Glory, Glory to the Glory? Darn the proverbial “banana skin” – if it wasn’t for two insipid away trips to Wellington and Perth, Sydney FC would be the league trailblazers leaving all and sundry in their wake.
The heat, travel and an inspired Perth got the better of FC today. There was a spark and inspiration to Perth that hasn’t been seen all year. Fire in the belly. From the dynamic young goalkeeper Tando Velaphi all the way through to the energetic front two – Harnwell and Rukyvsia – Perth gave Sydney no chance to dwell on the ball. Coria, Musialik and the rest of the side suffered consequently, while Amaral, the 34 year old World Cup Brazilian, showed he is a real gem for this league as he gave a master class to Musialik in the centre of midfield as Perth dictated the tempo of a high octane contest.
Sydney have shown enough glimpses of quality this year to suggest that this blip was simply that, one of the hurdles to jump throughout the season.
What wasn’t an aberration was another listless display from John Aloisi. I really don’t want to get stuck into a Socceroos legend, nor begin penning lyrics to season four’s version of “I saw Zdrillic score, but nobody believed me”, but even Kosmina saw fit to pull off his $1.4million dollar striker while his side was chasing the game. At least Zdrillic got himself in the right positions, but just wasn’t good enough to use it. Unfortunately Aloisi isn’t providing that much cause for optimism yet.
Kossie even played Mark Bridge closer to Aloisi tonight to provide him with more immediate support and while his lack of match sharpness can probably be excused (although lamented, considering the price tag), Sydney seem to be caught between ideas. Long balls to the front are wasteful because of Aloisi’s lack of pace, yet the play often breaks down when he comes to get it because the ball bobbles under a rusty first touch. Let’s hope it all turns around, and the ‘legend’ doesn’t become a myth and join fellow strikers Agostino and Zdrillic as homecoming Socceroo strugglers. He showed enough as a Mariner to suggest that he still has a goal scoring instinct, but he shouldn’t be anywhere near the Socceroo radar at this stage.
Santalab’s energy, enthusiasm and improved technique should see him seriously challenge to lead the line against Melbourne next week when Alex Brosque returns, although Kosmina’s immediate concern is how to field a side with no centre backs available after Popovic’s hamstring strain and Fyfe’s send-off. Never a dull moment at Sydney FC.
