A-League: Sydney FC v Newcastle Jets – as it happened
Tom Lutz www.theguardian.com
<strong>Minute-by-minute report:</strong> Alessandro Del Piero was excellent as Sydney FC beat the Jets in the A-League opener
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the Guardian
PEEEP! Full time: I never thought I'd say this while watching him rumble about to zero effect during his time at Birmingham City, but this game needed Heskey. So a comfortable win for Sydney, Del Piero was excellent as expected but the composure of the team as a whole was very impressive. As for Newcastle. Well, they were excellent in the 90th minute.

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Updated at 12.30 CEST

90 min +1: Three minutes of added time.

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90 min: And Newcastle hit the bar! Pepper connects with Zadkovich's free-kick and Newcastle have their best chance of the match. Just as it ends.

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89 min: Admittedly, it's 89 minutes too late but Newcastle ping the ball out very pleasingly indeed. "Think this one's in the bag," says Mike Ticher. "Time to consider where kew jaliens stands among players named after south-west London suburbs. I'm saying above Trevor Putney but below Peter Barnes and Nathan Richmond."

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87 min: Not that I want this game to end but it is now three minutes to my weekend. Untiul 6am tomorrow morning when I get up to do the Socceroos report. Still, enouhg time for a sandwich from 7Eleven and 38 minutes of sleep.

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85 min: Garcia is off for Mallia.

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84 min: GOAL! NO! Sydney have around 18 shots before Garcia stabs the ball home. He's offside though. "Do they pay you in Australian dollars to cover the A-League" asks Charles Harris. The love of the game is my reward, Charles. That and some dollars, yes.

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83 min: Del Piero takes a corner very slowly indeed. Birighitti is on it in a flash.

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81 min: Chapman is off for Pepper.

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Updated at 12.16 CEST

79 min: Neville decides to dive. And why not? He gets a free-kick. A lesson for all the kids out there. Brown's shot curls in wickedly. The problem is it's already a metre over the bar. It was definitely curling though.

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76 min: Chianese is found by Del Piero in the area, he swivels and shoots but was offside.

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73 min: Abbas has plenty of space in the area - not a marker in sight - but he manages to find Chapman's leg, which is an achievement of sorts. Sydney keep up the pressure and win a corner. Del Piero's shot is blocked.

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Updated at 12.07 CEST

71 min: Some Del Piero high jinx on the edge of the area, involving general terrifying of defenders. Newcastle get away with it though, and Del Piero responds by sprinting down the pitch to concede a foul on the edge of the area. I though it was a decent challenege actually. Anway, very little comes of the resulting free kick.

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Updated at 12.06 CEST

67 min: Burns is fouled just outside the area. Will Newcastle find a way back into the game? That would be a no. Goodwin's shot goes past the wall but not past Janjetovic. Sydney indulge in a spot of subbing themselves Grant is on for Thompson.

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64 min: Substitutions for Newcastle - Caravella is off and Brillante on. And Brown replaces Virgili.

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62 min: Good chance for Newcastle, possibly their best. Taggart's nearly scores with a header. They should go down 2-0 earlier in future.

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A good point:

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GOAL! Sydney 2-0 Newcastle (Chianese 59)

Del Piero scampers forward and he draws around 10,689 defenders towards him like moths to a supernova. He flicks the ball across to Chianese who hammers the ball into the roof of the net. That will settle the whole 1-0 quandry then.

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58 min: Sydney are happy enough to sit back and let Newcastle attack very, very, very gently. Still, they're only 1-0 up so they'd do well to look a bit more lively.

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55 min: Zadkovich strolls forward and Newcastle continue to press, in a theoretical-we're-not-actually-going-to-score-are-we way. Bojic gets forward and launches a low shot that skids past the post.

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51 min: The office phone is ringing. I am unable to answer it. If you're ringing about my spelling errors I apologsie. Or apologise. On of those. Burns wins the free kick about 40 yards out and Goodwin will take. And Janjetovic will take. Because it's straight at him.

