Experienced A-League referee Alireza Fagahani missed a stonewall foul only 22 minutes into the contest, when Kosta Barbarouses was brought down by James Delianov, only for the ref to wave away calls for a penalty.

VAR Chris Beath stepped in and overruled, allowing Adam Le Fondre to coolly dispatch the resulting spot kick.

Bobo then doubled Sydney's advantage just before half-time after a beautiful string of teamwork, yet with Delianov once again slightly off the pace of the match.

After the break VAR stepped in once again, this time to overrule the linesmen, when Sydney were incorrectly given offside just before Javi Lopez crudely brought down Barbarouses in the box.

The result was another Le Fondre penalty, however Delianov crucially guessed the Englishman would go the same direction, making amends for his previous errors.

 

 

The escape clearly bolstered Adelaide and they went ahead after Tomi Juric free kick rebounded into the path of Juande, who blasted an inch-perfect shot into the top right corner from outside the area.

Despite significant late pressure from a resolute Reds outfit - who could have even had a penalty of their own after Alex Wilkinson appeared to foul Juric in the box - Sydney managed to close out the game for a narrowly deserved win.

This didn't stop the usual cavalcade of complaints from fans, however.

They'll now face either Melbourne City or Macarthur Bulls for the chance to win a record third straight A-League championship.

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