Sports
Sydney FC sealed the A-League Premiers' Plate with a record points haul thanks to a 2-0 win over Newcastle Jets.
Updated : Nov 18, 2017, 04:06 AM IST
Sydney FC sealed the A-League Premiers' Plate with a record points haul thanks to a 2-0 win over Newcastle Jets.
The Sky Blues have been dominant throughout the campaign and finished the regular season with 66 points from 27 games, one more than the previous record held by Brisbane Roar in the 2010-11 season, when the club from Queensland were helmed by current Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou.
"We don't compare ourselves to Brisbane Roar," coach Graham Arnold told Fox Sports. "They were a fantastic team and Ange did a wonderful job. We clearly know that's one trophy. The bigger one is coming and we'll focus on that."
Milos Ninkovic and Alex Brosque scored second-half goals for Arnold's side to secure a 20th win of the season for Sydney FC, who advance directly to the semi-finals of the A-League Championship playoffs along with runners-up Melbourne Victory.
Victory defeated Central Coast Mariners to confirm their second place finish thanks to Besart Berisha's 100th A-League career goal while Brisbane Roar took third ahead of Melbourne City following their 4-3 win over Wellington Phoenix.
Tim Cahill scored the 10th and 11th goals of his first season in the A-League but it was not enough to stop Melbourne City going down to a frantic 5-4 loss at the hands of Perth Glory, who secured fifth place ahead of Western Sydney Wanderers.
The top six teams in the 10-team set-up qualify for the playoffs and the battle for the A-League Championship, with the clubs in sixth and third facing off in the opening round while fourth place meet the team in fifth.
Wanderers, Asian champions in 2014, drew 2-2 with last year's champions Adelaide United, with the point ensuring Guillermo Amor's side finish a point ahead of last-placed Newcastle Jets.
Western Sydney will take on Brisbane Roar in the playoffs with the winner meeting Sydney FC while Melbourne City and Perth Glory will meet again a week after their nine-goal thriller on Sunday, with the winning team facing Melbourne Victory.
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)