Tottenham Hostpurs 1 Sydney FC 1 (4-2 on penalties)
Sydney FC followed up their Australia Cup victory in Western Australia last week with a spirited performance against London’s finest at Allianz Stadium on Wednesday night in the Sydney Super Cup. Under heavy pressure and trailing at the break thanks to an immaculate free kick from Mathys Tel, the Sky Blues took advantage of a fortunate break to equalise through new Japanese import Takahiro Sekine. Instead of spurring the A-League side on to win the encounter though, Sydney FC reverted to heart-stopping defensive possession football that could and should have yielded a winner for the English team. In the end, a surprise penalty shoot out decided the result, Alex Popovic and Joe Lacey missing their kicks to hand their opponents the win in front of their adoring fans in the Southern end of this magnificent football stadium in Moore Park.
Let’s be honest, it’s midweek, it’s cold, we’re not long back from a pricy trip to the World Cup, and there’s nothing at stake. But just try and keep us away from Allianz Stadium for a match-up with the EPL’s under-achievers Tottenham Hotspurs in a pre-season friendly badged as the Sydney Super Cup. It was well before 5pm when I left the front door, and a combination of a fast train sandwiched with two light rail trips saw me arrive just after 6pm at the Entertainment Quarter for a cheeky pre-game feed. Michelle joined me, Carla and the Prof at Mary’s; the consistent slowness of service at venues in this precinct always makes pre-game a challenge, which is why we rarely do it, but this one worked despite the thrash metal music blaring, and we were off to the stadium at 7:15pm, marvelling at the number of people also making their way to this shrine of Sydney sport.
The Welcome to Country was underway when we got through the gate, the fire blowers were welcome as the teams were read out, and the Cove was largely uninhabited. This was not a Sydney FC home game, and the Sydney Cove weren’t interested in paying the inflated prices to watch their team in their own stadium in a nothing game. So, we took our spot above the Cove bay; there were still people in there, showing that social media and internet groups still don’t have blanket coverage. The crowd was building, surely more than your average A-League game, but there were plenty of gaps and no one in the top tiers of the main stands.
“Oh when the Saints Spurs” was tooted on a trumpet in the lead-up to kick off, not once, not twice, but multiple times, each restart bringing groans from the crowd and it ended in boos; there was still a good Sydney FC turnout hoping to bask in the glory of putting the Premier League giants to shame. The game started with Spurs in control, marauding down both flanks at will, Jordan Courtney-Perkins brilliantly clearing, even though the ball would have gone wide. Sydney’s passing was suicidal at the back, the Sky Blues fortunate not to be punished on more than one occasion, and it took until the 24th minute, having missed the hydration break window, for Youlley to have the Sky Blues’ first chance, his shot turned away smartly by Slovakian stopper Martin Dubravka. To be honest, I didn’t know many players in the Spurs outfield. The grumpy Richarlison was up front and they had a blond-haired midfielder who was bossing the game, Lucas Bergvall, and Conor Gallagher who I had no idea had joined the club.
New Japanese star Takahiro Sekine showed fabulous poise on the left for Sydney FC, and Wataru Kamijo was putting in a solid performance too. But it was Spurs on the attack, and when the assistant referee flagged for the softest of free kicks on the Spurs left, a whipped cross should have seen them take the lead. It wasn’t long before they did though, Sekine dancing with his man in a stranglehold, who eventually recognised the situation and flopped to the ground for a free kick; it was central and within striking distance. Up stepped Tel and curled an absolute beauty into the top corner of Gus Hoefslot’s goal for 1-0. You couldn’t help but applaud the execution. Hoefslot then miskicked straight to Gallagher who had the whole goal to aim at and lifted the ball over, and Rhys Youlley gave the ball away cheaply to Gallagher whose shot bounced off the post. Richarlison opted to pass when played through the middle, the chance slipping away as quickly as it came, but Sydney had their moments at the end of the half.
