A generally unimpressive performance from the expensively assembled Sydney FC proved suffice to overcome a defiant New Zealand Knights combination 2-0 at Stadium Australia on October 21, a result which lifts the Chelsea of the Hyundai A-League to the top of the table early in the competition's ninth round.
The home team began strongly, with Steve Corica's strong fifty-yard run in the third minute culminating in his picking out Sasho Petrovski with a pass, the striker cutting in from the right to let fly with a drive which Knights' goalkeeper Danny Milosevic blocked to safety.
Two minutes later, Terry McFlynn switched play delightfully to bring David Carney into the action, and he jinked past a defender before clipping a well-weighted cross beyond the far post, where Dwight Yorke rose high to head into the side-netting.
Five minutes later, and Sydney's early pressure paid early dividends, as they took the lead. Milosevic failed to reel in Corica's near post corner, which Iain Fyfe flicked back into the goalmouth.
Petrovski swivelled neatly to slam a first-time volley from ten yards - 1-0 to a team who, in all honesty, were on a hiding to nothing in this match against the bottom-placed side, given their own lofty expectations.
The home team didn't overly extend themselves once in front, however, and it would have been interesting to see how they would have responded had the Knights, who were by now making frequent ventures down the right flank but failing to delivery anything remotely resembling a quality cross into the danger zone, managed to do justice to their penetrative play and breached Sydney's rearguard.
Their first genuine opportunity to do so came in the 25th minute, when Josh Maguire's free-kick was headed across goal by Noah Hickey to Sean Devine, whose acrobatic volley foundered on the home team's defensive equivalent of the Rock of Gibraltar, Jacob Timpano - the youngster had a super game!
Sydney's response to this scare, and the lack of joy they had experienced from a gritty, defiant Knights side which most of the 11836 present at the ground would have expected to roll over and succumb to the inevitable, was to double their advantage on the half-hour.
As with the first goal, a set-piece was the source of success. Corica's well-flighted free-kick picked out Iain Fyfe's late blindside run, and the defender rose high to direct a header over the stranded figure of Milosevic.
The post foiled Fyfe's goal prospects, but following in was Carney, who gleefully headed home the rebound from two yards, having earlier been thwarted by a vital tackle from the well-performed Cole Tinkler, as the winger loomed up in support of a McFlynn-orchestrated raid and jinked his way into the penalty area.
Such had been Sydney's overall dominance, coupled with the Knights' inconsequential presence in the final third of the pitch, to this point in time that you could have been forgiven for sitting back and wondering exactly what the final score might be.
The home team failed to add further to their tally before half-time, but it certainly wasn't for the want of trying. Just three minutes after going 2-0 up, a delightful back-heel from Yorke rewarded Alvin Ceccoli's overlapping run, and the fullback's cross found Zenon Caravella flat-footed as Carney nipped round him to direct another header goalwards. This time, Milosevic was on hand to tip the ball to safety.
Soon after, Fyfe picked out Petrovski on the left, the striker swiftly linking with Corica. While his effort was wayward, the resulting goal-kick was pounced on by Carney, who picked out Matthew Bingley's surging run from deep into the heart of the Knights' penalty area.
The veteran, who earned a start in the absence of the suspended Ufuk Talay, delivered a lovely cross on the run for Petrovski, only for the scorer of the first goal to be denied by a young lad making just his second appearance for the Knights - Tinkler's was a sound performance.
Four minutes prior to the interval, Yorke spurned a glorious opportunity to extend Sydney's lead to 3-0. Petrovski's slide-rule pass sent the Trinidad & Tobago international spearing through between Darren Bazeley and the fit-again Danny Hay, but his early shot was well anticipated by Milosevic, who had raced off his line well to block the effort.
Yorke latched onto the rebound, however, and rounded the prone goalkeeper, only for Bazeley to block his second shot on the line. The Knights scrambled clear following this opening, and repeated the feat seconds before the break, after a Carney corner had careered across goal with no-one getting a touch on the ball.
The Knights' coach, John Adshead, urged his charges to be far more effective both individually and collectively in the second half, and their performance was such that the only thing it missed was a goal - it was hard to fault a forty-five minute display from the bottom-placed side which saw them generally outplaying their higher-ranked rivals.
