Sydney FC
2
Match Complete
Melbourne Victory
1
| M. Ninkovic |  | 93' | ||
| A. Calver |  | 75' | ||
| 41' | | G. Niedermeier | ||
| 16' | | K. Barbarouses | ||
| B. O'Neill | | 6' |
| 18 | Shots | 12 | ||
| 7 | On Target | 4 | ||
| 16 | Fouls | 10 | ||
| 5 | Corners | 3 | ||
| 1 | Offsides | 2 | ||
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 | ||
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory face off in the Big Blue at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Round 24 A-League action. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:50pm (AEDT).
Each and every time this fixture rolls around, the excitement is palpable in whichever City hosts the latest instalment.
This time around it is the Sydney Cricket Ground that will provide the atmosphere for what is probably the most anticipated domestic rivalry in Australian football.
Both Sydney and Victory have the chance to run down the high flying Perth Glory with a series of wins in their final four matches and a few stumbles from the westerners.
The winner of tonight’s match will have that chance, the loser will shift their thinking towards the pending semi-final series.
Whilst the claiming of the Premier’s Plate is a wonderful achievement, both will also have eyes on the grander prize of an A-League Championship in May; with bragging rights from this match definitely valuable when it comes to a looming knock out clash in around 6 weeks time.
After a shock loss to the Jets three weeks back, the Victory are back on the rails after a 2-1 win against the Roar and a stunning 2-0 triumph over Perth just seven days ago. Sydney have been typically consistent, with just the surprising 2-0 loss to Melbourne City blotting their copybook in recent times.
Both teams are at near full strength with Jop van der Linden coming back into the Sky Blues extended squad and Kenny Athiu doing the same for the home side.
The front line of both sides is impressive. Keisuke Honda and Ola Toivonen will once again pull the strings for Victory and Adam le Fondre and Siem de Jong provide the class up front for the home side.
With much attention given to the quality of the surface, let’s hope it holds together well and allows the Big Blue to live up to its growing reputation as a centrepiece in the A-League calendar.
Prediction
For me it is the Victory tonight. When they are in full flight, the ease with which they find avenues to goal is ominous. Sydney tend to grind away for results, as they did last weekend against the Roar.
The men from south of the border will have a little too much firepower in the front third and should be able to pose some rather difficult questions to the Sydney FC defence.
Catch all the action on The Roar, live coverage from 7:50pm (AEDT).
Where: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
When: Saturday 6th April 2019, 7:50pm (AEDT)
TV: Fox Sports, 10BOLD, MyFootball app
Betting: Sydney FC $2.00, Draw $3.75, Melbourne Victory $3.40
Sydney FC
1.Andrew Redmayne (Gk), 2.Aaron Calver, 4.Alex Wilkinson, 5.Jop Van Der Linden, 6.Josh Brillante, 7.Michael Zullo, 8.Paulo Retre, 9.Adam Le Fondre, 10.Milos Ninkovic, 11.Danny De Silva, 13.Brandon O’Neill, 14.Alex Brosque, 16.Reza Ghoochannejhad, 17.Anthony Caceres, 20.Alex Cisak (Gk), 22.Siem De Jong, 23.Rhyan Grant, 31.Luke Ivanovic
Melbourne Victory
1.Matthew Acton (Gk), 2.Storm Roux, 3.Corey Brown, 4.Keisuke Honda, 5.Georg Niedermeier, 6.Leigh Broxham, 7. Kenny Athiu, 8. Terry Antonis, 9.Kosta Barbarouses, 10.James Troisi, 11.Ola Toivonen, 14. Thomas Deng, 16.Josh Hope, 17. James Donachie, 20.Lawrence Thomas (Gk), 21.Carl Valeri, 24. Elvis Kamsoba, 25.Anthony Lesiotis
Jbinnie
Guest
Stuart - We should be eternally grateful to O'Neil for getting that goal in the 6th minute. The early goal,a factor that kills off defensive football. In the first half we were reminded of Victory's effort against Perth and Barbarouses was left on his own to forage (successfully) up front. The second half was made into an exciting struggle when Victory decided to "have a go" but even then they showed a loss of form in front of goal,another factor that comes back to bite your bum when you have dabbled with ultra defence as a tactic. Let us hope Victory now decide to dump this formation, as it is a "game killer" from way back when. Cheers jb.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
