Sydney rise to the challenge with title hopes on the line (original) (raw)

By Michael Cockerill

January 25, 2010 — 12.00am

Backs to the wall, with the champions ready to pounce, Sydney FC have finally - perhaps convincingly - shown they are made of the right stuff. Victory in Newcastle, and coming from behind as well, was their most authoritative performance of the season.

The scoreboard told only a fraction of the story. Sydney were the better side for most of the game, even if it took Chris Payne's first senior goal seconds before the final whistle to confirm the result.

The Sky Blues are back on top, with just three rounds remaining. In the last of those Melbourne Victory will come to Moore Park in a match which could decide the minor premiership. If that's the case - and Melbourne are favourites to win their match in hand against Wellington Phoenix tomorrow night - then Sydney can handle the pressure of the big occasion. Which, of course, is what winning titles is all about.

The positives from this Sky Blues effort were multiple. The negatives can be summarised in the only goal they conceded. For the second game in succession Swiss defender Stephan Keller was culpable, suggesting he's much more comfortable in the air than on the ground.

For all that, it required a superb piece of vision from Matt Thompson and a clinical finish from Jobe Wheelhouse to expose the deficiency. Not that Keller had a poor game, but from a coach as fussy as Vitezslav Lavicka, he can expect a gentle reminder of the pitfalls of ball-watching.

That aside, Sydney were imperious. For the first time in a long time, Shannon Cole and Byun Sung-hwan were encouraged to attack the corners. For the first time in a long time, Sydney had genuine width. The formation didn't change - will it ever? But the emphasis did, and it was telling.

Sydney didn't come to EnergyAustralia Stadium to defend but to attack. The ball movement was quick, and the width gave the carriers more options.

And much as the long ball is maligned, in this case it was productive for Keller and Simon Colosimo.

Newcastle's back three lacks pace, and the early ball asks questions. Strangely enough, it wasn't the fleet-footed Alex Brosque who benefited most; rather the less-mobile John Aloisi. Sydney's marquee man produced his best game of the season, and a crucial goal. Instinctive opportunism just before the break got Sydney back on level terms at just the right time.

The failure to come from behind has been a millstone around the players' necks. Eight times this season, Sydney have failed to peg back a deficit. Finally, they've done it. Talk about getting the monkey off their back.

Aloisi's equaliser changed the dynamic, and Sydney went on with it. Stuart Musialik produced a wonderful strike to catch Ben Kennedy by surprise, and the Sky Blues had overcome a major mental hurdle. The Jets had their moments after that, but too often Song Jin-hyung's final ball let him down. Payne's late, late, show did the rest.

For Sydney, this was a defining victory. For the Jets, it means a top-two finish is out of the question. Newcastle need two points to secure finals football - an achievement not to be sneezed at, given the tribulations on and off the field. Sydney can now, realistically, aim a lot higher than that.