¤ 29 July 2007: Sydney FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC, Canberra Stadium, 3:00pm (A-League Pre-Season Cup – Group Stage)
Missing David Carney, Steve Corica, Iain Fyfe, Mark Milligan, Jacob Timpano and Ruben Zadkovich, Sydney FC are overrun by a dominant Mariners side. This is the first Sydney FC match Fyfe has not been available for since the first A-League semi-final against Adelaide in season one. Tony Popovic makes his debut for Sydney, coming on as a substitute for the second half. The result leaves Sydney in last place in Group B on one point.[SFC]
Central Coast Mariners 3 (Osman 36′, Kwasnik 44′, Gumprecht 52′) def. Sydney FC 0
Sydney FC: 1 Clint Bolton (gk), 4 Mark Rudan (c), 7 Robbie Middleby, 9 David Zdrilic, 11 Brendon Santalab (6 Tony Popovic 46′), 14 Alex Brosque, 15 Terry McFlynn, 18 Adam Casey (3 Nikolas Tsattalios 38′), 19 Michael Enfield, 23 Ufuk Talay, 25 Daniel Severino (24 Ben Vidaic 66′)
Central Coast Mariners; 1 Matthew Trott (gk), 6 Andre Gumprecht, 7 John Hutchinson, 9 Nik Mrdja, 11 Damien Brown (13 Tony Vidmar 81′), 16 Nigel Boogaard, 17 Matthew Osman, 18 Alex Wilkinson (c), 19 Adam Kwasnik (5 Bradley Porter 74′), 22 Sasho Petrovski (10 Tom Pondeljak 69′), 23 Mile Jedinak
Cautions: Bolton 51′, Jedinak 55′, Tsattalios 63′, Popovic 65′, Brosque 68′, Boogaard 90′
¤ 30 July 2007: David Carney, after an excellent Asian Cup, flies out to England for talks with Championship club Sheffield United.[TWG]
¤ 31 July 2007: Sydney FC sign Young Socceroos striker Ben Vidaic (Sydney United) for two seasons, who has appeared in all three of Sydney’s 2007 Pre-Season Cup matches.[SFC]
¤ 02 August 2007: Mark Milligan returns to Sydney FC after having flown to Europe without the club’s permission to trial with French side Metz.[TWG]
¤ 02 August 2007: Sydney FC sign their third under-20 player for the 2007-08 season, with midfielder Adam Biddle (Blacktown City Demons) joining the club for two years. He will officially join with Sydney FC following his NSWPL Grand Final with Blacktown City.[SFC]
¤ 02 August 2007: Sydney FC announce that veteran defender Tony Popovic will take over from Mark Rudan as club captain for the upcoming A-League season.[SFC]
¤ 03 August 2007: 2002 FIFA World Cup winner Osvaldo Giroldo Júnior, better known as Juninho Paulista (Flamengo, 50 caps), is announced as Sydney FC’s marquee player for the 2007-08 A-League season.[SFC]
¤ 04 August 2007: Sydney FC vs Newcastle United Jets Fc, Parramatta Stadium, 7:30pm (A-League Pre-Season Cup – Playoff)
Having gone five consecutive matches without scoring, Sydney FC leave it until the 79th minute and 0-3 behind before breaking their drought through Ruben Zadkovich. The late fightback in front of Sydney FC’s second-lowest crowd ever (although it is officially a Newcastle home game) was not enough, and leaves them with a play-off against Melbourne to avoid last place in the Pre-Season Cup.[SFC]
Newcastle United Jets 3 (Griffiths 5′, 76′, Tunbridge 56′) def. Sydney FC 2 (Zadkovich 79′, Talay 83′)
Sydney FC: 1 Clint Bolton (gk), 2 Iain Fyfe (3 Nikolas Tsattalios 67′), 4 Mark Rudan, 6 Tony Popovic (c), 7 Robbie Middleby, 9 David Zdrilic, 11 Brendon Santalab (8 Ruben Zadkovich 67′), 14 Alex Brosque, 15 Terry McFlynn, 19 Michael Enfield, 23 Ufuk Talay
