2015–16 Sydney FC season

Sydney FC
2015–16 season
Chairman Scott Barlow
Manager Graham Arnold
Stadium Allianz Stadium, Sydney
A-League 7th
FFA Cup Round of 16
AFC Champions League Round of 16
Top goalscorer League: Filip Hološko (10 goals)
All: Filip Hološko (10 goals)
Highest home attendance 40,539 vs Western Sydney Wanderers
(24 October 2015)
Lowest home attendance 8,717 vs Perth Glory
(11 April 2016)
Average home league attendance 16,071
Home colours
Away colours
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

The 2015–16 Sydney FC season was the club's 11th season since its establishment in 2004. The club participated in the A-League for the 11th time, the FFA Cup for the 2nd time, as well as the AFC Champions League for the 3rd time.

Preview

Pre-season

Sydney FC began the pre-season with an entertaining 7–0 win over Earlwood Wanderers.[1] The club then announced the annual Macarthur Rams pre-season clash.[2] The match took place on 30 July 2015, with Sydney FC cruising to a comfortable 5–1 victory. For both games, Sydney FC fielded mainly youth players and trialist's, of which included Matt Simon and Alex Mullen who would later go on to sign for the club.[3] The club announced a third pre-season friendly against a team of Gold Coast Premier League All-stars for mid-August.[4] However, this match would be ultimately be cancelled as the venue did not meet one of the criteria for Football Federation Australia sanctioned friendlies.[5]

Transfers

Rumours throughout the end of the 2014–15 A-League season that Sydney FC had signed Newcastle Jets and Young Socceroo midfielder, Andrew Hoole were confirmed on 30 April 2015.[6] Following the Grand Final loss to Melbourne Victory key members of the team were still weighing up their options for the season. Initially it was thought the services of Golden Boot winner, Marc Janko would be secured[7] but after he left for Europe the day after the grand final to plan his wedding, rumours circled that he would not return.[8] This was confirmed a week later with the club citing the amount of games Janko would miss throughout the season as the A-League does not stop during FIFA breaks a factor in the decision.[9] Janko expressed his displeasure of how things were handled through social media site, Twitter.[9][10] Senegalese cousins Mickaël Tavares and Jacques Faty were quick to re-sign with club, extending their contracts from injury replacement players to full contracts. The club confirmed the signing's of Tavares for two years on 21 May 2015[11] and one year for Faty on 27 May 2015.[12][13] The club also announced a two-year deal for striker Shane Smeltz on the same day.[13]

Sydney FC had many places to fill during the off-season, after announcing only eighteen retained players on 3 June 2015.[14] Defender Zachary Anderson was reunited with mentor Graham Arnold, signing for the sky blues on 15 July 2015 for one year.[15] This was quickly followed by the announcement of the highly anticipated foreign marquee and visa spots of Filip Hološko[16] and Miloš Ninković.[17] This appeared to spell the end of the 2014–15 Sydney FC Player of the Year Miloš Dimitrijević's time with club. However, with the departure of Nikola Petković to Westerlo[18] there still remained one visa spot available, and on 28 July 2015, Sydney FC announced that he had re-signed for a further two years.[19] With two days remaining before the commencement of the 2015 FFA Cup, Sydney FC announced the services of another former student of Arnold's (during his time with the Central Coast Mariners), when the club signed Matt Simon.[20] The club then lost the services of talented Socceroos midfielder Terry Antonis when he was transferred to Greek powerhouse PAOK on 19 August 2015.[21] On 25 August 2015, Sydney FC became the first club to utilise the "Mature Age Rookie" concept, signing Alex Mullen on a one-year deal.[22] The club also announced the signing of veteran Sydney FC gloveman Ivan Necevski (who returned to club after a stint with New South Wales Premier League outfit Rockdale City Suns)[23] alongside Sydney FC Youth captain, Jacob Tratt.[24]

