In the end, justice was undoubtedly served following Sydney FC’s massive upset against Perth Glory to be crowned the latest A-league champions of 2019 eventually.
Perth Glory vs Sydney FC
Andrew Redmayne was considered the ultimate hero after the match went into a penalty shootout against the hometown favourites. The yellow wiggle, as Andrew Redmayne has been dubbed since the game, danced all over the line to save the spot kick by Andy Keogh.
Brendon Santalab also had a devastating delivery to Andrew Redmayne, striking the ball directly into the hands of the goalkeeper which was regarded as the last kick he will ever have in professional football. This occurred just before Reza Ghoochannejhad struck a decisive blow.
You could hear a small pin drop at the Optus Stadium when the air was utterly sucked out of the stadium, leaving the hearts of Perth Glory fans shattered. There’s no denying that Tony Popovic was also devastated after the match as he has no managed to reach the final four times without a single victory.
After a season where Perth Glory dominated the league, it was a genuinely unexpected blow for the home side. However, you cannot take away the brilliance that Sydney FC delivered in the evening. Riding on a boost of confidence after the demolition of Melbourne Victory last weekend, Sydney FC could have easily scored during the first half of the match. It was a physical and fierce battle that ended with a 0-0 scoresheet at the end of the first half. This is precisely how things remained during the second half as well. However, the visitors were quite disappointed after they didn’t get the opening goal during the first half.
Controversy in the Match
During the 28th minute of the match, controversy struck hard for Sydney FC, when Michael Zullo made a great run from behind to kick the ball against Matthew Spiranovic who managed to deliver the ball into his net. However, shortly after the goal was scored, the linesman raised the flag to call for offside even though the relays indicated that Zullo was indeed onside. However, the VAR decision was not reversed either.
This call left Steve Corica, the head coach for the Sky Blues, absolutely fuming after the goal wasn’t given for his side. He managed to watch how his team gradually started getting the upper hand over his opponent’s thanks to the excellent performances delivered by Milos Ninkovic and Rhyan Grant.
Ninkovic was essentially pulling the strings of the match, while Rhyan Grant was in a fierce battle between Jason Davidson and Chris Ikonomidis, who is also his fellow teammates in the Socceroos squad.
All the drama of the match played out in front of more than 56,000 spectators at Opus Stadium, creating a truly fantastic atmosphere for the last game of the season. The Sky Blues managed to deliver an impressive victory, and they deserve the championship.