Newcastle United Jets: 1 Ante Covic (gk), 3 Jade North (c), 4 Steve Eagleton, 6 Andrew Durante, 8 Matt Thompson (7 Jorge Drovandi 8′ (15 Scott Tunbridge 53′)), 9 Joel Griffiths, 11 Tarek Elrich, 13 Adam D’Apuzzo, 14 Jobe Wheelhouse, 17 Troy Hearfield (12 Paul Kohler 89′), 18 Noel Spencer
Cautions: D’Apuzzo 9′, Popovic 21′, Wheelhouse 29′, Santalab 47′, Eagleton 82′
¤ 04 August 2007: Sheffield United confirm the signing of David Carney on a £50,000 ($A119,309) transfer from Sydney FC.[TWG]
¤ 07 August 2007: Sydney FC reveal their jerseys for the upcoming season, including a major sponsorship deal with electronics companies Bing Lee and JVC. Bing Lee will appear on the home jerseys with JVC on the shorts, and vice-versa for away games.[SFC]
¤ 08 August 2007: Sydney FC vs Manly United FC, Cromer Park, 7:30pm (Friendly)
Sydney FC return to the site of their first ever match, winning in front of a crowd of around 1,500. Ufuk Talay played a part in all three of Sydney’s goals.[SFC]
Sydney FC 3 (Biddle ~7′, Enfield ~30′, Talay ~65′) def. Manly United 2 (Andrew Mailer 12′, Bradley Groves ~70′)
Sydney FC: Clint Bolton (gk; Matthew Nash 46′), Mark Rudan (Robbie Cattanach 46′), Tony Popovic (Chris Nunes 46′), Ruben Zadkovich, David Zdrilic, Alex Brosque, Terry McFlynn, Mark Milligan (Shannon Cole 46′), Michael Enfield, Adam Biddle, Ufuk Talay
¤ 09 August 2007: Sydney FC announce a partnership with Macquarie University<
/strong>, which will become the club’s new training venue.[SFC]
¤ 11 August 2007: Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory FC, Olympic Park, 7:30pm (A-League Pre-Season Cup – 7th place playoff)
Sydney FC take their first win of the season, and their first ever in Melbourne with a goal to Alex Brosque. Melbourne dictated much of the match in wet conditions, but could not equalise.[SFC]
Sydney FC 1 (Brosque 34′) def. Melbourne Victory 0
Sydney FC: 1 Clint Bolton (gk), 4 Mark Rudan, 6 Tony Popovic (c), 8 Ruben Zadkovich, 9 David Zdrilic (3 Nikolas Tsattalios 90+1′), 14 Alex Brosque, 15 Terry McFlynn, 16 Mark Milligan, 19 Michael Enfield, 23 Ufuk Talay (27 Shannon Cole 46′), 25 Adam Biddle
Melbourne Victory: 1 Michael Theoklitos (gk), 2 Kevin Muscat (c), 3 Daniel Piorkowski, 6 Steve Pantelidis, 8 Grant Brebner, 9 Danny Allsopp, 10 Archie Thompson (7 Mathew Kemp 84′), 11 Joseph Keenan, 12 Rodrigo Vargas, 16 Carlos Hernandez (14 Adrian Caceres 65′), 18 Leigh Broxham (13 Kaz Patafta 46′)
Cautions: Brosque 47′, Biddle 58′, Cole 79′, McFlynn 87′
¤ 17 August 2007: Sydney FC vs Penrith Nepean United, Credit Union Australia Stadium, 7:30pm (Friendly)
New marquee signing Juninho makes his Sydney FC debut in front of a crowd of around 5,000, playing the first half of Sydney’s final warm-up match before the new season. Branko Culina changed almost the entire team at the break, with the score at 1-1.[SFC]
Penrith Nepean United 2 (Mitchell Long 41′, Ben Gough 57′ pen) def. Sydney FC 1 (Milligan 27′)
Sydney FC: 1 Clint Bolton (gk; Matthew Nash 79′), 2 Iain Fyfe (3 Nikolas Tsattalios 46′), 4 Mark Rudan (17 Jacob Timpano 46′), 6 Tony Popovic (c; 7 Shane Webb 46′), 10 Steve Corica (8 Tolgay Ozbey 46′), 14 Alex Brosque (9 David Zdrilic 46′), 15 Terry McFlynn (20 Chris Nunez 46′), 16 Mark Milligan (12 Shannon Cole 46′), 21 Adam Biddle (11 Brendon Santalab 46′), 22 Juninho (19 Michael Enfield 46′), 23 Ufuk Talay (13 Robbie Cattanach 46′)
¤ 18 August 2007: Sydney FC complete their squad for 2007-08 with the signing of Brazilian striker Patrick (Nacional) for one year. He is described by Branko Culina as being “quick on the ground, strong in the air and skilful on the ball”.[SFC]
