Sydney FC 1 (Adam Le Fondre 57′) def Brisbane Roar 0
NetStrata Jubilee Oval, Carlton, Sydney
Pre-Game
Free parking was readily available on the north side of Princes Highway, about 400 m to the northern side of the ground. Alternatively the ground is a short stroll (600m) from Carlton Railway Station, which is only a 20 minute ride on the T4 line from Sydney’s Central Station.
Nearby venues, that are ideal for a drink before the game include St George Leagues Club (which is about 100m south of the ground on the opposite side of the Princes Highway or if you have caught the train, the Royal Hotel, Carlton is opposite the railway station on your walk to the ground.
ARRIVING AT THE GROUND
There is four entrances labelled Gate A through D with Gate A located at the southwest corner, B at the northwest, C at the northeast and D at the southeast, there is a ticket booth easily accessible from the Princes Highway parking end next to gate D.
Ticket pricing is quite reasonable with tickets ranging from $60 in the covered grandstand to $35 for uncovered concourse reserved seating and through to $30 General Admission tickets on the hill.
We opted in for a central bay in the concourse and the view of the whole ground was pretty solid
The Game
It was a balmy night in the early 30’s in the south of Sydney as the ladder leading Sky Blues took on an improved Brisbane Roar who were wanting to consolidate a spot in the top six. Brisbane started off aggressively with a tik tak style short passing football and Dylan Wenzel Halls was an early stand out but couldn’t converting his attacking raids into anything more.
In the first half Brisbane had a small handful of chances as did Sydney FC with the best of theirs a one on one for cult hero Rhyan Grant but he stumbled on the ball and couldn’t capitalise and the sides went to the break locked at nil all.
In the second half Brisbane came out with some attacking flair but nothing could amount to them breaking the deadlock, until the 56th minute when an Adam Le Fondre shot was blocked by Scott Neville and it was adjudged to be handball, giving the Sky Blues a penalty and Le Fondre dutifully stepped up and converted to give Sydney the lead, the hand ball also saw Neville given his second yellow and his marching orders along with it, seeing the Roar reduced to 10 men.
From here Sydney had the majority of the upper hand in the remainder of the match, including a penalty that was awarded and then overturned by the VAR for offside. Sydney kept up their pressure throughout and only the superb work of Jamie Young kept the scoreline at 1-0 through to full time.
Food (At THe GROUND)
The food available at the ground was solid and in the mid range of pricing available for food, We went with a Fish & Chip combo which included two pieces of fish, a serving of chips and a 600ml drink for $14.90
The fish was pretty tasty, and the chips were more than passable, all in all not a bad meal and far from the worst I have got at a stadium. Good serving size.
Overall Ratings
Parking – 5/5
View – 4/5
Value – 4/5
Food Quality – 3.5/5
Food Pricing – 3/5
Atmosphere – 3/5
TOTAL – 22.5/30
THE MAD SPORTS FAN 