Season

Sydney FC began the regular season at home against Melbourne City. The visitors took an early lead in the 16th when debutant Wade Dekker capitalised on a defensive error by Jacques Faty. However, the Sky Blues bounced back in injury time of the first half after a clever ball from Brandon O'Neill allowed skipper Alex Brosque to set up international marquee Filip Hološko with the equaliser. Sydney FC created many chances in the second stanza but City goalkeeper Thomas Sørensen produced world-class saves time and time again to ensure the match would end 1–1.[25]

Sydney FC then travelled to Hunter Stadium to face New South Wales rivals, Newcastle Jets. Newcastle had a goal disallowed in the first half for an offside infringement. With minutes remaining skipper Alex Brosque was denied by the woodwork, and the match looked destined for a draw. However, in the final minute of the game, Brosque came up with superb header from a corner kick. Sydney won the match 1–0. The win signified Sydney FC's unbeaten streak against Newcastle to eight games. [26] The match also involved a sickening collision between Sydney FC striker Shane Smeltz and Newcastle Jets goalkeeper Mark Birighitti which left the shotstopper requiring hospitalisation and major dental surgery.[27]

The first Sydney Derby of the year was hosted by Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium. The attendance of 40,539 was the second largest on record for the fixture and everyone in the stadium witnessed another pulsating clash. For the second match in a row, Sydney FC's opponent had a goal disallowed for an offside infringement in the first half and also for the second match in a row, Sydney FC scored in the dying minutes to win 1–0. Serbian international Miloš Ninković latched onto a splendid through-ball from rookie central midfielder Brandon O'Neill to put the game to bed. Sydney FC extended its unbeaten derby streak to five matches.[28]

Sydney FC travelled to Gosford, to play Central Coast Mariners at Central Coast Stadium, on the 31st of October. Shane Smeltz opened the scoring in the 34th minute after some clever work from Alex Brosque, sweeping it home from close range. Mariners striker Roy O'Donovan then equalised a minute later with an easy tap-in from close range. A few minutes later, O'Donovan was through on goal, and attempted to round Sydney keeper Vedran Janjetovic before being taking down and going to ground. However, the referee did not award a penalty. Three minutes before the interval, Mariners midfielder Nick Fitzgerald was sent off for a second yellow card, swinging the game in Sydney's favour. After a lengthy stalemate, Mariners all-time top goalscorer and new Sydney FC signing Matt Simon scored after a marauding run from Filip Hološko, who unselfishly laid the ball off to Simon. Six minutes later, Simon scored his second goal after a smart run from Mickaël Tavares, and thus, the game ended 3–1, to Sydney. Sydney remained on top of the A-League ladder as the only unbeaten team remaining in the competition. [29]

Players

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Australia GK Vedran Janjetović
2 Australia DF Sebastian Ryall
4 Australia DF Zachary Anderson
5 Australia DF Matthew Jurman
6 Australia FW Robert Stambolziev
7 Australia MF Andrew Hoole
8 Serbia MF Miloš Dimitrijević
9 New Zealand FW Shane Smeltz (vice-captain)
10 Serbia MF Miloš Ninković
11 Australia MF Chris Naumoff
12 Australia DF Jacob Tratt
13 Australia MF Brandon O'Neill
14 Australia FW Alex Brosque (captain)
No. Position Player
16 Australia DF Riley Woodcock
17 Australia MF David Carney
18 Australia FW Matt Simon
19 Senegal DF Jacques Faty (vice-captain)
20 Australia GK Ivan Necevski
21 Slovakia FW Filip Hološko
22 Iraq MF Ali Abbas
23 Australia MF Rhyan Grant
24 Australia FW George Blackwood
25 Australia DF Aaron Calver
27 Senegal MF Mickaël Tavares
29 Australia MF Alex Mullen
30 Australia GK Anthony Bouzanis

From youth squad

N
 P
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Notes
24 FW Australia George Blackwood 18
30 GK Australia Anthony Bouzanis 19
12 DF Australia Jacob Tratt 20 [30]

