Sydney FC on the up after downing Phoenix

Sydney FC and North Queensland Fury came out winners of their mid-week A-League fixtures despite the lowest crowd attendance in the history of the competition.

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Sydney FC continued their steady climb up the A-League ladder with a 3-1 win over Wellington at a rain-swept Sydney Football Stadium.

First goals of the season to Brendan Gan and Mark Bridge and a controversial third to Alex Brosque saw Sydney prevail in dreadful conditions, in front of their lowest ever crowd of 4012.

After running last for the first 10 rounds, the reigning champions have steered their season on course, losing only one of their last seven matches to sit just a point outside the top six.

Sydney led 1-0 at halftime thanks to Gan's 14th-minute opener but it was their 'Killer B's' - Brosque and Bridge - that sealed the result after halftime.

Teenage substitute Terry Antonis created the second in the 73rd minute, making a dangerous run and playing Bridge into space with a clever ball.

Bridge then finished superbly with his left foot to notching a relieving first goal in 13 appearances this season.

Brosque put the result beyond doubt three minutes later, with Bridge this time the provider.

But there was literally a touch of controversy in the build-up, with defender Seb Ryall appearing to blatantly control the ball with his hand.

Dylan Macallister bagged a consolation for the Phoenix in the 82nd minute, thanks to a sublime Vince Lia ball, but Wellington's struggles on the road continued.

Fury upset United in front of a poor crowd

North Queensland Fury scored a rare 2-1 win over a depleted Gold Coast United in front of the lowest ever A-League crowd on Australian soil.

Just 1714 spectators braved the rain to watch the Fury upset Gold Coast for only their first win of the season.

However, the victory was not enough to hoist Fury off the bottom of the table.

The loss dented United's hopes of placing some serious pressure on second-placed Adelaide, and weren't helped by missing eight of their best players because of suspension or injury.

Despite the dismal attendance, Gold Coast avoided the unwanted record for the lowest ever A-League crowd which belongs to the defunct New Zealand Knights, who attracted just 1632 fans against the Central Coast Mariners in Auckland in September 2006.

Gold Coast, who were missing the likes of skipper Jason Cullina, Michael Thwaite, Joel Porter and John Curtis, lived up to their high ladder position early when they started promisingly and controlled the tempo of the match.

They struck first with a Robson goal in the 10th minute after his free kick from outside the penalty box, deflected off the Fury's defensive wall and left goalkeeper Justin Pasfield out of position.

But it was a false dawn for United who came under heavy fire for the remainder of the game.

Fury forward Dyron Daal had a goal from point-blank range disallowed after a questionable off-side call in the 16th minute.

United's fill-in goalkeeper Jerrad Tyson was good enough to stop a full-blooded Gareth Edds volley from 10 metres in the 28th minute.

But some 20 seconds later Tyson was caught out when David Williams found the net with a scintillating 30m shot that passed over the goalkeeper's outstretched hand and ricochet off the cross bar into goal.

Constant rain in the second half slowed the pace of the game and a 1-1 draw appeared the most likely outcome until some Ufuk Talay brilliance.

Talay sent a free kick, from 20m out, curling over United's defensive wall and into the top right hand side of the net.


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4 min read

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Source: AAP


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