2018–19 Sydney FC season

Sydney FC
2018–19 season
Chairman Scott Barlow
Manager Steve Corica
Stadium Sydney Cricket Ground, Netstrata Jubilee Stadium and Leichhardt Oval
A-League 2nd
A-League Finals Series Champions
FFA Cup Runners-up
AFC Champions League Group stage
Top goalscorer League: Adam Le Fondre (18 goals)
All: Adam Le Fondre (23 goals)
Highest home attendance 30,588 vs Western Sydney Wanderers
(27 October 2018)
Lowest home attendance 6,261 vs Melbourne City
(17 March 2019)
Average home league attendance 13,464

The 2018–19 Sydney FC season was the club's 14th season since its establishment in 2004. The club participated in the A-League for the 14th time and the AFC Champions League for the fifth time.

Players

Squad information

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK AUS Andrew Redmayne
2 DF AUS Aaron Calver
3 DF AUS Ben Warland
4 DF AUS Alex Wilkinson
5 DF NED Jop van der Linden
6 MF AUS Joshua Brillante
7 DF AUS Michael Zullo
8 MF AUS Paulo Retre
9 FW ENG Adam Le Fondre
10 FW SRB Miloš Ninković
11 MF AUS Daniel De Silva (on loan from Central Coast Mariners)
12 FW AUS Trent Buhagiar
13 MF AUS Brandon O'Neill
14 FW AUS Alex Brosque (Captain)
16 FW IRN Reza Ghoochannejhad (on loan from APOEL FC)
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF AUS Anthony Cáceres (on loan from Manchester City)
18 DF AUS Jacob Tratt
19 MF AUS Chris Zuvela
20 GK AUS Alex Cisak
21 FW AUS Mitch Austin
22 MF NED Siem de Jong (on loan from Ajax Amsterdam)
23 DF AUS Rhyan Grant
24 MF AUS Cameron Devlin
25 DF AUS Joel King
27 MF AUS Jerry Skotadis (Scholarship)
28 FW AUS Marco Tilio (Scholarship)
29 MF AUS Ryan Teague (Scholarship)
30 GK AUS Tom Heward-Belle
31 FW AUS Luke Ivanovic

From youth squad

N
Pos.
Nat.
Name
Age
Notes
24 MF Cameron Devlin 20
25 DF Joel King 17
27 MF Jerry Skotadis 18
28 FW Marco Tilio 17
29 MF Ryan Teague 16
30 GK Tom Heward-Belle 21
31 FW Luke Ivanovic 18

Transfers in

No. Position Player Transferred from Type/fee Contract length Date Ref
12 FW Trent Buhagiar Central Coast Mariners Free transfer 2 years 10 May 2018
11 MF Daniel De Silva Central Coast Mariners Loan 1 year 25 July 2018
5 DF Jop van der Linden AZ Alkmaar Free transfer 1 year 27 July 2018
9 FW Adam Le Fondre Bolton Wanderers Free transfer 3 years 17 August 2018
22 FW Siem de Jong Ajax Amsterdam Loan 1 year 23 August 2018
18 DF Jacob Tratt Sutherland Sharks Free transfer 9 November 2018
17 MF Anthony Cáceres Manchester City Loan 1 year 2 January 2019
16 FW Reza Ghoochannejhad APOEL Loan 1 year 29 January 2019
21 FW Mitch Austin Newcastle Jets Free transfer 1 year 31 January 2019

Transfers out

No. Position Player Transferred to Type/fee Date Ref
5 DF Jordy Buijs V-Varen Nagasaki End of contract 9 May 2018
26 DF Luke Wilkshire Wollongong Wolves End of contract 9 May 2018
18 FW Matt Simon Central Coast Mariners Free transfer 10 May 2018
12 MF Fábio Ferreira Perth Glory End of contract 6 June 2018
16 MF Anthony Kalik Hajduk Split Loan return 6 June 2018
17 MF David Carney End of contract 6 June 2018
11 MF Adrian Mierzejewski Changchun Yatai $1,300 000 5 July 2018
9 FW Bobô Alanyaspor $800,000 7 July 2018
21 FW Charles Lokolingoy Free transfer 31 January 2019