Transfers in

N
 P
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Moving from
 Type
 Transfer
window		 Ends
 Transfer
fee		 Ref.
7 MF Australia Andrew Hoole 21 Newcastle Jets Transfer Pre-season 2017 Free [6]
13 MF Australia Brandon O'Neill 21 Free agent Transfer Pre-season 2017 Free [31]
16 DF Australia Riley Woodcock 20 Perth Glory Transfer Pre-season 2016 Free [32]
4 DF Australia Zachary Anderson 24 Central Coast Mariners Transfer Pre-season 2016 Free [33]
10 MF Serbia Miloš Ninković 30 Free agent Transfer Pre-season 2017 Free [34]
21 FW Slovakia Filip Hološko 31 Free agent Transfer Pre-season 2017 Free [35]
18 FW Australia Matt Simon 29 Central Coast Mariners Transfer Pre-season 2017 Free [36]
29 MF Australia Alex Mullen 23 Mars Hill UniversityUnited States Transfer Pre-season 2016 Free [37]
20 GK Australia Ivan Necevski 35 Rockdale City Suns Transfer Pre-season 2016 Free [38]
17 MF Australia David Carney 32 Free agent Transfer Round 18 2017 Free [39]

Transfers out

N
 P
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Moving to
 Type
 Transfer
window		 Transfer
fee		 Source
21 FW Austria Marc Janko 31 End of Contract Pre-season Free [40]
1 GK Australia Ivan Necevski 35 End of Contract Pre-season Free [41]
3 DF Australia Saša Ognenovski 36 End of Contract Pre-season Free [42]
18 MF Australia Peter Triantis 23 End of Contract Pre-season Free [42]
19 MF Australia Nick Carle 33 End of Contract Pre-season Free [42]
7 FW Australia Corey Gameiro 22 End of Contract Pre-season Free [42]
12 MF Australia Hagi Gligor 20 End of Contract Pre-season Free [42]
11 FW Australia Bernie Ibini 22 Shanghai SIPGChina End of Loan Pre-season Free [42]
6 DF Serbia Nikola Petković 29 WesterloBelgium Transfer Pre-season Undisclosed [18]
17 MF Australia Terry Antonis 21 PAOKGreece Transfer Pre-season $500,000 [43]
3 DF Australia Alex Gersbach 18 RosenborgNorway Transfer Round 18 Undisclosed [44]

Technical staff

Position Name
Manager Australia Graham Arnold
Assistant Manager Australia Steve Corica
Youth Team Manager Australia Robbie Stanton
Goalkeeping Coach Australia John Crawley
Strength & Conditioning Coach Australia Andrew Clark
Physiotherapist Australia Stan Ivancic

Statistics

Squad statistics

N P Nat. Name TotalA-League FFA Cup AFC Champions League
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Australia Vedran Janjetović 37 0 1 0 0 27+0 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0 8+0 0 1 0 0
2 DF Australia Sebastian Ryall 30 0 7 0 0 23+0 0 5 0 0 2+0 0 1 0 0 5+0 0 1 0 0
4 DF Australia Zachary Anderson 9 0 0 0 1 4+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 5+0 0 0 0 1
5 DF Australia Matthew Jurman 34 0 4 0 0 25+0 0 3 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0 7+0 0 1 0 0
6 FW Australia Robert Stambolziev 15 1 2 0 0 1+7 0 2 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0 1+4 1 0 0 0
7 MF Australia Andrew Hoole 23 0 5 0 0 6+9 0 4 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0 4+2 0 1 0 0
8 MF Serbia Miloš Dimitrijević 33 1 5 0 0 18+7 0 5 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 7+1 1 0 0 0
9 FW Australia Shane Smeltz 30 5 3 0 0 12+10 4 2 0 0 2+0 1 0 0 0 3+3 0 1 0 0
10 MF Serbia Miloš Ninković 33 5 5 0 0 23+2 4 5 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 5+2 1 0 0 0
11 MF Australia Chris Naumoff 18 1 0 0 0 8+2 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0 4+2 1 0 0 0
12 DF Australia Jacob Tratt 0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
13 MF Australia Brandon O'Neill 30 1 6 0 0 16+5 0 4 0 0 2+0 0 1 0 0 6+1 1 1 0 0
14 FW Australia Alex Brosque 15 5 3 0 0 13+0 5 3 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0
16 DF Australia Riley Woodcock 6 0 0 0 0 1+0 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0 3+0 0 0 0 0
17 MF Australia David Carney 13 3 5 0 0 7+1 2 3 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 5+0 1 2 0 0
18 FW Australia Matt Simon 27 3 10 0 0 9+11 3 6 0 0 0+2 0 1 0 0 5+0 0 3 0 0
19 DF Senegal Jacques Faty 20 1 3 0 1 17+3 1 3 0 1 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
20 GK Australia Ivan Necevski 0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
21 FW Slovakia Filip Hološko 24 10 5 1 0 23+1 10 5 1 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
22 MF Iraq Ali Abbas 13 2 2 0 0 2+7 2 2 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 3+1 0 0 0 0
23 MF Australia Rhyan Grant 33 2 6 0 0 24+0 0 5 0 0 2+0 1 0 0 0 7+0 1 1 0 0
24 FW Australia George Blackwood 20 1 1 0 0 8+6 1 1 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 4+2 0 0 0 0
25 DF Australia Aaron Calver 9 0 2 0 0 4+0 0 1 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0 3+0 0 1 0 0
26 FW Australia Max Burgess 1 1 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+1 1 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
27 MF Senegal Mickaël Tavares 26 1 4 0 0 17+5 1 4 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 3+0 0 0 0 0
29 MF Australia Alex Mullen 3 0 0 0 0 1+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+2 0 0 0 0
30 GK Australia Anthony Bouzanis 0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
Players no longer at the club:
3 DF Australia Alex Gersbach 10 0 1 0 1 8+2 0 1 0 1 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0

