This game was promoted as a top-of-the-table clash, but football has a nasty habit of producing matches that fail to live up to the billing. Entry tickets should have carried the small print: buyer beware.
Fortunately, there were only 12,857 there to see it. Most stayed away because of the weather, or because there are other things to do on a Friday night in Sydney. Spoiler: you didn't miss much.
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Sydney FC and Brisbane huff and puff in vain
Sydney FC maintain their spot atop the A-League ladder following an arduous goalless draw with Brisbane.
Sydney FC remain unbeaten, however, and more than a month into the season, that's nothing to complain about. Likewise, Brisbane have only been beaten once in that time, and this was a point they'll consider a valuable one.
But for entertainment and intrigue, this ranked low. It was physical – these teams have never liked each other, dating back to when Besart Berisha and Pascal Bosschaart squared off – but that was the only factor that raised it above the mundane.
Neither coach was terribly sated by his team's attacking prowess although Graham Arnold revealed his side had been hit by illness pre-match.
"I was worried today, because there's a bug that's gone through our team with gastro and it's gone through about eight or nine and I was worried they wouldn't be able to get through the game," the Sydney FC mentor said. "For the effort they put in, and for what they did on a heavy pitch, defensively we were outstanding. Brisbane didn't have a shot on goal and we've work hard on that. But it wasn't the best game to watch."
Brisbane Roar coach John Aloisi laid the blame for the scrappy affair at Arnold's tactics.
"Why do you think it wasn't pretty? Is that because Arnie stifles games?" he posed, half-jokingly. "We knew it was going to be hard. We know Arnie's team's are defensively [minded]. I don't mean just their back four, but from the front - [Alex] Brosque and [Shane] Smeltz try to stop the ball into midfield. it was hard for us to break lines in the first half."
The first half was a pokey affair, neither side genuinely threatening the other, nor dominating for great swathes. Sydney had more of the ball, but they didn't move it with any speed or guile.
The game's first heated moment came when Mickael Tavares took an aggressive swing that missed the ball but took the edge of Matt McKay's calf. The Brisbane skipper was ropeable but referee Strebre Delovski kept his cards in his pocket.
McKay was still simmering, and his reckless challenge on Brosque earned a yellow. It was a fleeting square-up that wasn't worth it. Milos Ninkovic's nutmeg just made a tough half even worse for McKay.
The real joy was from watching Brisbane's Corona, the veteran Spaniard who makes the ball dance, even with rain and wind swirling around. His ball control and positioning was a class above.
The second half began like the first, perhaps typified by the moment Brosque slammed a stray boot right into the face of Jack Hingert, the kind that hurts twice as hard in the wet.
Ninkovic came off in the 54th minute, and as he did, Arnold gave the fourth official a verbal spray. The Serbian was clearly struggling from a scything challenge from Corona, albeit one he had a right to challenge for.
As little seemed to materialise at either end, Brosque took out his frustration on McKay, clipping his heels and earning a caution – the exact opposite of the first half incident. A minute later, Sydney's skipper stuck a decent shot on target after Hingert fumbled in possession but Jamie Young was unfazed.
At the other end, Jamie Maclaren was only thwarted by some desperate defending from Rhyan Grant when the striker was odds on to score. He was benched soon after, though his replacement, Jean Carlos Solarzano, lasted just eight minutes before succumbing to injury.
Also heading to the pine was Smeltz, who, apart from an early shot, threatened little. On came Matt Simon to a rapturous applause, his deeds against his old club still fresh in the memory.
Say what you like about the unfashionable Simon but he brings a raw, unpredictable energy that makes him perfect to change matches late in the piece. Sydney instantly looked more of a threat when he entered.
But, despite his presence, it still wasn't enough to manufacture the goal that never came.
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