Alex Brosque scored three goals in the first nine minutes of play, but that?s where it all ended because the Tigers were able to regain their composure and things started to settle down.
No more goals were scored as both teams had their chances. For Sydney FC it was another trial game against quality TeleChoice Premier League opponents and another chance for new Czech coach Vitezslav Lavicka to try out tactics and formation.
After the game Tigers President, Tony Raciti, was delighted with the crowd and the spectacular game he had just witnessed at Lambert Park.
?It was a great promotion but unfortunately the weather beat us in the end,? he said of the showers earlier in the day that may have frightened away a few spectators from the game.
?We were very, very happy with the crowd; specifically that it was a strong local crowd that came to the game tonight,? he said.
?If we had this crowd at all our home games we would be the wealthiest state league club in Australia!
?The majority were not Sydney FC supporters ? there was maybe only three or four hundred of them ? so what was really noticeable was that it was a local crowd here.?
As for the game itself, Raciti was pleased with his team and the performance against quality opposition.
?The boys did well; I mean there is a difference between the A-League and the TeleChoice Premier League. They are fulltime and are therefore sharper, fitter and think quicker and we saw that tonight.?
As early as the 4? minute a cross from Karol Kisel found Chris Payne but he shot just wide of the mark.
However, the crowd had only to wait for two more minutes before Brosque scored his first goal: a lovely through ball reach the talented marksman who brilliantly heeled the ball into the net from close range.
In the 7? minute a long ball from midfield forced goalkeeper Phillip Zabaks out of his box, but his chested clearance fell straight into the path of Brosque who lobbed the ball in from some 30 metres out.
Two minutes later Brosque had his third. A nice volley from the edge of the six yard box found its way into the net to leave the Tigers shell-shocked.
In the 10? minute Brendan Gan, the former Sutherland Sharks player, fired in a shot from the edge of the box but it ended just wide as there appeared to be no rest from Sydney FC?s onslaught.
The Tigers though did fight back and no further goals were scored for the rest of the game. And this was a fact that certainly pleased their mentor Luke McGuire.
?After the first ten minutes we competed and did alright,? he stated. ?We knocked the ball around and I thought we played well overall.
?Tonight was an opportunity to play a few players in positions and get a few combinations working again; every player in the squad played tonight so it was a real positive for us.?
Franco Parisi had a great chance to get one back for the home side on 14 minutes when he charged towards goal, but he was thwarted by an out-rushing Ivan Necevski who pulled off a brilliant one-on-one save.
Gan replied in the 22? minute when he played a beautiful one-two with Brosque, but unfortunately for Sydney FC the ball sailed just a fraction wide of the mark.
Gan was in the thick of the action again a little while later when he crossed superbly for Chris Payne who narrowly shot wide of Zabaks? goal.
The last real chance of the first stanza of play fell the Tigers way when Robbie Younis, out to impress Sydney FC scouts, fired his free-kick over the crossbar from just outside the box.
In the second half the rhythm of the match slowed somewhat thanks to a heavy pitch and a number of changes to the playing personnel from both sides.
In the 49? minute David D?Apuzzo, back at the Tigers from the Central Coast Mariners, should have scored when he received a nice cross from Parisi but his close-range touch ended up against the woodwork.
Mid way through the second half Brosque?s free kick went over the crossbar when he really should have done a lot better.
In the 70? minute Nick Rizzo, the former Liverpool and Crystal Palace player, fired in a cross for John Aloisi but the former Socceroo hero headed across the face of goal and just wide.
Aloisi had only entered the field a few minutes earlier but it certainly was a watershed moment for the spectators. When he scored that penalty against Uruguay in November 2005 to send Australia to the World Cup, very few people could have imagined that only three and a half years later he would be playing at Lambert Park against the Tigers.
Luke McGuire, after the game, was pleased with the promotional match but kept one eye firmly on Sunday?s big match against Sydney Olympic.
?As a promotion, I think it was great because there were 3,000 people at Lambert Park and you can?t beat that,? he said.
?However, both Sydney Olympic and we are looking for three points on Sunday and if we play with the same intensity that we did in the last 75 to 80 minutes of this game, it should be a good spectacle for everyone.?
From Sydney FC?s point of view the club?s General Manager of Football, David Mason, spoke about how the club intends to reconnect with the grassroots supporters of the code around Sydney.
?It?s an important thing for us to do, to get out to the fans in the pre-season,? he said.
?It?s a good opportunity for people to come and watch us play but it?s also a good opportunity for us to give something back to the sport
?We started this [games against state league clubs] last year ? we had four of these games last year ? it was a great success and therefore we expanded it to eight games this year.?
For Vitezslav Lavicka, the new Czech coach of Sydney FC, things couldn?t be going better at this stage. Mason spoke about the club?s delight at having the new mentor who has set some very high professional standards.
?The new coach has delivered everything we wanted him to do and everything has been thoroughly professional and the players are loving their work,? Mason said.
?At this stage we are tracking along really well and we are happy where we are, but the real test comes along when the A-League starts.?
Match Stats

SYDNEY TIGERS         0                     

SYDNEY FC                 3

                       
GOALS: Brosque 6?, 7?, 9?

SYDNEY TIGERS: 99. Phillip Zabaks (1. Giancarlo Papaianni 65?), 2. Mark Byrnes, 3. John Kelso (17. David Dascall 80?), 13. David D?Apuzzo, 12. Michael West (11. Carlo Musumeci 65?), 15. Danial Cummins, 19. Jamie McMaster (5. Michael Galluzzo 65?), 16. Michael Hawrysiuk (7. Stephen Kayes 38?), 24. Jason Trifiro, 10. Franco Parisi, 9. Robert Younis (18. Bishara Stephan 46?).
Coach: Luke McGuire
Sub not used: Nil
YELLOW CARDS: Nil
SYDNEY FC: 20. Ivan Necevski, 4. Simon Colosimo, 6. Karol Kisel, 8. Stuart Musialik, 12. Shannon Cole, 15. Terry McFlynn (39. Gustavo Latronico 46?), 16. Chris Payne (23. John Aloisi 57?), 18. Adam Casey (38. James Vaughan 46?), 31. Anthony Golec, 32. Brendan Gan (37. Nick Rizzo 46?), 14. Alex Brosque.
Coach: Vitezslav Lavicka
Subs not used: 1. Clint Bolton, 36. Zac Cairncross.
YELLOW CARDS: Nil
REFEREE: Kris Griffith- Jones
-By Joe Russo