Sydney FC Women 0 Melbourne Victory 1
Sydney FC Men 3 Melbourne Victory 0
That mysterious weekend, lost between Christmas and New Year, served up a glorious double-header of A-League football action for those fortunate enough to make the journey to Allianz Stadium. While it was yet another defeat for the floundering women, it was definitely an improved performance, but it was overshadowed by a first half from heaven for the men in front of 20,000 fans, giving us a Haarlem Globetrotters display of tricks, flicks and attacking flair as ten-man Melbourne Victory caved under the pressure. Adieu 2024, bring on 2025!
As has been the case for the majority of days in December, this last Saturday of the year was a hot one; judging by the number of people getting off the light rail a good hour before the game, there might just be a bumper crowd today, and we headed to Gate 3, which was already bustling as junior fans of both teams played together on the activations. Stopping to say hi to folks in the throng outside, two fit-looking figures breezed past, one with her face covered. Immediately recognised as Sydney royalty, Charlotte Mclean and Cortnee Vine, they hurried incognito past the queue as we headed to the Olympic for a cold pre-game drink. They couldn’t get in their gate as it wasn’t open yet, we got into our pub no problem. The problems famous people face!
The pre-game pit stop was brief, it’s not the world’s most dazzling venue despite being only a stone’s throw from the stadium, but it allowed time for the Bluey and Bingo show to start back next to the Johnny Warren statue. There was a meagre crowd watching on, and when we arrived back at Gate 3, people were wondering where the Bluey show was. Ah, well. Inside the stadium, set up was underway, the drum in place and a willing drummer available to give it a go. This was the Big Blue, Sydney FC bottom of the league, Melbourne Victory flying near the top and boasting a wealth of talented players, including our former star Rachel Lowe – she’s magic, you know!
Sydney obviously lost the toss and were forced to shoot towards the Cove in the first half – either that or they didn’t want the pressure of doing so in the second half. It was all Victory, who piled on the pressure, although Nat Tobin’s deft drop of the shoulder to race past her player and cross for Tori Tumeth in the box was a great chance, but the defender had her body shape all wrong and fired miles wide from close range. We’d already seen a free header go wide at the other end, and without the aid of the big screen, we had no idea what was going on when the ball went up there. A penalty was awarded for the visitors with barely quarter of an hour played, when Alex Chidiac folded to the floor. We couldn’t tell if it was a foul or not, and looking at replays now it looked incredibly soft, as if she was going down before any challenge came in, but a penalty it was, and it was rifled home for one-nil, no surprise in the Cove and no break from the singing. Tahlia Franco guessed right but had no chance, her extended run in the team still going despite her own shaky moments recently.
‘Cortnee Vine, drinking some wine‘, went the chant, directed at the Matildas star in the stand, who acknowledged the surprise gesture. Yes, we could have used her and Charlotte on the field, but that’s irrelevant. We could have used Taylor Ray and Deborah-Anne De La Harpe too.
Sydney had chances, chances that would have been on target this time last year, but the shooting was off – Indiana Dos Santos went close from a free kick and the lively Millie Farrow fired over – and as the game wore on into the second half, Nat Tobin showed her frustration with her teammates by firing a shot way over from distance with options all around. The Melbourne Victory men’s players watched on from the tunnel with interest, while the Victory fans had arrived for the men’s game and were in full voice. Out of form Mackenzie Hawkesby made a difference from the bench, and Lucy Johnson will have done herself no favours following a meek showing. It’s hard to say it, but it was women against girls in midfield, and once again Sydney were just not physically up to the task. That’s not to say that the Sky Blues didn’t put up a fight – they did, and there was plenty of spice on the field as the players displayed their mutual dislike.
The biscuits flowed in the Cove, the drum beat was non-stop, and there was a good turnout from the juniors to help capo MMTV get the best out of the growing fanbase in the home end. The final score was another blank from the blunt Sydney attack and another zero point return. To their credit, the Sydney players were keen to come and applaud the fans, Nat Tobin coming in for a chat, Michelle getting her new Shea Connors shirt signed, and the result had been forgotten already. There was no expectation today, it was a free hit, and the team had performed much better.
What followed was something special.
