Le Fondre and Redmayne save Sydney FC blushes in narrow win over City

Amid all the changes, injuries and inconsistencies at Sydney FC this season, there have been two constants: Adam Le Fondre's goals and Andrew Redmayne's heroic goalkeeping. On a searing hot Sunday afternoon at Kogarah, those two reliable forces were all that split the Sky Blues from Melbourne City as the hosts clinched a hard-fought 2-0 win to keep their premiership hopes alive.

Without their two stars, it would have been a very different outcome. Sydney counted their blessings after Redmayne made yet another brilliant penalty save, and Le Fondre sealed their win in the dying minutes of the match.

"They're both very important players for us," Sydney coach Steve Corica said. "One's at one end saving goals and the other one is scoring them. It's important for Adam to get on the score sheet tonight."

Prolific: The ever-reliable Adam Le Fondre celebrates his match-winner.Credit:AAP

It brought the English ace's goal tally to 12, the top in the league, while Redmayne made his fourth save from the spot this season, across all competitions. The pair stole the show for a Sydney side depleted of five important players and whose lethargic second-half performance went unpunished as they held on for their 11th win of the season.

Among those missing was new star signing Reza Ghoochannejhad. The Iran international was rested having only arrived on Thursday and in his place stood 18-year-old Luke Ivanovic. It took just eight minutes for the youngster to show just why Corica had no hesitation in playing him while "Gucci" acclimatised.

Receiving a clever through-ball from Milos Ninkovic, Ivanovic capitalised on poor marking by Harrison Delbridge to find room to shoot from inside the box. He made no mistake against a man twice his age, slotting the ball past Eugene Galekovic for an early lead.

Delbridge sought to atone for his error two minutes later, lashing Ivanovic across the face with a high boot to earn himself a yellow card and give the teenager a split forehead, requiring bandaging. Ivanovic's first start in the A-League was a bruising affair that unfortunately didn't last long. He was forced off with a hamstring injury in the 30th minute and replaced by Sydney's other new signing, Mitch Austin.

It changed little in terms of momentum as the Sky Blues maintained the ascendancy and should have doubled their lead three minutes later. A swift combination between Austin and Ninkovic gave Le Fondre a chance from inside the box but his close-range attempt was deflected agonisingly wide.

Impregnable: Andrew Redmayne saves a penalty from Riley McGree at Jubilee Oval.Credit:AAP

However, it was Sydney's generous finishing that kept their rivals in the context. The dogged Le Fondre won possession inside the box and wriggled free enough to shoot, but only as far as Galekovic, who parried the ball to the feet of Austin. He had enough time to walk the ball into an empty net but instead went for the volley. The sound of the ball clanging off the post and out, followed by the collective moaning from 13,029 fans told him just how poor an option that was.

It seemed that Sydney did their best in their second half to allow City into the game, even the normally composed Ninkovic. The veteran tugged at the shirt of Bart Schenkeveld inside the box, giving enough reason for the Dutchman to go down and earn his side a penalty.

Riley McGree stepped up for the unenviable task of beating Redmayne from 11 yards. He went low, hard and for the corner but even then, it was no match from the penalty expert – Sydney's goalkeeper clearing the ball away to send the crowd into raptures.

They stayed on their feet minutes later when their other shining light of the season did what he does best. Le Fondre relieved tension at Jubilee Oval by icing the win with a composed, close-range finish in the 87th minute.

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