A draw would be a perfect result for PGFC. So i'm very annoyed.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Sydney FC have defeated Melbourne Victory to claim Big Blue bragging rights with a 2-1 victory at the SCG in Sydney. Victory will leave the contest feeling they were the better team in the second half and potentially deserved of the win after the teams went to the break at 1-1. Brandon O’Neill had opened the scoring for the home side in the 6th minute with a cracking strike before Kosta Barbarouses equalised in the 16th. Sydney were the better side early yet Victory did come back into the game in the latter parts of the first half. In the end, the 1-1 half time score reflected the ebb and flow of the match and set things up for an epic second half. Sadly, that never occurred, with a cagey second period offering few chances and no goals until Milos Ninkovic ghosted into the box and converted in added time, after his shot was deflected past Matt Acton in the Victory goal. It was a rather unfitting end to a great game, where a 1-1 draw seemed a fair result on what was a poor pitch. However, Sydney will ride into the sunset with the two points and continue their pursuit of Perth Glory. Kevin Muscat will be furious with what appeared to be a respectable draw against one of the competition heavyweights. Thankfully for him, there will most likely be another meeting between the two sides in the near future and we all know how much the Victory thrive on revenge. Final Score Sydney FC…………………2 Melbourne Victory………1
Nick Symonds
Guest
Good match. But a crowd of 14,000 for the two biggest clubs in Australia, second and third on the ladder is poor.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Thanks for being on board for the game. Be sure to stick with the Roar.com for all the action tomorrow and the two A-League matches that complete Round 24. Sydney FC…..................2 Melbourne Victory……...1
Stuart Thomas
Expert
FULL-TIME Sydney have won the Big Blue at the Sydney Cricket Ground thanks to a late goal from Milos Ninkovic. Sydney FC…..................2 Melbourne Victory……...1
Stevo
Roar Rookie
That's why we love it!!!
Stuart Thomas
Expert
90+6 leFondre leaves the pitch and Retre comes on for Sydney. Sydney FC…..................2 Melbourne Victory……...1
Stuart Thomas
Expert
90+5 Victory throw a hopeful ball forward but Sydney look to have this one in the bag. Sydney FC…..................2 Melbourne Victory……...1
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Ball flashing across the goal face multiple times at one end, lucky deflection at the other to decide the game. That's soccer!
Stuart Thomas
Expert
90+3 De Jong made a great run down the right and Ninkovic's shot took a deflection before finding the back of the net. Sydney FC…..................2 Melbourne Victory……...1
93'
Stuart Thomas
Expert
90+3 Sydney break down the right. GOAL NINKOVIC!!!! Sydney FC…..................2 Melbourne Victory……...1
Stevo
Roar Rookie
It had to be that guy!!!
Stuart Thomas
Expert
90+1 Five added minutes as Hope comes on and Barbarouses leaves the pitch. Good shift Kosta. Sydney FC…..................1 Melbourne Victory……...1
Stuart Thomas
Expert
90' Victory with a late chance as Kamsoba has a chance in the box, Sydney clear and the follow up shot from Valeri is over the bar. Sydney FC…..................1 Melbourne Victory……...1
Stuart Thomas
Expert
90' We enter the final minute of normal time. Sydney FC…..................1 Melbourne Victory……...1
Stuart Thomas
Expert
89' Is there a twist in the tale to come? Sydney FC…..................1 Melbourne Victory……...1
Stuart Thomas
Expert
88' Deng leaves the pitch and Brown comes on for the Victory. Sydney FC…..................1 Melbourne Victory……...1
Stuart Thomas
Expert
88' Deng loses the ball on the right for the Victory and Sydney attack down their right. Sydney FC…..................1 Melbourne Victory……...1