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48 min: Virgili is a few miles offside. He's not doing things by halves though, bless him. Newcastle have been much better this half, in that they haven't been rubbish. “All Sydney need to do is clone Del Piero 10 times and they’ve won the A-League. And maybe the World Cup too. Actually maybe leave him out of goal,” chortles Evan Beech. Hmmm. They’d need to wait until he was 12 or so until he was any good though. On the plus side the clones would be playing well into the next century.

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46 min: We're off again. And Mike Ticher has a tactical update from the stadium. Of sorts. "Carle as quarterback? 4-1-4-1? Whatever - give the ball to old Italian bloke still seems to be all that works." Crude. But fair.

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Half-time: Just the one minute of added time. Newcastle were the better side for the first 20 minutes but Sydney came back very strongly and we're seperated by a very good attacker exploiting some very bad defending. "Fans in the front row giving massive high fives to Jason Culina," says Mike Ticher. "Also the SBS woman with the clipboard behind him." Well, you'd be in a good mood too if you were 1-0 up with Del Piero in your side.

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45 min: Great effort from Del Piero, he's getting warmed up just in time for a warm down at half-time. His long-distance shot flies wide and Birighitti was nowhere near it.

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44 min: Sydney chuck their notes aside and have one last attack. Del Piero tries to play in Abbas but the ball is out for a goal-kick.

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42 min: Both teams look like they're happy to see out time until the break. Newcastle knock the ball around prettily but with no penetration and Sydney sit back and take notes. The note probably reads, "This does not scare us in any way."

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40 min: There's always comethung comforting when the best player on the pitch performs as he should. The universe is working as it should. Jaliens falls on Del Piero, accidentally I think. Abbas doesn't like it anyway but there was nothing malicious.

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GOAL! Sydney 1-0 Newcastle (Del Piero 36)

Told you they were doing better. Chapman and Caravella get in the way of each other in the area. Del Piero gobbles it all up and nutmegs a defender before slotting the ball home. He's OK, this kid.

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36 min: Great play from Chianese, slaloming his way down the right. So skillful that he confuses himself, and Newcastle can clear. Sydney have been the better team in the last 10 mimnutes or so.

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34 min: Caravella slides in on Garcia, and is booked. "I saw the Birighitti joke before the Guardian deleted it," chirps Anna Sinclair. "Probably just as well it was deleted."

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32 min: The Guardian system breaks down for a bit, deleting a really good joke I made about Birighitti nearly scoring an own goal. It's lost to history now. There goes the Pulitzer.

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30 min: When in doubt foul the old dude, who can't fight back. Jaliens performs some ad hox surgery on Del Piero's ankle and concedes the free-kick. Sydney can't do anything with it apart from lump it on to a Newcastle defender's head. Which is my way of saying I missed whose head it was. Sorry.

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25 min: Thompson unleashes a scorching shot from 25 yards out. It cannons off the bar and Birighitti nearly scores an impressive own goal, via his back.

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Updated at 11.08 CEST

23 min: Dangerous cross from Gallaway. He zips it into the box with Virgili wunning it at a terrifying rate of notes, and Warren does well to clear. At the other end, Del Piero trundles towards goal and releases Chianese, but Birighitti blocks. Chianese should have done better.

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21 min: Carle gets a roar of approval after a tricky backheel to find Del Piero. It would have been even more impressive if he hadn't fallen over afterwards. Top marks for effort though.

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19 min: Neville has been a buzzing presence for Newcastle down the wing from full-back. He wins a corner off Warren and then wins the header off the resultant kick. He can't control it though and it flops to safety.

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17 min: Del Piero just keeps the ball in and Sydney go on to win the corner. At 645 years old he's still one of the more energetic players on the pitch. For now at least, he'll probably need a nice sit down and a cup of tea by the 28th minute or so.

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14 min: Del Piero and Garcia combine nicely before a shot from Bojic sails into the Sydney night sky. Good movement though, and the home team are enjoying the best of possession so far.

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11 min: Virgili crafts a lovely ball in for Taggart, it comes back to Virgili and bhis shot is deflected for a corner. Nice play. The set piece is distinctly ho-hum though.