Yes, the Bluey and Bingo show, transported to the temporary stage, and exactly the same performance that had been going on outside before the women’s game. The configuration of the stage was odd; Sydney FC warmed up in front of them where an audience should have been, and they could hardly ignore the show, the sound levels were ear-piercing. It was so loud, that on the opposite side of the stadium when we went to fuel up at the sushi station, we couldn’t hear our own voices. Lidia’s watch even sent her a warning! I’m sure a lot of the young kids in the crowd would have appreciated the show, but when it finished, there was no applause, it just ended and it seemed like a relief to the majority of the apathetic crowd. The Big Bluey – a tenuous cross-promotion based upon the name – perhaps we’ll not do that again next time these two teams meet? The Cove certainly had heard enough, the unfortunate lyrics of the Kevin Muscat chant being heard over the end of the show. I’m not sure what classification of humour that is, certainly on the darker side.
The players emerged for the men’s game and all eyes were back on the football. When we lost the toin coss, F*ck You Melbourne Victory was delivered with venom, and as the countdown approached, instead of We Are Sydney, we had Phil Collins blaring on the PA system, our capo pleading with stadium officials to turn down the volume. The result was We Are Sydney being belted out just on kick off, which was actually very effective.
To say that Sydney FC were on fire in the first half would almost be an understatement. They were fantastic. Joe Lolley somehow scooped the ball past Jack Duncan in the first two minutes to make it 1-0, and then had a shot brilliantly saved two minues later. The game was all Sydney, and when the referee saw something in a challenge on 12 minutes, we had a brief stoppage while VAR helped the referee send off superstar Zinedine Machach for what looked on the big screen to be a very harsh red. How many times has that gone against us though (Paddy Wood, anyone?) and against our fiercest rivals. We’ll take it. The football was fantastic, Douglas Costa showing for the first time his repertoire of tricks, and with Anas Ouahim in sparkling form, Sydney set about dismantling their opponents.
We’re used to Sydney playing badly against ten or even nine players, so when Costa suddenly shimmied and fired in an unmissable cross for Lolley midway through the half, it was a relief. Two goals up, and it could have been three, but for an offside decision on VAR as Lolley thumped the ball home in front of the Cove. What a half. Costa’s magic, Jordan Courtney-Perkins even showed us some skills, managing to stay in control after stumbling under no challenge to chuckles from the crowd. Who knows what Maxi Burgess and Leo Sena would have given us today?
The second half was a minute old when Costa pulled his hamstring and took the wind out of our sails. That’s the last we’ll see of him for a while, but we’ll be awaiting his return with glowing memories of tonight. Now, maybe it was the tiredness kicking in, or the fact that Sydney played keep-ball for long passages without gaining any ground, but the football was a little dull. The scene seemed to be set for a Victory comeback; substitute Bruno Fornaroli was a pain, Hayden Matthews doing well defensively against the wily striker, but again showing that wasteful distribution from the back that has blighted his meteoric rise.
Thankfully, the constant singing in the Cove and a third Sydney goal late in the game woke us up, Lolley smashing the post before Jing Reec had his pocket picked in the area and Jaiden Kucharski finished under heavy pressure at the far end. The rest of the game was a celebration, we even had the Lo Lo chant, so fondly remembered with showers of litter from Kogarah, but which seems to have died off a little. It was a party in the home end, and rightly so. Harrison Devenish-Meares was loving it – it’s great to see a goalkeeper so clearly happy when he keeps a clean sheet; he certainly wears his heart on his sleeve and seems like a positive influence on the squad. Sydney FC had beaten Melbourne Victory 3-0, and had done so quite convincingly. The players climbed gingerly over the advertising hoardings (where were they last game?) and we had one last SFC chant before the Cove gave us a Newcastle Away jig in anticipation of the first game of the new year coming up next weekend.
The players gave plenty of time for the fans, but it was time for us to make our way home, an absolute dream change from light rail to train geting us home in record time to the Northern suburbs of our fine city. What a glorious evening of football, framed by a positive performance by the women. Definitely not the lowest lows, but the highest highs were being dished out liberally in that first half that could not have gone any better. Appetite whetted for 2025? Absolutely! Forza Sydney FC!