Melbourne Victory suffered a three-goal defeat to Sydney FC in the Isuzu UTE A-League on Saturday night.
Despite a notable first-half performance that saw Victory the more creative and dangerous of the two sides, a turnaround from Sydney in the second 45 proved too much to handle for Arthur Diles’ side.
A brace within 12 minutes from English winger Joe Lolley fired the hosts into the lead, while a header from Alex Grant sealed the win late on for the Sky Blues.
Team News
Returning to action after the FIFA international window, two changes were made to the starting XI that suffered defeat in the Melbourne Derby.
20-year-old defender Joshua Inserra was promoted back into the backline in place of Joshua Rawlins, while forward Jing Reec was given his first start of the season up front, with Nikos Vergos making way.
Meanwhile, offseason recruit Louis D’Arrigo was added to Diles’ substitute list after recovering from injury.
Match Action
Kicking off in the pouring rain at Leichhardt Oval, Victory were in for a slippery Big Blue battle against the Sky Blues.
It would be Victory to come out firing on the night, earning an early chance and corner off the back of some great pressing from the front by Keegan Jelacic.
Denis Genreau would deliver the corner to Jason Davidson at the back post, who couldn’t manage to keep his audacious bicycle kick down and on target.
While the hosts held the majority of possession, Victory’s speed on the counterattack saw the Boys in Blue fire eight shots at goal to their opponents’ two in the opening half hour.
The best chance of the half would arise in the 40th minute, after Genreau pounced on a loose pass and drove inside the box, but the Paris-born midfielder couldn’t find a way past Harrison Devenish-Meares in Sydney’s goals.
While it remained scoreless at the break, it was certainly a positive start from Victory away from home against one of the league’s in-form teams.
Half-time: Sydney FC 0 – 0 Melbourne Victory
Coming out unchanged for the second half, it was all to play for in the next 45 minutes in New South Wales.
With the rain continuing to fly in, both sides scrapped for control and the upper hand.
Venturing forward on the counter in the 58th minute, Joel King’s cutback to the top of Sydney’s box was rifled into the back of the net by Lolley.
It was a clinical move by the hosts, with Lolley’s strike simply unstoppable for Jack Duncan in goals, while Vergos was soon brought on by Diles to lead the line for the remaining half hour.
Lolley would be the man to double his side’s lead on the 70th-minute mark, marching forward on the break and picking out the bottom corner from range with another powerful strike.
It was a difficult blow for Victory, falling two goals behind after two moments of individual brilliance from the English winger.
Diles would go to his bench to make a triple change in the 75th minute, bringing on Santos, Sebastian Esposito and notably D’Arrigo, making his league debut donning the Big V.
While the substitutes would certainly display moments of quality in their cameo, it would quickly be underdone after a towering header from Grant.
Found by a corner delivery from Peruvian international, Piero Quispe, the Socceroos defender sent the Sky Blues three goals ahead with not long left to play.
Xavier Stella would later be brought on as Victory put together a number of promising attacks, but the final touches would ultimately be missing.
Victor Campuzano would have the opportunity to score another for Sydney in the 85th minute, but Duncan would make himself big and deny the Spaniard in the one-on-one chance.
The full-time whistle would be blown on another tough result for Victory on the road, outdone in a clinical second-half performance by the hosts.
Match Details
Sydney FC 3 (LOLLEY 58′, 70′, GRANT 76′)
Melbourne Victory 0
Sydney FC starting XI: 12. Harrison DEVENISH-MEARES (GK), 16. Joel KING, 5. Alex GRANT (4. Jordan COURTNEY-PERKINS), 32. Marcel TISSERAND, 23. Rhyan GRANT (C), 24. Paul OKON-ENGSTLER, 36. Rhys YOULLEY, 7. Piero QUISPE, 35. Al Hassan TOURE (11. Abel WALATEE 60′), 9. Victor CAMPUZANO, 10. Joe LOLLEY (13. Patrick WOOD 88′).
Substitutes not used: 1. Gus HOEFSLOOT (GK), 8. Wataru KAMIJO, 20. Tiago QUINTAL, 41. Alexandar POPOVIC.
Booking: WOOD 66′.
Melbourne Victory starting XI: 25. Jack DUNCAN (GK), 2. Jason DAVIDSON, 4. Lachlan JACKSON (15. Sebastian ESPOSITO), 21. Roderick MIRANDA (C), 16. Joshua INSERRA, 10. Denis GENREAU, 8. Jordi VALADON (27. Louis D’ARRIGO), 14. Matthew GRIMALDI (11. SANTOS 74′), 64. Juan MATA (34. Xavier STELLA), 23. Keegan JELACIC, 19. Jing REEC (9. Nikos VERGOS 60′).
Substitutes not used: 40. Jack WARSHAWSKY (GK), 22. Joshua RAWLINS.
Booking: DAVIDSON 66′.
Coming Soon
Victory remain on the road for their next game, taking on Brisbane Roar at Suncorp Stadium on Friday, November 28, kick-off 7:35 AEDT.
Following a third-straight away fixture against Macarthur FC in Round 7, the Boys in Blue gear up for a massive double-header against Original Rivals Adelaide United at AAMI Park on Saturday, December 13.