It was Sydney who enjoyed the early openings, however, Petrovski blazing wide after working a 49th minute opportunity with Carney, while four minutes later, Andrew Packer's long throw-in was delectably flicked on by Yorke for Bingley, who was ghosting into the penalty area. He lifted the ball over the advancing Milosevic, but just past the far post.
In between times, the Knights had hinted that Sydney wouldn't be having things all their own way in this half. They took a lot of stock from a concerted spell of pressure from which a deflected shot from Bazeley was all they had to show for it, and continued to improve as the half continued, so much so that their big-spending rivals prime means of opportunities in the second spell was the counter-attack.
Twice before the hour mark, Simon Yeo came close to maintaining Sydney's record of having conceded at least one goal in every match they'd played to date - only the bottom-placed Knights boasted a worse defensive record ahead of this match, which speaks volumes for the efforts of Sydney's colander-like rearguard in the opening eight rounds of action!
On the first occasion the former leading goalscorer in England's Third Division caused consternation in colander country, it was Clint Bolton who came to Sydney's rescue, grabbing his fifteen-yard snapshot after Yeo had received a neat flick from Devine in the 56th minute.
Three minutes later, only a timely challenge from Timpano spared Sydney's chagrin, the defender stepping in to deny Yeo in the act of shooting, after Bazeley and Caravella had combined to prise open the visitors' back-line.
The sight of the Knights on attack became de rigeur as the half wore on, but every so often, the visitors would find themselves back-tracking frantically as their hosts hit them on the counter-attack.
One such raid took place in the 65th minute, as Petrovski and Corica combined to present Yorke with an early Christmas present, Hay's desperate lunge in an effort to intercept Corica's pass notwithstanding. Given his pedigree, the striker should have done far better with his effort, which he lifted over Milosevic but over the crossbar as well from the edge of the penalty area.
The Knights' response saw their best chance of the match transpire, in the 69th minute. Hickey and Bazeley linked on the right, with the latter picking out Maguire completely unmarked beyond the far post, deep inside Sydney's penalty area.
The midfielder lashed his first-time shot across the face of goal, and immediately put his hands to his head - he knew full well the importance of that miss in the context of the game to that point. For given they had their tails up, and weren't afraid to take on their rivals, a Knights' goal at this point in time would have set up a grandstand finish.
After a twenty-five yard snapshot from Devine had forced Bolton to smother low to his right, another Sydney raid saw Yorke pick out Corica with a lovely crossfield ball. The midfielder evaded the clutches of Ronnie Bull, who, had Corica gone down as a result of his challenges, would have been a certain recipient of the red card for a professional foul, given he was the last defender.
As it was, Corica stumbled on before clipping his shot over the advancing Milosevic. Unfortunately for the midfielder, his effort was well wide of the target.
This sparked the Knights into creating a flurry of opportunities, only for Bolton to prove equal to the task each time. Hickey fired over a gorgeous cross intended for Devine in the 75th minute, but Timpano intervened. The ball fell kindly for Yeo, however, and he duly let fly, only for Bolton to produce the save of the match, diving to his right.
Seconds later, the keeper grabbed a Devine header after Hay had flicked on a Maguire corner, while seven minutes from time, Devine directed a glancing header wide of the mark, upon being picked out by Bazeley's nicely angled cross. Had the striker got greater purchase on the ball with his head, however, Bolton may well have been stretched once more.
As it was, it was the Knights who were stretched to breaking point in stoppage time, after a series of substitutions by both sides saw two of Sydney's replacements make their mark on the game.
Yorke, with some delightful close control - his work as a target-man in this match couldn't be faulted - picked out Robbie Middleby, who turned and curled in a gem of a cross for fellow replacement Mark Rudan to make the most of. He did, bulleting a header into the back of the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for a foul he committed in the process.
So 2-0 was Sydney's lot, a result which takes them to the top of the table, and keep their first clean sheet in the competition! But for all the money they've outlaid, there are better teams in this league, make no mistake.
Sadly for those on the eastern side of the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand Knights don't come into that category, but they'd go close were dogged determination or the worst-tressed team the only criteria.
The latter honour is thanks to dreadlocked debutant substitute Jeremy Brockie. He may have become the A-League's youngest player with his late appearance in this match, but he must, in stark contrast to a seasoned campaigner such as Dwight Yorke, rank right up there when the league's worst coiffures are taken into consideration!
Do yourself a favour, young man - concern yourself with making personal fashion statements once your footballing achievements and resulting reputation from your on-field efforts precede you, not before!