Mathias Macallister seized an unexpected opportunity, lifting a shot from halfway with Dubravka out of his goal, and we watched it bounce just wide of the goal at the far end. The referee kit was confusing everyone in the stands, a very similar shirt to the Spurs players with the same black socks and shorts, a few times causing heart-flutters as the ball was played in their vicinity in dangerous positions. Sydney had a good chance at the end of the half, JCP swinging a long ball forward and Macallister racing on to plant his shot wide, and with no added time, experienced A-League ref Adam Kersey blew for half time on the 45-minute mark. How refreshing. Time for a scoot around the stadium concourse. Loads of Spurs fans at the far end, Spurs merch for sale in the outlets, but the spectre of the World Cup toilet queues raised its head again, long-snaking queues for a piss in the men’s bathrooms for the duration of half-time suggested a crowd sinking lots of beers to get through it.
The second half was a minute old when Macallister was presented with a chance, a cross from the left seeing him rise, and with very little conviction he got his head to the ball but was expecting more contact from his defender and got no direction on the header whatsoever. New Spurs superstar signing Sandro Tonali was on (I was booing in my head) and looking to take control, but it was Sydney FC who struck next, and it was a lovely goal. Okay, the intent was there as Tiago Quintal tried to find Macallister with the pinpoint through ball, but a kind deflection from the outstretched foot of a Spurs defender sent the ball into the path of Sekine, who coolly slotted the ball past Dubravka for 1-1. Cue big celebrations.
A Mexican wave was attempted as 9pm struck in the corner, thankfully ending at half way; we still had an hour of play left. The Cove section did manage a chant : “We hate Tottenham, and we hate Tottenham…” which drew laughs from the rest of the stadium. 64 minutes was when the game stopped being a contest and multiple changes were made. Gabriel Popovic’s first touch, sending a pass into touch to no one, endeared him no further to Sydney fans after his lumbering performance last week, but he did show good close control soon after. Tonali’s effort was saved, Yang Min Hyeok squandered a number of chances, one at the far post, another from a header as Spurs turned up the heat. Hoefslot gifted the ball to the opposition again, as he had done in the first half, but once more it went unpunished.
Nico Alfaro came on and repeated Popovic’s feat of playing the ball straight out of play; his mantle as the next big thing needs a little bit of work, but we have faith! Spurs had chance after chance but couldn’t win the game, Sydney continued to play on the edge of the cliff at the back, and we were delighted to see the final whistle right on 90 minutes to end the onslaught. As was the case in Spurs’ last visit to Australia, a tied game meant penalties; the crowd had no idea until the PA announced it, and that gave the game a new level of excitement. I’m blaming the Cove’s absence for the penalties being taken at the far end where all the Spurs fans had congregated, and Hoefsloot got close to the first three, saving the fourth to keep Sydney in the game after Wrexham hero Lacey had hit the post. Alas, Alex Popovic had his Harry Souttar moment and presented a saveable penalty to Dubravka, allowing one of the young Spurs players to complete the win, condemning the Sky Blues to another penalty shoot-out loss to go with last season’s Auckland FC Australia Cup debacle.
The Spurs players did their Matildas-esque walk around the field without going to the crowd for any interaction, a couple of young Sydney players made themselves available for signatures and selfies, the Eurosnobs tried to get a look at the Spurs players up close with no luck, while social media sensation Big John gave plenty of “Bosh” to the fans. The stadium had otherwise emptied quickly, the time already after 10pm on a school night.
It was time to go, and we headed back to EQ to pick up the car and head back through the over-zealous red lights through Crown Street via Leichhardt to the North Western suburbs of Sydney. The Sydney Cup; were we entertained? Yes. Was the occasion worth the investment of time and money? Probably not. Will we go to the next instalment when next winter rolls around? Try and stop us. With both EPL teams having won their games against A-League opposition, that makes Saturday’s game between the two a legitimate final, and it should be an atmosphere at Accor Stadium with Sydney’s Premier League lovers out in force. Tonight was a reminder that the top tier of English football is a long way above what we can offer in Australia, but with Sydney gaining confidence from their possession, however deep it was on the field and with little option to attack, this A-League team held its own and should be proud of their efforts. Bring on the next round of the Australia Cup!