Sydney FC 2 Central Coast Mariners 0
Six months since we last cheered on our boys in blue in a league fixture in Sydney, Leichhardt Oval was the perfect scene to fall in love with football all over again. Despite a creaky showing from our new-look team, the points were secured thanks to a calamitous finish from Victor Campuzano and we had to wait until the dying stages for the much-maligned Paddy Wood to secure the points with a deft finish in front of the adoring Cove. The troubled Central Coast gave a good account of themselves, but tonight was all about Sydney FC and this was the perfect advert for making A-League football a regular fixture in the family calendar.
Fresh from the B-League clash at Marconi Stadium, and picking up Michelle en route, we were parked up in Leichhardt next to the Orange Grove Hotel well before the Cove march to the Oval departed. A refreshing ale to loosen the vocal chords was much appreciated, and the short walk to the eighth wonder of the world had us inside the stadium with more than twenty minutes to spare. The crowd was already swelling, our usual trips to this venue to follow the women seeing crowds of a fraction of today’s, and the numbers were boosted by two busloads of overseas students (or that’s what we could deduce) who were being marshalled very orderly into position in front of one of two new big screens.
The Hill was the vantage point of choice for this evening, but the Cove drew me in, the tingling feeling when the arms went up for the first chant of We Are Sydney justifying the decision to be part of the action. Having missed last Friday night’s poor showing in Adelaide and with pre-season having been curtailed by that ridiculous penalty loss to Auckland FC in the Australia Cup, it took some time to get to know the new boys up front. Victor Campuzano was the bigger of the two, Piero Quispe was like a wasp, buzzing around the player with the ball but losing his footing frequently.
Expectations were remarkably low. It wasn’t just me. Somehow the Mariners had stolen a win in the F3 derby last weekend, but they were a club in strife and had no right to be top of the A-League after the first round. The quality of football early on was also on the low side, passes not sticking, telegraphed through balls being easily cut out, and it wasn’t just the Sky Blues being wasteful. Marcel Tisserand played a ball straight out of play. Ufuk Talay was agitated as he prowled the sideline. Al Hassan Toure looked the goods, and he wasn’t afraid to have a go, at one point released by a beauty of a through ball from the right by Joe Lolley, but he couldn’t beat Andrew Redmayne in the Mariners goal. The Cove did an extended Come On You Boys In Blue that was well received by both sides of the ground, the 23rd minute went by without a Rhythm Of My Heart, and the LoLo chant was aired to fill the air with debris. How good was it to be back?
Goalless at the break, expectations continued to be low, but the atmosphere was definitely growing. Quispe started getting some space, Joe Lolley was threatening on the right, and the excellent Paul Okon-Engstler looked composed and menacing. Talay barked at his players when Tisserand played a pointless short free kick that put his team under needless pressure. It was though a deft clip by Okon Jr that saw Rhyan Grant steal a yard on his defender on the right and he placed the ball into Toure’s path right in front of goal for a tap in, however the talented forward couldn’t sort his feet out and his prodded effort looked to be going wide until it hit the unsuspecting Campuzano. The Spaniard had a split second to weigh up his limited options, with his back to goal and Redders already committed, and with a cheeky back heel, akin to a donkey lashing out on an unsuspecting passer-by or even a dog covering its own shit, he flicked the ball into the unguarded net to send Sydney into the lead.
The relief was huge. The Cove was bouncing. The players ran to celebrate with their fans, a look of concern on captain Grant and the substitutes who were warming up as Sydney scored causing angst as someone had been squashed in the melee. Luckily there was no damage to any fan or player and the game could restart, most of the crowd expecting a VAR call to spoil the show, but nothing came. Sydney had the impetus, but the game was still very even. Harrison Devenish-Meares kept everyone on their toes by dwelling on a backpass a little too long, and there was a shout of handball as a long cross appeared to strike an arm in the Mariners box, but the replays were non-conclusive and the appeals waved away. Nerves were frayed. One goal would be enough, but Sydney FC are not exactly bulletproof and a second was craved.
There were almost groans as Wood was introduced, while the Mariners kept replacing their most effective players, not introducing someone who could create a spark until Christrian Theoharous came on late in the game. Abel Walatee looked like a worldbeater every time he got the ball. Wood smashed in a shot on the turn that Redders pushed away, and Lolley cut inside to strike a shot just past the post. Sydney were finishing strongly. Quispe sent Lolley up the right, and as we were all expecting him to cut in on his left, he blazed past his man and pulled the ball back for Wood, who clipped home a delightful second goal with the 90 minutes up on the pink digital clock of the famous hill scoreboard. On first viewing, it looked like a flick behind the front foot, but on review on the big screen it may have been just a lovely striker’s finish. The game was all Sydney’s now; injury time seemed very short, but we hadn’t really had any stoppages of note.
The players came over to the Cove, some of the players not knowing what this part of the process looked like. After linking hands and cheering with the fans, it was time for match-winner Paddy Wood to grab the megaphone and lead the Cove in one last Come On You Boys In Blue. Whilst our striker will never win a karaoke contest and perhaps should have known the words after many years at the club, it was a great moment of connection between players and supporters. We’re off and running. Season 2025/26 starts from here. We’re going to win the league.
There was a lot of love on the main stand side of Leichhardt Oval, plenty of Peruvian fans tryig to get a piece of Piero Quispe, and we weren’t hanging around tonight. Passing a gymnastically blessed security guard on Mary Street who was showing his prowess on the parallel bars, it was clear that there was an issue with the traffic. The roads were banked up both ways, cars were being sent down side streets by the police, and the line to get out onto Balmain Road was intense. Hopefully this is not the norm while we inhabit this part of the city. That prompted a last drink at the Orange Grove to let the traffic subside, and we were back in North West Sydney after 11pm, ready to take in the Matildas v Wales followed by the English Premier League. What a night of football, and Sydney FC played their part in making the evening as enjoyable as I can remember.
Sydney FC now travel to Newcastle next week for one of the most favourite away days of the season; however the fixture scheduling gods have really done us a disservice, and we’ll be back at Leichhardt Oval to see the season opening for the A-League women’s instead, as power house Melbourne City come to town looking for a hiding from our new improved Sydney FC girls. Only 45 minutes between the games – does anyone have a helicopter? Where will you be on Saturday?