A goal from Emmanuel Riviere, Siem de Jong, Adam Armstrong and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, gave the Magpies a comprehensive win in Dunedin yesterday.
Adam Armstrong
They opened the scoring after a howler from Sydney goalkeeper and captain Ivan Necevski, who failed to clear his own goal with a speculator, and Emmanuel Riviere passed to Dutch striker Siem de Jong who casually stroked the ball home.
It became 2-0 soon after when Riviere scored after a relentless attack led by de Jong and Yoan Gouffran.
The attack continued and Newcastle increased their lead to 3-0 after 35 minutes when right back Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa rifled a shot in off a Sydney defender.
Newcastle were the much more creative team and they had the first chance in the second half, but Haris Vuckic’s shot cleared the crossbar.
Sydney had their first genuine chance 19 minutes after the break, but Corey Gameiro’s shot was saved by a diving Rob Elliot.
Newcastle closed the game out in style when substitute Adam Armstrong slipped the ball past the keeper in the 83rd minute to make it 4-0.
Steven Taylor: “I thought we thoroughly deserved the win through hard work, and the fitness showed through.
“It was difficult – they made it difficult for us with their high pressing – and we knew we had to get the ball and retain it well.
“Our pace up front caused them problems.
“In pre-season training, everybody’s worked hard gearing up for the Man City game.
“It was important to put in a performance.”
Newcastle United beat Sydney FC 4-0 at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Tuesday night in a performance they dedicated to two fans who died in the Malaysia Airlines disaster.
The teams wore black armbands and there was a minute’s silence before kick-off for Newcastle fans John Alder and Liam Sweeney who were killed while flying to New Zealand to watch their team’s pre-season tour.
Newcastle scored three goals in the space of 15 minutes in the first half and added a fourth seven minutes from the end to clinch a comprehensive victory.
Alan Pardew: ‘‘It was a good night for us, really good, and it was great to play in a roofed stadium in front of a really good crowd.
"The scoreline might have flattered us slightly, but we took most of our chances and it was a fairly satisfying performance so soon after arriving in New Zealand.
‘‘We lacked offensive options last season, particularly in the second half, but we improved that tonight and I thought that was encouraging.’’
Sydney FC coach Graham Arnold: ‘‘We gifted Newcastle three goals through our mistakes but, overall, I thought we played pretty well.
"There were a lot of positives that we took out of the game. I’d prefer to play teams of this quality at this stage of the season who will punish us and our mistakes.
‘‘Playing against lesser opposition can often camouflage your mistakes, but against a Premier League side of the calibre of Newcastle, we didn’t get away with it and we’ll learn from that.
‘‘We have got a lot better, but there is a long way still to go. I’m asking the senior players to lead by example and they mostly did, while some of the younger players also enhanced their reputations against quality opposition."