Bolton the hero as Sydney edge opener

Sydney FC has edged out the Central Coast Mariners 1-0 in the Grand Final replay at Aussie Stadium tonight.

Iain Fyfe's 51st minute goal was enough to seal victory for the champions, after Alvin Ceccoli’s highball was laid into the path of Fyfe by striker Sasho Petrovski with Fyfe making no mistake from ten yards out.

However it was goalkeeper Clint Bolton who deserved the real praise from tonight’s match, denying both Jamie McMaster and Adam Kwasnik from close range with two stunning saves leaving the crowd on the edge of their seats.

With the Mariners arguably dominating much of the game Bolton put in a sterling performance, with Sydney central defenders Mark Rudan and Nikolai Topor-Stanley putting in a good shift in front of the Socceroos and Sydney FC number one.

The Mariners can count themselves unlucky as they had the run of play for much of the first half and for periods in the second, but sorely missed the likes of injured forward Stewart Petrie and Nick Mrdja, who should be available within two weeks after being out for over 12 months with a serious knee injury.

Sydney will still have plenty of concerns going into the round two clash with Melbourne Victory at the Telstra Dome with Terry McFlynn injured during the warmup and Alex Brosque limping off in the second half.

Brosque will undergo a scan tomorrow to assess the damage, but Jeremy Brockie is waiting in the wings if Brosque fails to make the trip to Melbourne.

Meanwhile Mariners boss Lawrie McKinna can take plenty away from his side’s performance, and with Mrdja due to return to action shortly the Gosford side will soon have more options upfront.

Mariners fans will be pleased to have seen the return of attacking midfielder Tom Pondeljak, who came on as a replacement for Damien Brown in the 72 minute, whilst John Hutchinson remains out of action due to apparent complications with his knee injury sustained in season one.

The Central Coast Mariners take on Perth Glory next week in the Western Australian capital, whilst Sydney FC will be looking to avenge a 5-0 loss to Melbourne Victory when the two sides last met in October of 2005.

Team Line-Ups

Sydney FC:
1. Clint Bolton, 2. Iain Fyfe, 3. Alvin Ceccoli, 4 Mark Rudan, 10. Steve Corica, 11. Sasho Petrovski, 12. David Carney, 14. Alex Brosque, 16. Mark Milligan, 19. Dwight Yorke, 21. Nikolai Topor-Stanley.

Substitutes:
6. Ufuk Talay on for 10. Steve Corica (90th minute), 7. Robbie Middleby on for 14. Alex Brosque (75th minute), 9. David Zdrilic on for 11. Sasho Petrovski (66th minute), 20. Justin Pasfield (gk) did not play. Yellow cards: nil.

Central Coast Mariners:
20. Danny Vukovic, 2. Wayne O’Sullivan, 4. Noel Spencer, 6. Andre Gumprecht, 8. Jamie McMaster, 11. Damian Brown, 13. Tony Vidmar, 14. Vuko Tomasevic, 15. Andrew Clark, 18. Alex Wilkinson, 19. Adam Kwasnik.

Substitutes:
3. Paul O’Grady on for 18. Alex Wilkinson (82nd minute), 10. Tom Pondeljak on for 11. Damian Brown (72nd minute), 17. Matthew Osman on for 6. Andre Gumprecht (56th minute), 30. Matthew Trot (gk) did not play. Yellow cards: Andre Gumprecht 17, Andrew Clark 90.

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