Sydney FC obliterate AIS

A hat-trick from Alec Urosevski was the highlight as Sydney FC romped to a comfortable 8-0 victory over the AIS.

A hat-trick from Alec Urosevski was the highlight as Sydney FC romped to a comfortable 8-0 victory over the AIS at the AIS Track on a warm Wednesday afternoon in the national capital.

Urosevski was in ruthless form in front of goal for the slick Sky Blues as he punished some shoddy AIS defending to claim the match ball as the visitors recorded only their second league win of the season.

With only one victory between them heading into this match, both teams were desperate for points and it was Sydney FC who threatened from the outset.

Setting the early tempo the Sky Blues stretched the AIS defence allowing space for Joshua MacDonald on the right flank.

The winger drifted past his marker and, from the angle, forced a smart save down low from Andre Jannese who needed the help of the covering defence to complete the clearance.

The home team responded by freeing skipper Scott Galloway behind the Sydney FC defence but he mishit his shot wide when well-placed.

And Sydney made them pay for the wasted chance with a sublime goal in the 21st minute.

A needless free-kick was conceded by Joshua Barresi 25m from goal and Peter Triantis punished the offence by curling in a delightful shot over the wall and into the top corner of the net.

Following the goal the game settled down and the AIS, whilst being on the back foot for the most part, looked far more certain in defence until a brace of goals within seconds of each other gave Sydney FC a sudden three-goal cushion.

Urosevski was the man on the mark twice within a minute.

His first, in the 36th minute, saw the forward control a cross in the area and swivel to send a fierce shot past Jannese with the ‘keeper having no chance.

The game had barely restarted when Urosevski drove into the heart of the AIS defence and unleashed a venomous effort that left Jannese rooted to the spot as it crashed into the corner.

Trailing 3-0 at the interval the AIS needed a good start to the second half but unfortunately for the home crowd it was Sydney who were among the goals almost straight away.

Half-time substitute Nikola Taneski hadn’t even touched the ball when he was gifted a gilt-edged opportunity by a sloppy back pass that left the forward free on goal.

Taneski’s finish was clinical and put the game beyond the reach of the Institute.

To the youngsters’ credit they battened down the hatches and refused to be cowed by their opponents but could do little as Sydney went further ahead in the 63rd minute.

Once again it was Urosevski to the fore with the skilled forward flicking the ball over the head of his marker and thumping a shot through the legs of Jannese to make it 5-0 and complete a brilliant hat-trick.

And it got worse five minutes later as Triantis danced his way into the penalty area and clipped a finish beyond the advancing Jannese to notch his second of the match and bring up the half-dozen.

Christopher Naumoff made it seven with a blistering shot with a quarter of an hour to play as the AIS resistance crumbled.

There was still time for another and Jarrod Lum put his name onto the scoresheet, breaking clear and lifting a lob over Jannese who got a hand on the ball but couldn’t prevent it crossing the line despite his best efforts as Sydney FC racked up eight.

AIS 0
Sydney FC 8 (Peter Triantis 21, 68, Alec Urosevski 36, 37, 63, Nikola Taneski 48, Christopher Naumoff 75, Jarrod Lum 84)

AIS: 20. Andre Jannese, 2. Darcy Madden, 4. Ben Warland, 5. Matthew Schmidt, 8. Joshua Barresi (6. Matthew Ntoumenopulos 56), 9. Todd Norris, 13. Jeremy Tshongo, 15. Scott Galloway (c), (19. Bright Appiah 91), 18. Alexander Gersbach, 19. Bright Appiah (21. Dylan Pickert 56), 22. Liam Rose

Sydney FC: 1. Ryan Norval (c) (20. Anthony Bouzanis 66), 2. Keifer Dotti (4. Roberta Speranza 46), 3. Aaron Calver (2. Keifer Dotti 80), 6. Hagi Gligor (14. Jarrod Lum 46), 7. Joshua MacDonald, 8. Peter Triantis, 10. Christopher Naumoff, 11. Tom Slater (9. Nikola Taneski 46), 12. Lukas Stergiou, 16. Alec Urosevski, 17. Theo Kofinas