Pre-season and friendlies

Competitions

Overall

Competition Started round Final
position / round		 First match Last match
A-League — 7th 10 October 2015 10 April 2016
FFA Cup Round of 32 Round of 16 5 August 2015 26 August 2015
AFC Champions League Group stage Round of 16 24 February 2016 25 May 2016

A-League

Main article: 2015–16 A-League

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Adelaide United (C) 27 14 7 6 45 28 +17 49 Qualification to AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series
2 Western Sydney Wanderers 27 14 6 7 44 33 +11 48
3 Brisbane Roar 27 14 6 7 49 40 +9 48 Qualification to AFC Champions League preliminary round and Finals series
4 Melbourne City 27 13 5 9 63 44 +19 44 Qualification to Finals series
5 Perth Glory 27 13 4 10 49 42 +7 43
6 Melbourne Victory 27 11 8 8 40 33 +7 41
7 Sydney FC 27 8 10 9 36 36 0 34
8 Newcastle Jets 27 8 6 13 28 41 −13 30
9 Wellington Phoenix[lower-alpha 1] 27 7 4 16 34 54 −20 25
10 Central Coast Mariners 27 3 4 20 33 70 −37 13
Updated to match(es) played on 1 May 2016. Source: A-League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion.
Notes:
  1. ↑ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the 2017 AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

Results summary

OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
27 8 10 9 36 36  0 34 5 4 5 19 17  +2 3 6 4 17 19  −2

Last updated: 10 April 2016.
Source: ultimatealeague.com

Results by round

Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627
GroundHAHAHHAHHAAHAHAAHAHHAAHAAHH
Result D W W W D L D D W L D W D W W L L D L D D L L D L L W
Position 4 3 1 1 1 2 4 4 3 5 4 4 4 4 3 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7

Last updated: 11 April 2016.
Source: ultimatealeague.com
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.
   Win   Draw   Loss

Matches

FFA Cup

Main article: 2015 FFA Cup

AFC Champions League

Group stage

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Australia Sydney FC 6 3 1 2 4 4 0 10 Knockout stage
2 Japan Urawa Red Diamonds 6 2 3 1 6 4 +2 9
3 China Guangzhou Evergrande 6 2 2 2 6 5 +1 8
4 South Korea Pohang Steelers 6 1 2 3 2 5 −3 5
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Round of 16

