Gold Coast United 3-1 Sydney FC
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Gold Coast United extended their unbeaten run to 10 games with a 3-1 win over Sydney FC at Skilled Park this evening.
The win lifted United into third spot on the A-League ladder.
Two excellent goals by Joel Porter and one by Jason Culina secured Gold Coast’s victory, while Bruno Cazarine replied for Sydney with his sixth goal of the season, which makes him the equal leading marksman in the A-League with Adelaide United’s Sergio Van Dijk.
Gold Coast were well worth their 2-0 half-time lead, but Sydney fought back well in the second period and might easily have snatched a draw. From a corner, they forced Michael Thwaite to head against his own crossbar, while Alex Brosque and Cazarine had other good chances.
Porter put Gold Coast ahead on the quarter-hour when he got onto the end of Culina’s chip from the left and beat Ivan Nacevski at his near post.
A minute before the break, United attacked down the left and Adama Traore played the ball back to Anderson, who squared the ball for Culina to hammer home from 25 metres.
Culina fired just over the bar from Zenon Caravella’s square pass in the 52nd minute, but three minutes later it was 3-0 for the home side as Porter attacked down the right and cut inside past Stuart Musialik before beating Nacevski with a ferocious left-footed drive from 20 metres that whistled into the far top corner of the net.
Two minutes later, Nacevksi was almost deceived by Anderson’s shot that bounced just in front of him, but the keeper managed to parry it wide for a corner.
In the 58th minute, Sydney’s revival was rewarded with a goal. Scott Jamieson cut the ball back from the left and Hirofumi Noriyasu’s outside-of-the-right foot shot was turned against the right-hand post by the diving Glenn Moss. The ball rebounded to Cazarine, who struck it home.
Six minutes from the end, a Brosque corner was headed against the crossbar by defender Thwaite, who was under pressure from Cazarine, but that was as close as the visitors came to getting back into the game.
Sydney FC remain in third-last place.
The game was played before a small crowd and the atmosphere was reminiscent of some of those European games played behind closed doors because of previous crowd trouble.
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Gold Coast United: Moss - Pantelidis (Minniecon 46), Djulbic, Thwaite, Anderson - Van Den Brink, Caravella, Culina, Traore - Brown (Robson 75), Porter (Halloran 90) [Substitute not used: Higgins]
Booked: Traore 81
Goals: Porter 15, 54 Culina 44
Sydney FC: Nacevski - Sung-Hwan, Keller, Foxe, Jamieson - McFynn, Grant (Musialik 46) - Cole (Petratos 70), Moriyasu, Brosque - Cazarine [Substitutes not used: Ryall, Reddy]
Booked: Musialik 59
Goals: Cazarine 58
Att: 2,536
Ref: K Griffiths-Jones
3 comments:
Good wrap Walter.
Alf Ramsey
DONK WROTE:
Very entertaining game for the neutral. Great goals, good attacking football from both sides.
DAVE said:
I'm gonna admit, as a neutral I was expecting this game to be as dull an crappy as any other GCU home game, maybe even worse, but I was surprised to see that both teams wanted to attack, which therefore created an enjoyable game to watch.
First goal was lucky by Porter IMO. Necevski could've done better.
I also though for a second it wasn't a goal due to the fact the ground was quiet.
Second goal was awesome by Culina, 3rd goal, well I wouldn't have expected a strike like that from Porter.
The last goal, once again Cazarine in the right place at the right time. Interesting to note that Cazarine is top goalscorer with Van Dijk
Culina was good tonight, happy to see,
and,
R.I.P To the sound device that Pantelidis killed with his clumsy tumble
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