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8 min: Del Piero is crunched by Zadkovich in the centre circle and wins the free-kick. Zadkovich allows himself a little smile then pretends to be pointing at something important so he isn't booked. It works too. Abbas then finds the ball at his feet on the edge of the area, his shot is straight at Birighitti though.

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5 min: Corner for Newcatle, played towards the far post but Janjetovic leaps into the night sky to claim well. Newcastle come forward again and Gallaway's cross is cut out on the edge of the area.

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3 min: A half-chance! Del Piero is played in on the edge of the area but he can't control the ball, and the assistant has waved for offside any"A decent crowd for the opener but there are still big gaps," says Paul Dane. "Wouldn't it be better to play games in cosier stadiums with full houses."

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1 min: And we're off. Newcastle kick off but Sydney quickly win possession. Newcastle do have a half-hearted jaunt up the pitch but the ball goes out for a free-kick.

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It was 37C in Sydney yesterday - and I have the sweat stained undergaments to prove it - but this evening is a much more bearable 19C, which should make for a much better game of football. We'll leave the heat exhaustion to Qatar 2022.

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The players are in the tunnel about to make their way on to the pitch. Newcastle are made to wait by Sydney FC. I'm quite excited now. Or I possibly just need the toilet. Actually, I think it's a bit of both.

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It seems Justin Mahon thinks my job consists of watching TV, eating snacks and typing out occasional updates on football matches.

He is correct. Oh, and Emile Heskey has been interviewed on the sidelines - he says he expects to be back in action in the next three weeks.

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SBS are showing an interview with Zadkovich even though there's only two minutes to kick-off. As much as I love the man, I don't think he's worth delaying the start to an entire season for. Actually, there's now 28 seconds to the start of the season. Zadkovich has ruined the entire A-League already.

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"Are any members of Oasis in the crowd to watch Del Piero," asks Dan Plotnik. "I can't see any. But Liam and Noel don't speak to each other any more so they wouldn't be in the same stadium." The celebrity count is fairly low, it has to be said. I think I saw Emile Heskey earlier, does he count? And Craig Foster. I'm struggling here.

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Your teams ...

Sydney: Janjetovic, Ryall, Warren, Petkovic, Bojic, Del Piero, Garcia, Chianese, Carle, Abbas, Thompson

Newcastle: Birighitti, Neville, Jaliens ,Caravella, Zadkovich, Burns, Goodwin ,Chapman, Virgili, Gallaway, Taggart

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The Guardian's Mike Ticher is at the stadium and has sent in a photo of empty seats. There's still 16 minutes to go though. Maybe they've all gone out to watch the Nobel Peace Prize at the pub.

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#SYDvNEW is now trending above #NobelPeacePrize on Twitter. In some ways this is a good thing for fans of football and war, but in other ways a bad day for fans of peace.

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SBSTwo are showing this match on free-to-air and they are describing it as a groundbreaking moment in Australian football. They may be slightly bias on this matter but it's a fair point - it enables people who don't want to fork out $50 or so a month (and wait around for the man to come and install their service, and then get really angry when he calls up and says he'll be there in 10 minutes and then get really angry when he says it's going to be another nine hours and then doesn't show up) to see the A-League in the comfort of their own homes.

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Updated at 10.12 CEST

Preamble

Evening (Australia) and morning (UK). Oh, and afternoon (USA), welcome to our live-ish coverage of the A-League season opener starring Italian football's No1 Oasis fan Alessandro Del Piero. And not Emile Heskey because he's hurt his knee and his mum says he's not allowed out until later.

Not that Emile is the only with jiggered bones: Michael Bridges, Brett Emerton, Terry Antonis and Corey Gameiro are among the other walking wounded.

Now as zippy as Sydney are in attack, they don't really "do" defending which can be somewhat of a disadvantage in football. They've also been distinctly so-so in pre-season (although they didn't do too badly in their tour of Italy) and are still adapting to playing 4-3-3 regularly. Having said all that, Newcastle are can't attack or defend so that's 1-0 to Sydney. And, in fact, that is my prediction for this evening's game.

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