References

  1. ↑ "Sydney FC romp to emphatic 7-0 win". Sydney FC. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Sydney FC to face Macarthur Rams". 23 July 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "Sydney FC cruise to a comfortable win". 30 July 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Sydney FC to contest Gold Coast Cabs Challenge". 6 August 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Gold Coast Cabs Challenge cancelled". Sydney FC. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Sydney FC Confirm Andrew Hoole Signing". Sydney FC. 30 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Marc Janko gives biggest hint yet that he will stay with Sydney FC". 12 March 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "Sydney FC striker Marc Janko expected to leave A-League Grand Finalists". 18 May 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Exiting Janko takes swipe at Sydney FC". 24 May 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "Marc Janko leaves Sydney FC but not happy that club withdrew offer".
  11. ↑ "Tavares signs Sydney FC contract extension". 21 May 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  12. ↑ "Faty re-signs for Sydney FC in A-League". 27 May 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  13. 1 2 "Future looks bright after Shane Smeltz and Jacques Faty re-sign with club". 27 May 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  14. ↑ "Sydney FC Announce Retained Players For 2015/16 Season". Sydney FC. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  15. ↑ "Sydney FC complete Anderson signing". Sydney FC. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  16. ↑ "Sydney FC confirm International Marquee". Sydney FC. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  17. ↑ "Sydney FC sign experienced Serbian". Sydney FC. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  18. 1 2 "Sydney FC Allow Defender To Return To Europe". Sydney FC. 24 June 2015.
  19. ↑ "Sydney FC re-sign Player of the Year". Sydney FC. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  20. ↑ "Sydney FC secure Simon". Sydney FC. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  21. ↑ "Antonis signs for Greek club PAOK FC". Sydney FC. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  22. ↑ "Sydney FC sign Mature Age Rookie". Sydney FC. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  23. ↑ "Sydney FC re-sign Keeper Necevski". Sydney FC. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  24. ↑ "Sydney FC sign Jacob Tratt". 1 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  25. ↑ "Sydney FC Denied By Sorensen In Dominant Display". Sydney FC. 10 October 2015.
  26. ↑ Greco, John (17 October 2015). "Brosque strikes late as Sky Blues down Jets". www.sydneyfc.com. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  27. ↑ "Mark Birighitti injury: Shane Smeltz 'distraught' after sickening challenge reminiscent of past incident". Fox Sports. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  28. ↑ Greco, John. "Sky Blues strike late to stun Wanderers". Sydney FC.
  29. ↑ http://www.sydneyfc.com/matchcentre/Central-Coast-Mariners-v-Sydney-FC/811625#widget-match-day-tabs
  30. ↑ "Sydney FC Sign Jacob Tratt". Sydney FC. 1 September 2015.
  31. ↑ "Sydney FC Confirm Brandon O'Neill Signing". Sydney FC. 25 May 2015.
  32. ↑ "Sydney FC Sign Talented Young Defender Signing". Sydney FC. 12 June 2015.
  33. ↑ "Arnie signs former charge". Football Federation Australia. 15 July 2015.
  34. ↑ "Sydney FC sign Serbian star Milos Ninkovic". 16 July 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  35. ↑ "Sydney FC sign Slovakian international Filip Holosko on two-year marquee deal". 20 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  36. ↑ "Simon signs on at Sydney FC". 3 August 2015. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  37. ↑ "Sydney FC sign mature age rookie". Football Federation Australia. 25 August 2015.
  38. ↑ "Released gloveman returns to Sydney FC". Football Federation Australia. 31 August 2015.
  39. ↑ "Championship Winner David Carney Returns To Sydney FC". Sydney FC. 3 February 2016.
  40. ↑ "Sydney FC and Janko to Part Ways". Sydney FC. 24 May 2015.
  41. ↑ "Necevski to play final Sky Blues game". Football Federation Australia. 29 May 2015.
  42. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Sydney FC Announce Retained Players For 2015/16 Season". Sydney FC. 3 June 2015.
  43. ↑ "Terry Antonis PAOK FC transfer: Sydney FC midfielder seals move to Greek Super League club". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  44. ↑ "Sydney FC Youngster Alex Gersbach Transfers To Europe". Sydney FC. 31 January 2016.

External links

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