Sydney FC have dominated their local rivals in a statement performance at Campbelltown Stadium.
A first Sydney FC goal by Piero Quispe was added to by Victory Campuzano & Pat Wood in the second half to see Ufuk Talay’s side return to winning ways in Sydney’s South West.
Macarthur FC 0 def. by Sydney FC 3 (Quispe 31′, Campuzano 48′, Wood 62′)
Moments That Mattered
31’ | QUISPE GOAL – A first A-League goal for Piero Quispe as he runs through the Macarthur defence, found well by Rhyan Grant where Quispe tucks it into the far corner.
40’ | KURTO DOUBLE SAVE – Two rapid-fire shots from Wood and Quintal are kept out of the net bravely by Filip Kurto to keep the score at 0-1.
48’ | CAMPUZANO GOAL – A wide free kick meets the head of Victor Campuzano who flicks it into the far post to double the Sky Blue’s lead.
62’ | WOOD GOAL – Wood dazzles the Macarthur defence with a brilliant effort to get around a few defenders before slotting it past Kurto.
82’ | CAMPUZANO OFF THE CROSSBAR– A ferocious shot from Victor Campuzano hits the bar to deny him his second goal of the night.
Match Report
Ufuk Talay’s side bounced back after a tough performance against Melbourne City last week with a strong statement of intent against Macarthur FC.
A first half strike from Piero Quispe to open his Sydney FC account was the Sky Blues’ just reward for a strong opening 45 and they added to that in the second with goals from Victor Campuzano & Patrick Wood to put a sealer on a superb performance.
It was 2v3 on Saturday night in Campbelltown and while the mercury hit 40+C during the day, Sydney FC matched that on the pitch against their local rivals.
From the first whistle they were the better side in Sydney’s South West and they were unlucky not to go ahead when Piero Quispe was found unmarked on the edge of the box, but unfortunately his effort went over the top of the crossbar.
Thankfully the Peruvian didn’t have to wait long for another chance and opened his account minutes after a strike from Pat Wood curled inches wide of the far post.
Quispe started the move in the middle of the Macarthur half and after playing ball out wide to Rhyan Grant, the Sydney FC number seven manoeuvred into the area and was found by the Skipper and with poise and precision, he controlled the ball and guided it into the bottom corner for his first goal since joining the club.
It was almost two before the break when Pat Wood let fly from the edge of the box however he drew the best from Filip Kurto who did well to dive down low to his right and push the ball away. Tiago Quintal was first to reach the rebound and he saw his attempt cannon off the chest of Kurto and the Bulls defence scrambled to get the ball away from danger.
After a sweeping team move at the start of the second half was almost turned into his own net from Kristian Popovic, the Sky Blues didn’t have to wait long for their second goal of the night and it would come from their Spaniard Victor Campuzano.
Ben Garuccio’s free kick was floated onto Campuzano’s head and having made the near post run, he flicked the ball over his head and into the far corner in spectacular fashion.
Sydney FC piled on more pressure on the hosts and they found their third goal of the night from Patrick Wood.
He picked up the ball about 35 yards from goal and he out muscled a few Macarthur defenders, driving into the area and hammered his shot past Kurto and into the back of the net, cueing scenes of delirium in the away end.
As the temperature dropped, Talay rung the changes but that didn’t stop the Sky Blues from continuing their dominance and Camnpuzano nearly doubled his tally for the night only to be denied by the underside of the crossbar as he saw his effort bounce down and away.
16-year-old Akol Akon came off the bench and looked lively once more and he was unlucky not to open his goals account when he was played through on goal, however Kurto got his body in the way and the effort bounced and trickled wide of the target.
With a clean sheet on the line, Harrison Devenish-Meares was called into action in the dying moments of the game as he tipped over a deflected effort from Harrison Sawyer and he and his defence worked hard to maintain that and record their sixth shut out of the season.
Sydney FC would hold on and maintain their spot in 2nd place, two points behind Auckland FC with a game in hand.
Attention now turns to their return to Allianz Stadium next Sunday when they take on Wellington Phoenix at 5pm.
What They Said: Victor Campuzano
“I’m happy for the goal and my teammates… but I’m not happy with my performance, I think I can do much more.”
“It’s a beautiful stadium [Allianz Stadium] and the pitch is beautiful… we need our home to be a fortress.”
What They Said: Patrick Wood
“There is a good balance… the two of us and the combination we created tonight worked well.”
“I want to score 10 goals this year, to get to double digits… and hopefully big things will come next year also.”
What They Said: Ufuk Talay
“We had to adapt with Joe Lolley and Al-Hassan out… from start to finish we were comfortable with the ball… it could have been more than three.”
“Our visa players have been working very hard on and off the ball and I’m glad that they got rewarded tonight with a goal each.”
“I was very pleased with the response from the last game and this is now our 8th game away from home and to come here and win 3-0 is very pleasing with a team that’s 3rd on the table.”
Sydney FC | 12. Harrison DEVENISH-MEARES, 23. Rhyan GRANT (c), 32. Marcel TISSERAND (46’ 41. Alexandar POPOVIC), 5. Alex GRANT, 17. Ben GARRUCIO, 36. Rhys YOULLEY (67’ 6. Corey HOLLMAN), 24. Paul OKON-ENGSTLER, 20. Tiago QUINTAL (74’ 11. Abel WALATEE), 13. Patrick WOOD (74’ 44. Akol AKON), 7. Piero QUISPE, 9. Victor CAMPUZANO
Unused Subs | 30. Alexander ZAVERDINOS, 16. Joel KING, 4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS
Head Coach | Ufuk TALAY
Yellow Cards | Okon Jnr 3’, Youlley 60′
Red Cards | N/A
Macarthur FC | 12. Filip KURTO, 32. Will MCKAY (46’ 18. Walter SCOTT), 3. Damien DA SILVA, 14. Kristian POPOVIC (68’ 17. Oliver RANDAZZO), 25. Callum TALBOT, 22. Liam ROSE, 26. Luke BRATTAN (c) (75’ 24. Dean BOSNJAK), 7. Sime GRZAN (56’ 8. Luke VICKERY), 10. Anthony CACERES, 11. BERNARDO, 13. Rafael DURAN (56’ 28. Harrison SAWYER)
Unused Subs | 1. Alex ROBINSON, 31. Sebastian KRSLOVIC
Head Coach | Mile STERJOVSKI
Yellow Cards | N/A
Red Cards | N/A
Venue | Campbelltown Stadium
Referee | Shaun EVANS
Attendance | 6023