Sydney FC went top of the A-League after Alex Brosque's hat-trick inspired a 5-2 thrashing of 10-man Central Coast Mariners on Friday. The visitors to Jubilee Stadium went 1-0 up inside 17 minutes but collapsed after Kalifa Cisse's red card midway through the first half. Brosque's first A-League treble, combined with an Adam Le Fondre penalty and a fine strike from Aaron Calver, saw Sydney complete the turnaround and move above Perth Glory on goals scored, having played a game more.

Sydney's three-game winning run looked under threat when Connor Pain fired the Mariners into the lead, but Cisse picked up two bookings in the space of three minutes to leave Mike Mulvey's side in difficulty. They held out until four minutes into the second half, when Brosque superbly flicked in Siem de Jong's cross, and the home side were ahead three minutes later thanks to Le Fondre's cool penalty after Jacob Melling fouled the former Bolton Wanderers striker.

Brosque netted his second on the break and completed his hat-trick in sumptuous style 64 minutes in, collecting De Jong's pass before chipping goalkeeper Ben Kennedy from the edge of the area. Aiden O'Neill promptly pulled a goal back, but Calver volleyed into the bottom-left corner after being picked out by Joshua Brillante to ensure Steve Corica's men made it seven wins from 10 league outings.

January 4, 2019

A. Calver

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