Sydney FC is on track to become Australia’s most successful football club ever, after beating Perth Glory 2-0 to progress to a second consecutive Grand Final against Melbourne City on Sunday.
The Sky Blues will be chasing not only a second straight Grand Final win but also the chance to become the first team ever to claim five titles in 43-years of Australian national league football, reports Xinhua news agency.
Wednesday’s match was an important confidence boost for the reigning champs, who did all the damage necessary within the first 28 minutes.
While the home team dominated most of the pitch early on, it was a goal-line mistake that cemented the victory and left Perth keeper Liam Reddy red-faced.
After conceding a deflection to Milos Ninkovic just four minutes before, Reddy fumbled a pass from one of his teammates which was quickly pounced on by Sydney’s Adam Le Fondre and slotted past the stunned goalie.
While Perth rallied following half-time they were unable to recover from Sydney’s devastating first-half blitz, which coach Steve Corica described as a return to form since the season was disrupted mid-way by COVID-19.
“It was probably the best we’ve played all season and maybe we could have been a little further ahead by half time,” Corica said. “I’m very pleased to be in another Grand Final and very happy for the boys.”
Melbourne City also booked their place in the final match of the season with a 2-0 victory against Western United, entering their first-ever Grand Final as underdogs against a vastly more experienced Sky Blues.