Contract extensions

No. Name Position Duration Date Notes
4 Alex Wilkinson DF 2 years 8 May 2018
19 Chris Zuvela MF 1 year 10 May 2018
14 Alex Brosque FW 1 year 19 May 2018
10 Miloš Ninković FW 2 years 31 May 2018
9 Bobô FW 1 year 4 June 2018
21 Charles Lokolingoy FW 1 year 12 June 2018
8 Paulo Retre MF 1 year 28 August 2018
3 Ben Warland DF 2 years 9 October 2018
18 Jacob Tratt DF 1 year 8 January 2019
23 Rhyan Grant DF 3 years 6 February 2019
13 Brandon O'Neill MF 2 years 7 February 2019
31 Luke Ivanovic FW 1 year 30 April 2019
25 Joel King DF 1 year 9 May 2019

Technical staff

Position Name
Head Coach Steve Corica
Assistant Coach Ufuk Talay
Goalkeeping Coach John Crawley

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

N Pos. Nat. Name Total A-League A-League Finals Series FFA Cup AFC Champions League
Apps Goals Yellow card Second yellow card Red card Apps Goals Yellow card Second yellow card Red card Apps Goals Yellow card Second yellow card Red card Apps Goals Yellow card Second yellow card Red card Apps Goals Yellow card Second yellow card Red card
1 GK Andrew Redmayne 34 0 0 0 0 24+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 5+0 0 0 0 0 5+0 0 0 0 0
2 DF Aaron Calver 23 2 6 0 0 12+5 2 5 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 1+2 0 0 0 0 3+0 0 1 0 0
3 DF Ben Warland 11 1 1 0 0 7+1 0 1 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 1+0 1 0 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0
4 DF Alex Wilkinson 31 0 1 0 0 23+0 0 1 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 4+0 0 0 0 0 4+0 0 0 0 0
5 DF Jop van der Linden 12 0 4 0 0 8+0 0 4 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 4+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
6 MF Joshua Brillante 31 0 6 0 0 21+1 0 5 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 5+0 0 1 0 0 4+0 0 0 0 0
7 DF Michael Zullo 32 1 8 0 0 23+0 1 6 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 5+0 0 1 0 0 4+0 0 1 0 0
8 MF Paulo Retre 28 1 6 0 0 13+5 1 3 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 3+2 0 1 0 0 4+1 0 2 0 0
9 FW Adam Le Fondre 32 20 4 0 0 24+0 15 3 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 3+0 3 1 0 0 5+0 2 0 0 0
10 FW Miloš Ninković 32 3 2 0 0 23+0 2 2 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 5+0 1 0 0 0 3+1 0 0 0 0
11 MF Daniel De Silva 21 3 0 0 0 4+11 2 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 1+1 1 0 0 0 2+2 0 0 0 0
12 FW Trent Buhagiar 4 4 1 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 4+0 4 1 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
13 MF Brandon O'Neill 34 3 6 0 0 24+0 2 4 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 5+0 0 2 0 0 5+0 1 0 0 0
14 FW Alex Brosque 28 10 7 0 0 15+6 6 5 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 3+1 3 2 0 0 1+2 1 0 0 0
16 FW Reza Ghoochannejhad 13 1 0 0 0 5+2 1 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 5+1 0 0 0 0
17 MF Anthony Cáceres               16 0 0 0 0 8+3 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 5+0 0 0 0 0
18 DF Jacob Tratt 9 2 1 0 0 2+5 2 1 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 2+0 0 0 0 0
19 MF Chris Zuvela 2 0 1 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+2 0 1 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
20 GK Alex Cisak 1 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
21 FW Mitch Austin 4 0 0 0 0 0+2 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+2 0 0 0 0
22 MF Siem de Jong 17 6 1 0 0 9+4 4 1 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 2+0 1 0 0 0 2+0 1 0 0 0
23 DF Rhyan Grant 24 0 4 0 0 16+0 0 4 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 4+0 0 0 0 0 4+0 0 0 0 0
24 MF Cameron Devlin 8 1 1 0 0 0+6 1 1 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 1+0 0 0 0 0
25 DF Joel King 2 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 1+1 0 0 0 0
27 MF Jerry Skotadis 1 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0
28 FW Marco Tilio 1 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0 0
29 MF Ryan Teague 0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
30 GK Tom Heward-Belle 1 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 1+0 0 0 0 0
31 FW Luke Ivanovic 15 1 0 0 0 1+9 1 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 1+4 0 0 0 0
32 FW Jordi Swibel 0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
33 DF Liam McGing 1 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 1+0 0 0 0 0
34 DF Patrick Scibilio 1 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 1+0 0 0 0 0
37 FW Hamish Lamberton† 0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0
Players no longer at the club
21 FW Charles Lokolingoy 4 0 1 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0 0+4 0 1 0 0 0+0 0 0 0 0

