Sydney FC Women 2 Adelaide United 2
A late Olimpico goal from India Breier rescued a point for Adelaide United at Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday afternoon as the demons of the last two seasons came back to haunt the Sky Blues after doing more than enough to win. Asha Sutton gave the goal-deprived Sydney faithful something they have been craving, a goal on the run and a deadly finish, to put her team a goal to the good. An own goal by captain Charlotte McLean had the scores level in an instant, and Sydney looked odds-on to win the contest after Riley Cohn mugged her defender and finished smartly as they dominated the second half. The late goal from a corner was the result of a nervy finish from the home side, who could have gone on to lose in the final moments of a game punctuated by injury stoppages. The struggle continues for Sydney, but with many players away on international duty, we can reserve judgement until we see the whole squad in action.
One of the biggest weekends on our calendar, this fixture came on the back of the Sydney men’s derby and two very big nights; making the short journey to Olympic Park was a great way to end a football-filled two days and nights. Parking up in the P1 car park not long before 4pm, we were in and settled in the Cove’s little corner of heaven in line with the goalline soon after, ready to see if our women’s team could wipe the slate clean and start the season with a bang. We had passed the injured players who had just taken part in a signing session, Shay Hollman, Jada Whyman and Amber Luchtmeijer adding to the list of young stars at the Under 17 World Cup. The line-up, read out by a very familiar voice, had unfamiliar names in the starting eleven and on the bench, but we were hopeful of a good showing all the same. The Cove warmed up to get the rustiness out, capo MMTV’s voice a little broken from Friday’s efforts and her expert drummer having to remember the beat after the longest off-season in world football. We Are Sydney was belted out as the players took the field. It was good to be back.
Sydney started on the back foot. Adelaide pressed forward, winning corners, but it was the home team that took the lead, Cohn sliding a delightful ball through the middle of the Adelaide defence for Asha Sutton to gallop onto. She seemed under pressure but held her nerve to fire past young Adelaide goalkeeper Ilona Melegh, the whole team racing to congratulate her, a truly wholesome moment. Tails were up, first blood to the Sky Blues, but the stadium fell silent when the tricky Kiera Meyers launched a hopeful ball in near post and McLean stuck out her leg to deflect the ball past Tiahna Robertson for a disastrous and unnecessary own goal. Bah!
As a few fans started meandering into the sunshine over to the far side to roll down the hill, Robertson then gifted the ball to Adriana Taranto after dallying on the ball for way too long, the lobbed finish cleared off the line by McLean, casually heading the ball into her goalkeeper’s arms. Last season was coming flooding back. Josie Wilson was stranded upfield in a heap, eventually being helped off holding her arm as if her shoulder was dislocated. Warm applause greeted her as she walked down the tunnel after a lengthy stoppage. Adelaide looked much the better team in the first half, but Kiley Dulaney looked very composed on our side of the field, and there was more football played by the Sydney FC team than we were accustomed; positive signs! Adelaide United did hit the bar, and there were hairy moments as Sydney struggled to clear their lines in a first half that seemed to be slipping from their grasp.
The half ended with a good chance deep into injury time, Faith Webber getting the fans off their seats thinking she’d scored, but her rifled shot had just missed the post. Half time followed almost immediately, giving us a chance to catch our breath; this singing and chanting was hard work for tired bodies and the desafinado efforts of at least one of our Cove crew was making it even harder.
Back to the action, and a completely different Sydney FC side came out in the second half. There was a spring in the step, the mild gamesmanship of the first half was replaced with major theatrics as Cohn tried to demonstrate her rough treatment from her opponents in a series of swallow dives, some ignored and some rewarded with free-kicks. Adelaide did though have a glorious chance, the ball coming off the post before being blazed over, but from our angle we had no way of knowing just how close to the goal it was. Charlotte McLean hoofed a shot way over the bar, but Sydney did take the lead soon after when Cohn caught her defender in possession, advanced and tucked a shot inside Melegh’s post. What a fantastic moment, created and finished by the most lively player on the field. Sydney, Sydney, Sydney, our girls are amazing… sang the Cove.
The game was heating up, the SFC chant reached breakneck speed, smoke almost coming from the drum. Cohn took a dive looking for a free kick which was waved away, before somehow managing to convince the referee with another outrageous flop. She did seem hurt, taking her time to get up, but it was classic game management, seeing a miraculous recovery to take the free kick herself. Olivia Price was manhandled to the floor in a wrestling move, somehow no yellow card, before Cohn gave us another comedy moment, exaggerating a push from Melegh as the two went toe to toe on the goalline. We had the moment of the match as a little back-flick set Sydney on their way in a glorious flowing attack, but the assistant referee had the flag up to curtail the forward momentum, and Webber almost stole in at the far post to beat Melegh to the ball but her effort ended up in the side netting with celebrations almost starting. With five minutes remaining though, Sydney weren’t looking comfortable, the fans sensed it, and they ended the game the same way they started it, conceding a series of corners. That’s when the inevitable happened, Robertson nowhere near an inswinging corner from Breier that flew straight into the net.
The Adelaide players soaked up the moment, the referee finally coming to break up their extended huddle, as MMTV took out her frustration in the Cove. This was the malaise of the last two seasons, bottled up and sprayed on the team, a winning position thrown away in avoidable circumstances. Injury time wouldn’t yield a winner, Adelaide looking the most likely, and the frustration of the players at the final whistle was obvious. It was certainly felt in the stands.
The players took a while to come over and acknowledge the active fans, but enjoyed their moment from a distance before friends and family took over, signalling the end of the day. Walking out into the cool evening sunset, we had enjoyed some excitement, some hair-raising moments and we had seen Sydney FC play proper football for the first time in a long while. Whilst viewing the game from such a distance makes detail harder to follow, the antics of Riley Cohn were like a pantomime in itself, although she did get plenty of rough treatment from the United midfield. Supporting Sydney FC women’s team has been quite challenging lately, but there were encouraging signs. We look forward to seeing performances turn into points in the near future, and we can all enjoy seeing our former stars in action at Allianz Stadium next weekend as the new Bling FC Melbourne City come to town as the main event of the double header. If you don’t stick around for the women’s game, words will be had. No excuses!
Thanks for reading. A lovely way to end the weekend!