Melbourne City scored late through James Brown to score an upset 1-0 A-League win over Sydney FC
Updated
James Brown netted a late winner to hand Melbourne City a 1-0 victory over Sydney FC, denying the Sky Blues a chance to go top of the A-League ladder.
Brown's 81st minute strike in what was a drab affair at Sydney Football Stadium was enough to topple the title contenders who were looking to take the outright lead for the first time in five years.
City managed to stop Sydney's recent goal-scoring blitz - the Sky Blues having netted an impressive 25 goals in their last seven matches - to end their unbeaten run at nine games and deny them a club record.
John Van 't Schip's men were also able to silence marquee striker Marc Janko, who was looking to extend his record-breaking run after scoring in a seventh straight appearance last week.
Sydney FC remains in second spot behind Wellington, just one point ahead of Melbourne Victory and Perth Glory who are yet to play.
City, meanwhile consolidated its place in the top six.
Janko looked like getting on the board early to add to his tally of 16 goals this season, hitting the post in the 11th minute after being played in by Alex Brosque.
Midfielder Milos Dimitrijevic put keeper Tando Velaphi to work in the 30th minute with a dangerous free-kick while Christopher Naumoff continued the assault with a long-range strike a minute later but sent it wide.
City's best chance came courtesy of Robert Koren who hit his shot at the top corner just before the break with keeper Vedran Janjetovic just getting a hand to it.
But they were the only glimmers of hope in a dour first half.
The tempo lifted slightly after the restart with both sides desperate to break the deadlock.
Mate Dugandzic fluffed a golden opportunity to get on the board in the 49th minute when Jonatan Germano cut the ball back, but he sent his point-black shot over the crossbar.
Desperate for an attacking spark Sydney coach Graham Arnold brought on Shane Smeltz for Naumoff on the hour mark.
But it was Bernie Ibini who struck, hitting the post with a powerful attempt and an unmarked Janko at the far post.
Smeltz had his chance to give Sydney the lead in the 73rd minute with Alex Gersbach setting him perfectly, but the striker sent it wide.
Aaron Mooy, who had been dangerous all night, made his decisive move playing a perfect ball in to Brown, who got round Janjetovic for the easy tap-in in the dying minutes.
AAP
Topics: a-league, soccer, sport, sydney-2000, nsw, australia
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