor Stadium! Even today, there was NOTHING on the morning news show I saw.
Garry
Roar Rookie
I've reviewed the footage :happy: .. and O' Shea's hit on Brattan. He saw the ball coming AND Brattan. It looks reckless to me AND he extends his right arm/shoulder on contact. "Garry, I think Girdwood-Reich needs to be held accountable. Before the shoulder-charge, he launches himself upwards, getting some air. It’s premeditated.' First he won't face further sanctions I believe as I doubt there's a post match review. 39th min he launches up initially in an attempt to play the ball. He then realises he wont make it and turns to brace himself. In light of the modern emphasis on head injuries I wouldnt have been surprised if a red card was given but content it wasnt. ps watched Zabala try and knock Lolley out of play - another definite yellow not given. I also checked if Lolley offside then (I thought he mightve been last night) but he wasnt. Despite all this I think the reffing was good. He tried to let play flow ignoring the odd minor clash. pps watched the penalty again..I reckon Fabio takes a half step back so maybe the pen shouldnt have been awarded.
coolncold
Roar Rookie
Before the match, Waz already had said the left side of BR was weak. However, why the experienced Corey Brown was not selected? Evidently, lost two goals starting at the left side last night. Is it because of fitness or playing style? Surely, Corey Brown has played the one touch football since his start in BR in 2011. Talking about playing style, is the omittance of Jez Lofthouse due to his dribbling style? Disputing about dribbling style, has Henry Hore dribbled too much? He is a diligent player in attack and defence. But he always try to shoot once reaching the box. At 24 years of age, he can be transformed surely.
Waz
Roar Rookie
We can agree to disagree - the referees interpretation was play on. In the context of this game it made no difference anyway.
Brendan
Roar Pro
Garry, I think Girdwood-Reich needs to be held accountable. Before the shoulder-charge, he launches himself upwards, getting some air. It’s premeditated. I understand it’s a contact sport, but there’s a fine line when blood & head injuries are concerned. It was a massive impact. The footage should be reviewed.