† = Scholarship or NPL/NYL-listed player

Preseason and friendlies

6 July 2018 2018 Free Trade Port Super Champions Cup Changchun Yatai 0–1 Sydney FC Youth Haikou, China
Report
  • Devlin 7'
Stadium: Haikou Stadium
8 July 2018 2018 Free Trade Port Super Champions Cup Shanghai Greenland Shenhua 2–0 Sydney FC Youth Haikou, China
20:30 CST
Report Stadium: Haikou Stadium
18 July 2018 Sydney FC 5–0 Dunbar Rovers Sydney, Australia
19:30 AEST Report Stadium: North Sydney Oval
Attendance: 1,200
Referee: Steve Lucas
25 July 2018 Sydney FC 3–0 Sutherland Sharks Sydney, Australia
19:30 AEST
Report Stadium: Jubilee Oval
28 August 2018 Sydney FC 3–0 India U23 Sydney, Australia
Report Stadium: Macquarie University Sports Fields
12 September 2018 Sydney FC 2–1 Newcastle Jets Sydney, Australia
Report
Stadium: Leichhardt Oval
29 September 2018 Sydney FC 2–1 Wellington Phoenix Sydney, Australia
11:30
Report
Stadium: Macquarie University Sports Fields
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
Referee: Kurt Ams
11 October 2018 Sydney FC 2–0 Central Coast Mariners Sydney, Australia
19:30 Report Stadium: Jubilee Oval
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Competitions

Overall

Competition Started round Final
position / round
First match Last match
A-League 2nd 19 October 2018 27 April 2019
A-League Finals Semi-finals Champions 12 May 2019 19 May 2019
FFA Cup Round of 32 Runners-up 1 August 2018 30 October 2018
AFC Champions League Group stage Group stage 6 March 2019 21 May 2019

A-League

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Perth Glory 27 18 6 3 56 23 +33 60 Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series
2 Sydney FC (C) 27 16 4 7 43 29 +14 52
3 Melbourne Victory 27 15 5 7 50 32 +18 50 Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League preliminary round 2 and Finals series
4 Adelaide United 27 12 8 7 37 32 +5 44 Qualification for Finals series
5 Melbourne City 27 11 7 9 39 32 +7 40
6 Wellington Phoenix 27 11 7 9 46 43 +3 40
7 Newcastle Jets 27 10 5 12 40 36 +4 35
8 Western Sydney Wanderers 27 6 6 15 42 54 −12 24
9 Brisbane Roar 27 4 6 17 38 71 −33 18
10 Central Coast Mariners 27 3 4 20 31 70 −39 13
Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. The top two teams enter the Finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the Finals series at the elimination-finals.
  2. Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
27 16 4 7 43 29  +14 52 9 1 3 22 13  +9 7 3 4 21 16  +5

Last updated: 6 April 2019.
Source: ultimatealeague.com

Results by round

Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Ground A H A A H A H A A H H A H H A A H A H A H H A H A H A
Result D W W D L W L W W W W L W W W L W L D W W L W W D W L
Position 7 1 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Updated to match(es) played on 6 April 2019. Source: ultimatealeague.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