¤ 24 August 2007: Sydney FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC, Sydney Football Stadium, 8:00pm (A-League – Rd 1)
Former Sydney FC striker Sasho Petrovski returns to hurt his old club, scoring the only goal of the opening match of the 2007-08 season after a goal kick blunder by Clint Bolton. Mark Rudan has a shot cleared off the line by Nigel Boogaard, whilst Juninho is unable to hit the target with Danny Vukovic stranded well outside his area.[A-L][A-L]
Central Coast Mariners 1 (Petrovski 7′) def. Sydney FC 0
Sydney FC: 1 Clint Bolton (gk), 2 Iain Fyfe (7 Robbie Middleby 70′), 4 Mark Rudan, 6 Tony Popovic (c), 10 Steve Corica, 14 Alex Brosque, 15 Terry McFlynn (9 David Zdrilic 83′), 16 Mark Milligan, 21 Adam Biddle (8 Ruben Zadkovich 46′), 22 Juninho, 23 Ufuk Talay
Central Coast Mariners: 20 Danny Vukovic (gk), 6 Andre Gumprecht (12 Greg Owens 62′), 7 John Hutchinson, 8 Dean Heffernan, 9 Nik Mrdja, 16 Nigel Boogaard, 17 Matthew Osman, 18 Alex Wilkinson (c), 19 Adam Kwasnik (10 Tom Pondeljak 70′), 22 Sasho Petrovski (2 Matt Simon 77′), 23 Mile Jedinak
Cautions: Heffernan 41′, Jedinak 42′, Talay 43′, Petrovski 52′, Gumprecht 61′
¤ 28 August 2007: Edmund Capon steps down as Sydney FC chairman, to be replaced by former Sydney City SC president Andrew Kemeny.[SFC]
¤ 01 September 2007: Sydney FC vs Adelaide United FC, Sydney Football Stadium, 5:00pm (A-League – Rd 2)
After going behind early, Sydney hit back through Ufuk Talay from a tap-in after his penalty was saved by Robert Bajic. A brilliant through-ball from Juninho to Alex Brosque puts Sydney into the lead, but this is undone minutes later when miscommunication at the back allows Nathan Burns to level. Steve Corica perhaps rescued a point for Sydney when he cleared Bruce Djite’s shot off the line after the Olyroo rounded Clint Bolton, whilst Sydney FC debutant Patrick cleared the crossbar from five yards with an open goal.[A-L][A-L]
Sydney FC 2 (Talay 12′, Brosque 74′) drew Adelaide United 2 (Alagich 8′, Burns 74′)
Sydney FC: 1 Clint Bolton (gk), 2 Iain Fyfe, 6 Tony Popovic (c; 12 Patrick 46′), 7 Robbie Middleby, 8 Ruben Zadkovich, 10 Steve Corica, 14 Alex Brosque, 15 Terry McFlynn, 22 Juninho (11 Brendon Santalab 85′), 23 Ufuk Talay
Adelaide United: 20 Robert Bajic (gk), 2 Richie Alagich, 4 Angelo Costanzo, 5 Michael Valkanis (c), 6 Cassio, 10 Nathan Burns (7 Lucas Pantelis 79′), 11 Bruce Djite (9 Paul Agostino 82′), 13 Travis Dodd, 15 Jonas Salley, 16 Bobby Petta (17 Isyan Erdogan 86′), 18 Robert Cornthwaite
Cautions: Petta 45′
¤ 04 September 2007: Sydney FC confirm that Juninho suffered a shoulder injury in their draw with Adelaide United, which could see the marquee player out for up to eight weeks. Captain Tony Popovic was injured in the same match, whilst Clint Bolton, Alex Brosque, Mark Milligan and Ruben Zadkovich will be on national team duty for the upcoming match against Perth Glory.[TWG]
¤ 05 September 2007: Aytek Genc is announced as Sydney FC assistant coach, alongside Branko Culina. Genc played under Culina at Sydney United in the NSL, and also coached the Blacktown City Demons to consecutive NSWPL Premierships.[SFC]
¤ 06 September 2007: Sydney FC register three new players: Michael Herbet (Sydney Olympic), Robbie Cattanach (Manly United) and Matthew Jurman as short-time signings for their upcoming match against Perth.[FS]
