Sydney United find revenge with 2-1 win

The first Sydney derby between Sydney United and Sydney Olympic saw the home team regain bragging rights as they defeated their 2011 Grand Final opponents 2-1 on Monday afternoon. In a physical encounter that saw two red cards issued, some very attractive football was played in front of a loud and vocal crowd at the Sydney United Sports Center.

Olympic had the first chance with a free kick by Phil Makrys going inches over the bar. Olympic showed signs they'd go ahead early, piling on the pressure. United soon got into the contest with Luka Glavas just off target.

The first goal went to the away side, with David Gullo finishing off a well crossed ball in the 12^th minute to lead 1-0 early in the fixture. The momentum stuck with Olympic, Aman Hadid taking an audacious shot from 30 metres out which Janketovic saved easily.

United were rewarded a penalty in the 18th minute after a poor tackle inside the box. Luka Glavas obligingly converted, slotting the ball into the right hand corner to make it 1-1.

Glavas then got his second of the match with a deflection off an Olympic defender ending up with 'keeper Henderson wrong footed and the stadium volume lifting with boisterous chants from the supporters.

Early in the second half Jarrod Lum dribbled past the defenders to be one on one with the 'keeper although Henderson had an easy save.

United had some great passes down the wing only for Olympic to end the attack with some well-timed defending by Brent Studman.

Substitute Will Angel made a great run down the right wing with a one-two with Peter Triantis which bowled into the side netting

Cards soon came thick and fast in what became a fiery encounter with United captain Ivo Bosnar getting a yellow after a hefty tackle.

Olympic fought for the equalizer with a majority of the possession in the second half although failed to get shots on target.

Things got worse for Olympic when David Dascal received a red card for a late tackle although moments later it would be even-stevens as United playmaker Steve Hayes got a second yellow card for kicking the ball away in frustration.

With both teams down to ten men the sides remained in the same formations and continued their attacking football until the last stages of the match.

In the final ten minutes Olympic began to shooting on sight with multiple long shots being missing the target, most heading well over the crossbar. The away team couldn’t find the equalizer in the end and United take all three points in what was the rematch of last year's Grand Final.

After the match Sydney Olympic coach Peter Tsekenis spoke highly of his team’s performance.

“I'm not upset with the performance. I thought we had a good performance but definitely upset that we lost”.

Tsekenis further added how he is confident Olympic will be up there by the end of the season, but was unhappy with some of the officiating.

“When you play well and it’s out of your hands from decisions it’s disheartening”.

Sydney United coach Jean-Paul De Marigny told The Football Sack of his satisfaction with the three points.

“The win was good, the performance at times was decent but we still need to do more if it, when we combined in the midfield we looked really good.”

Final Score:
Sydney United 2 (Glavas 18' 25') Olympic 1 (David Gullo 12')