  Win   Draw   Loss

19 October 2018 1 Adelaide United 1–1 Sydney FC Adelaide
19:20 ACDT
Report
Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 10,018
Referee: Jarred Gillett
27 October 2018 2 Sydney FC 2–0 Western Sydney Wanderers Sydney
19:50 AEDT Report Stadium: Sydney Cricket Ground
Attendance: 30,588
Referee: Chris Beath
2 November 2018 3 Melbourne City 0–3 Sydney FC Melbourne
19:50 AEDT Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 12,086
Referee: Adam Kersey
10 November 2018 4 Newcastle Jets 1–1 Sydney FC Newcastle
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
Attendance: 11,415
Referee: Shaun Evans
25 November 2018 5 Sydney FC 1–2 Melbourne Victory Sydney
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Jubilee Oval
Attendance: 19,081
Referee: Peter Green
1 December 2018 6 Central Coast Mariners 1–2 Sydney FC Gosford
17:35 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Central Coast Stadium
Attendance: 8,386
Referee: Daniel Elder
8 December 2018 7 Sydney FC 1–3 Wellington Phoenix Sydney
17:35 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Jubilee Oval
Attendance: 10,101
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
15 December 2018 8 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–3 Sydney FC Sydney
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: ANZ Stadium
Attendance: 18,043
Referee: Jarred Gillett
21 December 2018 9 Perth Glory 1–2 Sydney FC Perth
20:30 WST Report Stadium: NIB Stadium
Attendance: 10,356
Referee: Jonathon Barreiro
29 December 2018 10 Sydney FC 2–1 Brisbane Roar Sydney
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Jubilee Oval
Attendance: 12,216
Referee: Alex King
4 January 2019 11 Sydney FC 5–2 Central Coast Mariners Sydney
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Jubilee Oval
Attendance: 12,053
Referee: Jonathon Barreiro
10 January 2019 12 Perth Glory 3–1 Sydney FC Perth
19:00 WST
Report
Stadium: HBF Park
Attendance: 9,521
Referee: Jarred Gillett
13 January 2019 13 Sydney FC 2–1 Adelaide United Sydney
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Jubilee Oval
Attendance: 11,560
Referee: Adam Kersey
19 January 2019 14 Sydney FC 1–0 Newcastle Jets Sydney
17:35 AEDT
Report Stadium: Jubilee Oval
Attendance: 12,681
Referee: Adam Fielding
23 January 2019 15 Wellington Phoenix 0–1 Sydney FC Wellington
19:35 NZDT Report
Stadium: Westpac Stadium
Attendance: 8,961
Referee: Daniel Elder
26 January 2019 16 Melbourne Victory 2–1 Sydney FC Melbourne
19:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 21,085
Referee: Shaun Evans
3 February 2019 17 Sydney FC 2–0 Melbourne City Sydney
17:00 AEDT Report Stadium: Jubilee Oval
Attendance: 13,029
Referee: Jarred Gillett
8 February 2019 18 Brisbane Roar 2–1 Sydney FC Brisbane
19:50 AEST Report
Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 8,356
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
17 February 2019 19 Sydney FC 1–1 Central Coast Mariners Sydney
17:50 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Leichhardt Oval
Attendance: 12,188
Referee: Jarred Gillett
23 February 2019 20 Wellington Phoenix 0–1 Sydney FC Sydney
19:35 NZDT Report
Stadium: Campbelltown Stadium
Attendance: 5,115
Referee: Shaun Evans
1 March 2019 21 Sydney FC 2–0 Adelaide United Sydney
19:50 AEDT Report Stadium: Leichhardt Oval
Attendance: 11,217
Referee: Kurt Ams
17 March 2019 22 Sydney FC 0–2 Melbourne City Sydney
19:00 AEDT Report
Stadium: Leichhardt Oval
Attendance: 6,261
Referee: Shaun Evans
29 March 2019 23 Brisbane Roar 1–3 Sydney FC Brisbane
19:50 AEST
Report
Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 8,059
Referee: Stephen Lucas
6 April 2019 24 Sydney FC 2–1 Melbourne Victory Sydney
19:50 AEDT
Report Stadium: Sydney Cricket Ground
Attendance: 14,155
Referee: Alex King
13 April 2019 25 Western Sydney Wanderers 1–1 Sydney FC Sydney
19:50 AEST Report
Stadium: ANZ Stadium
Attendance: 21,984
Referee: Shaun Evans
18 April 2019 26 Sydney FC 1–0 Perth Glory Sydney
19:50 AEST
Report Stadium: Jubilee Oval
Attendance: 11,227
Referee: Chris Beath
27 April 2019 27 Newcastle Jets 2–0 Sydney FC Newcastle
17:35 AEST Report Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
Attendance: 10,260
Referee: Peter Green