¤ 09 September 2007: Sydney FC vs Perth Glory FC, Members Equity Stadium, 3:00pm (A-League – Rd 3)
Sydney FC maintain their unbeaten A-League record against Perth Glory but fail to score a goal, with the majority of chances falling to David Zdrilic. With Clint Bolton missing his first ever A-League minutes for Sydney FC, replacement goalkeeper Matthew Nash performs solidly at the back, maintaining a clean sheet on debut. Matthew Jurman becomes the youngest ever A-League player at 17 years and 275 days.[A-L][A-L]
Sydney FC 0 drew Perth Glory 0
Sydney FC: 30 Matthew Nash (gk), 2 Iain Fyfe, 4 Mark Rudan, 6 Tony Popovic (c), 7 Robbie Middleby (25 Matthew Jurman 86′), 9 David Zdrilic, 10 Steve Corica, 12 Patrick, 15 Terry McFlynn (24 Robbie Cattanach 74′), 18 Adam Casey (19 Michael Enfield 66′), 23 Ufuk Talay
Perth Glory: 50 Tommi Tomich (gk), 6 Dino Djulbic, 7 Anthony Danze, 9 Mate Dragicevic (17 James Downey 74′), 12 Leo Bertos, 13 Nikita Rukavytsya, 14 Jamie Coyne (c), 15 Mitchell Prentice (5 Jamie Harnwell 64′), 16 Nick Rizzo (24 Jordan Simpson 46′), 19 Naum Sekulovski, 25 Tyler Simpson
Cautions: Patrick 29′, Fyfe 45′, T.Simpson 61′, Rudan 81′
¤ 14 September 2007: Sydney FC vs Wellington Phoenix FC, Sydney Football Stadium, 8:00pm (A-League – Rd 4)
Sydney FC drop to dead last on the ladder after giving the Wellington Phoenix their first A-League victory in Clint Bolton and Iain Fyfe’s 50th league appearances. Adam Casey scored his first A-League goal early, but a reply came through Felipe moments later, and Wellington hit the lead after Ruben Zadkovich conceded a penalty.[A-L][A-L]
Wellington Phoenix 2 (Felipe 8′, Daniel 29′ pen) def. Sydney FC 1 (Casey 6′)
Sydney FC: 1 Clint Bolton (gk), 2 Iain Fyfe, 4 Mark Rudan (9 David Zdrilic 75′), 6 Tony Popovic (c), 8 Ruben Zadkovich, 10 Steve Corica, 12 Patrick (11 Brendon Santalab 59′), 14 Alex Brosque, 16 Mark Milligan, 18 Adam Casey (7 Robbie Middleby 59′), 23 Ufuk Talay
Wellington Phoenix: 20 Glen Moss (gk), 2 Jeremy Christie, 3 Tony Lochhead (13 Steven Old 82′), 5 Karl Dodd, 7 Ross Aloisi (c), 9 Shane Smeltz, 10 Michael Ferrante, 11 Daniel, 12 Richard Johnson, 14 Steven O’Dor, 21 Felipe (8 Vaughan Coveny 62′)
Cautions: Daniel 30′, Rudan 56′, Santalab 64′, Zadkovich 85′, Aloisi 85′, Moss 85′, Zdrilic 89′
¤ 22 September 2007: Sydney FC vs Queensland Roar FC, Suncorp Stadium, 7:00pm (A-League – Rd 5)
Amidst rumours that Branko Culina’s position is under threat, Sydney FC produce a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Queensland away from home. Import Patrick scores his first Sydney FC goal after good lead-up work from Ruben Zadkovich and Steve Corica, whilst Clint Bolton finds his form, making two crucial saves. With Tony Popovic injured, Mark Milligan makes his debut as captain.[A-L][A-L]
Sydney FC 1 (Patrick 69′) def. Queensland Roar 0
Sydney FC: 1 Clint Bolton (gk), 2 Iain Fyfe, 4 Mark Rudan, 8 Ruben Zadkovich, 10 Steve Corica, 11 Brendon Santalab, 14 Alex Brosque, 15 Terry McFlynn, 16 Mark Milligan (c), 18 Adam Casey (21 Adam Biddle 53′), 23 Ufuk Talay (12 Patrick 67′)
Queensland Roar: 1 Liam Reddy (gk), 4 Craig Moore (c), 5 Josh McCloughan, 9 Simon Lynch, 10 Ante Milicic (8 Massimo Murdocca 56′), 11 Reinaldo (19 Sasa Ognenovski 81′), 14 Ben Griffin (7 Michael Zullo 72′), 15 Matt McKay, 16 Seo Hyuk-Su, 18 Danny Tiatto, 23 Marcinho
Cautions: McCloughan 33′, Talay 44′, Tiatto 45+2′, McFlynn 67′, Santalab 87′