Finals series

12 May 2019 Semi-final Sydney FC 6–1 Melbourne Victory Sydney
19:00 AEST
Report
Stadium: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Attendance: 12,141
Referee: Chris Beath
19 May 2019 Grand Final Perth Glory 0–0 (a.e.t.)
(1–4 p)
Sydney FC Perth
16:30 AWST Report Stadium: Optus Stadium
Attendance: 56,371
Referee: Shaun Evans
Penalties

FFA Cup

1 August 2018 Round of 32 Rockdale City Suns 2–4 Sydney FC Sydney
19:30 AEST
  • Gaitatzis 6'
  • Alameddine 76'
Report
Stadium: Ilinden Sports Centre
Attendance: 4,489
Referee: Ben Abraham
21 August 2018 Round of 16 Cairns FC 1–2 Sydney FC Cairns
19:30 AEST
  • Cavanah 16'
Report
Stadium: Barlow Park
Attendance: 3,950
Referee: Chris Beath
19 September 2018 Quarter-finals Avondale FC 2–4 (a.e.t.) Sydney FC Melbourne
19:30 AEST
  • Boland 56', 61'
Report
Stadium: ABD Stadium
Attendance: 1,566
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
6 October 2018 Semi-finals Western Sydney Wanderers 0–3 Sydney FC Sydney
19:30 AEST Report
Stadium: Panthers Stadium
Attendance: 14,436
Referee: Daniel Elder
30 October 2018 Final Adelaide United 2–1 Sydney FC Adelaide
19:00 ACDT
Report Le Fondre 28' (pen.) Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium
Attendance: 14,448
Referee: Jarred Gillett

AFC Champions League

Group stage

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Ulsan Hyundai 6 3 2 1 5 7 −2 11 Advance to knockout stage
2 Shanghai SIPG 6 2 3 1 13 8 +5 9
3 Kawasaki Frontale 6 2 2 2 9 6 +3 8
4 Sydney FC 6 0 3 3 5 11 −6 3
Source: AFC
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
6 March 2019 1 Sydney FC 0–0 Ulsan Hyundai Sydney, Australia
20:00 AEDT Report Stadium: Jubilee Oval
Attendance: 4,039
Referee: Khamis Al-Kuwari (Qatar)
13 March 2019 2 Kawasaki Frontale 1–0 Sydney FC Kawasaki, Japan
19:00 JST
Report Stadium: Todoroki Athletics Stadium
Attendance: 11,278
Referee: Valentin Kovalenko (Uzbekistan)
10 April 2019 3 Sydney FC 3–3 Shanghai SIPG Sydney, Australia
19:30 AEST
Report
Stadium: Jubilee Oval
Attendance: 7,154
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)
23 April 2019 4 Shanghai SIPG 2–2 Sydney FC Shanghai, China
19:30 CST
Report
Stadium: Shanghai Stadium
Attendance: 21,989
Referee: Abdulrahman Al-Jassim (Qatar)
7 May 2019 5 Ulsan Hyundai 1–0 Sydney FC Ulsan, South Korea
19:00 KST
Report Stadium: Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium
Attendance: 1,520
Referee: Ali Sabah (Iraq)
21 May 2019 6 Sydney FC 0–4 Kawasaki Frontale Sydney, Australia
20:00 AEST Report
Stadium: Jubilee Oval
Attendance: 3,813
Referee: Mohanad Qasim Sarray (Iraq)

International selections

The following players were selected for the Socceroos:

End-of-season awards

On 1 June 2019, Sydney FC hosted their annual Sky Blue Ball and presented ten awards on the night.

Award Men's Women's
Player of the Year Brandon O'Neill (Men's)
Luke Ivanovic (U-20's)
Teresa Polias
Member's Player of the Year Rhyan Grant Elizabeth Ralston
Golden Boot Adam Le Fondre Caitlin Foord
Rising Star Ryan Teague Princess Ibini
Chairman's Award Jessica Allan (General Manager, Commercial Partnerships)